1 on 1 with Mississippi State senior Shawn Jones
It’s been an interesting journey for Mississippi State senior wing Shawn Jones in the college basketball ranks. Following his Texas prep career, Jones had a few Division 1 offers and originally signed with Texas State.
But not long after graduating, his plans to attend Texas State fell through and Jones was searching for a new opportunity. Initially, Jones walked on at Mississippi State for his first two seasons and eventually worked his way into the starting lineup.
Naturally, Jones will eventually look back on his path with pride. But these days, he is hoping to help Mississippi State regroup and finish strong in the SEC schedule. Maroon and White Daily recently sat down with Jones to discuss his career thus far among other topics:
Q: You came to Mississippi State as a walkon before earning a scholarship. You ever look back on the journey it has been?
Jones: It has definitely been a blessing and I have been fortunate. I definitely reminisce about how things started out. I never thought it would go like this and I can be proud of myself and where I came from.
Q: What has changed with this team since the San Francisco loss?
Jones: Just the understanding of all our roles and I feel like that is the biggest change we’ve had. We learned that we have to play together and figuring it out. That and just trusting (Chris) Jans. I think those were the main couple of things and we just had to figure it out.
Q: How are Tee Bartlett and Cameren Paul doing in practice?
Jones: They are doing great. Even though they don’t play they get a lot of reps in. They even ask for more reps. Tee has lost a lot of weight and is moving better and playing more physical. Cameren is a good offensive player and I can’t wait to see them in the future.
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Q: Your thoughts on the progress of Macura Sergej?
Jones: He has progressed faster lately. He has always given the effort and he is a very smart player and a fun player to play with. With him coming on it has helped us a lot. There’s been others that have stepped up, too, and that has helped us a lot.
Q: You have gone back to more your style of playing lately. How did that come about?
Jones: Just trusting my coaches. Whatever he feels is better for us to win, that is what I am going to do. They know about me. If it helps us win I am going to make whatever changes I have to make. I have to be that defensive stopper and bring the energy. That is what I’ve been focused on more rather than scoring. I know my teammates can get that done and I just have to hold my head up on the defensive end and do all the dirty play, basically.
Q: What does this team have to get done to get back in the NCAA Tournament conversation?
Jones: Practice even harder. Every day is a grind and like the last game we won against Oklahoma, we just got to keep our heads up and keep going every day.
Q: What was the mood of the team against Texas when you were down seven with two minutes left in regulation?
Jones: Just stay together and figure it out and trust each other. It’s a long game and it doesn’t matter if it is 40 minutes left or two minutes left. We just have to stick together and grind it out in every game.
