Before transferring this fall to Crete-Monee from Bloom, Joe Jones specialized in doing the little things to help a team win.
But Jones always believed he could make big things happen, too. Scoring, rebounding, blocking shots. The senior forward is finally getting the chance to do it all.
“Here, I’m getting the ball more,” Jones said. “At Bloom, I was more of a role player, setting screens and stuff like that. I didn’t get the ball much.
“Getting chances to score, it’s a lot of fun. I always believed I could do it. They gave me the opportunity and I’m taking full advantage of it.”
He sure is. Jones has quickly become one of Crete-Monee’s top scorers. He produced another double-double Tuesday night, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 51-44 nonconference win over Richards.
Zyheir Gardner scored 10 points for Crete-Monee (6-2), while Joseph Alexander added nine points and eight rebounds.
Messiah Horton led Richards (6-4) with 16 points, including 12 in the second half, and 10 rebounds. Travon Gourdine scored eight points and Paul Rayon chipped in with six points.
Jones, meanwhile, took over in the third quarter. He scored six quick points, all on putbacks, to spark an 11-0 run for the Warriors, who stretched their lead to 38-21.
“His forte is offensive rebounds,” Gardner said of Jones. “So, I definitely feel like I’m a little more able to shoot freely, and if I miss, he can get that second-chance bucket.”
Jones loves that his new teammates have that faith in him.
“It’s been good,” Jones said. “I feel like our guards have a lot of trust in me. They trust that if they get me the ball, I can score. They know I can get rebounds and help the team in multiple ways. As a team, we have great trust in each other.
“I appreciate it a lot that they actually trust me even though I’m new.”
Along those lines, Jones had some initial concerns about how he would fit playing for a former Southland Athletic Conference rival.
He was joined by another transfer from Bloom, Markell Slaughter-Harris, but the rest of the team was new to him.
“It was just about building that team chemistry because when I first got here I didn’t really know anybody except for Markell,” Jones said. “Everybody else was pretty cool and easy to get along with so it made it easy.”
Crete-Monee coach Jawan Nelson is an expert on post play. He starred at Bloom and went on to play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
“I was a big guy, too, so I’m going to demand our guards get Big Joe the ball,” Nelson said. “He just needed someone to trust him. He brings scoring, rebounding, shot-blocking, leadership.
“Big Joe does everything for us.”
Nelson believes Jones is just scratching the surface of his potential.
“He can step out and shoot the ball, too,” Nelson said. “I’ve been trying to get him to shoot the ball a little bit more, put the ball on the floor. He’s played a certain role for so long that you’ve just got to get him to expand his horizons. It’s getting there for him.”
Jones helped the Warriors dominate the second half. They led 48-32 with four minutes left before Richards closed strong.
Crete-Monee played tough defense all night, and Gardner likes what he’s seeing.
“There’s some little stuff that we need to pick up but it’s coming together,” he said. “I think we’ll be good.”
Jones expects big things from the Warriors as well. And himself.
“I’ve definitely found the right place for me,” he said. “I feel a lot more comfortable here. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”