In Chicago, patience is more than a virtue. It’s a rite of passage. It’s the city whose iconic sports team ““ baseball’s Cubs ““ hasn’t won a World Series in 102 years, and whose signature deep dish pizza can take hours to properly make.
In Chicago, basketball is more than a game. It’s a rite of passage. This is the city that has produced the likes of Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose, and is exceptionally proud of its hoops tradition.
Lazeric Jones wasn’t satisfied with the collegiate offers he received coming out of Simeon Career Academy, the Chicago high school that boasts Rose, as well as current NBA-er Bobby Simmons and former pro Nick Anderson, among its alumni. Settling when it came to basketball was never an option for Jones. Being patient was.
He spent his first two post-high school years at John A. Logan College, a junior college in Chicago, refining the physical and mental aspects of his game. He is now the starting point guard at the most decorated college basketball program in the nation.
“With my age, I can come in and be a leader,” Jones said. “To be a leader, you have to come in and work hard and prove yourself.”
Proving himself won’t be anything new for Lazeric Jones (pronounced luh-zair-ik). It’s something he’s had to do since following in the footsteps of Rose as the pilot of the Simeon program, and it’s something that ““ as a big-dreaming Chicago hoopster ““ he has ingrained in his DNA.
“With Chicago kids, there is an element of pride to them when it comes to basketball,” said Mark Imhoff, the man who coached Jones during his two years of maturation at Logan. “It’s a basketball city; it’s their game, and I think he carries that with him a little bit.”
Being branded a “Chicago point guard” can be a double-edged sword. What these players boast in toughness and tenacity, they often lack in decision-making ability. It’s a collective mentality of attacking and aggressiveness that, when harnessed, can yield a Wade or a Rose.
Or maybe even a Jones. He certainly picked the right time to make the move to UCLA, a school that hasn’t had a junior college transfer since Jack Haley Sr. in 1985. For really the first time in the Ben Howland era, the Bruins are employing an up-tempo style of basketball that perfectly suits a guy like Jones. Logan College embodies Chicago’s accepted style of playing the game as if the gusts that give Chi-town its “Windy City” nickname are blowing its players perpetually forward.
“We do play an up-tempo brand of basketball,” Imhoff said. “It put him in a great position to improve in terms of making decisions and being a point guard in the transition game.”
That should be music to the ears of the Bruins, whose newfound style demands an effective orchestrator. And that’s not the only area in which Chicago has prepared Jones for Howland.
“The schools I’ve been at, defense has always been the main focus,” Jones said.
“Because of his strength, he can be a very good on-ball defender,” Howland added. “That’s going to be really, really important. Anytime you have a point guard that can put a lot of pressure on the ball, that’s critical.”
Jones checks in at 6 feet and a muscular 187 pounds, which puts him at about the same weight as the 6-foot-8-inch Tyler Honeycutt. According to Imhoff, the time in junior college allowed the point guard to better develop into his already-sturdy frame. That strength allows Jones to better pursue his natural style.
“I try my best to be aggressive,” he said. “If I can put pressure on the defense, it’ll open my teammates up.”
It hasn’t taken the newcomer long to endear himself to his new coach or to his new teammates. After UCLA’s season-opening win over Cal State Northridge, Howland praised his point guard effusively, saying he was impressed with his defense and decision-making. The 15 points he racked up on 6-of-7 shooting, to go along with four assists, probably didn’t hurt either.
Perhaps the truest testament to Jones’ transition being a seamless one is the affection carried for him by his peers. On a team with no seniors, the newest guy on the team is also one of the oldest. He has quickly earned the respect and admiration of even the guy whose job he usurped.
“That’s my man,” junior point guard Jerime Anderson said of Jones, whom most call “Zeke.” “We’re going to have many battles in practice because he’s the type of player that is really hardworking and doesn’t try to give an inch.”
Anderson started half of UCLA’s games at point guard a season ago, and was expected to regain that role until Jones’ impressive summer vaulted him into the first five. The newcomer brings a new dimension to the Bruins that his teammates are quick to notice and appreciate.
“His game is more East Coast-style,” Anderson said. “More of a “˜get-to-the-basket’ guy. His shoulders are as wide as I-don’t-know-what. Zeke is just very powerful, a very explosive player.”
All opening-night accolades aside, the learning curve for Jones will be a steep one. The Pac-10 may be down, but the junior will still see his fair share of elite guards, raucous environments and nail-biting situations. On top of all the physical adjustments, Jones has to deal with being handed the reins of a complex offensive system. Having only arrived in Westwood in June, the transition has been an accelerated one.
Some of those growing pains manifested themselves in the Bruins’ exhibitions against Westmont College and Cal State Los Angeles. Howland noted moments when Jones tried to force things a bit offensively, or was too aggressive on the defensive end. The development is evident, but it’s far from a finished product.
“Obviously he’s still got room to go,” Imhoff said. “But he deserves a great deal of credit, because his work ethic and his desire to become a better player are what propelled him from where he was as a high school senior to where he is today.”
Where Lazeric Jones is today is a far cry from Chicago, and not just geographically. The pizza is thinner, the Dodgers have only gone 22 years without a World Series and in terms of climate, this ain’t exactly the Windy City.
“Some days, it really does get really hot,” Jones said. “Being in Westwood, it’s really been perfect weather every day, except for a few days when it got really hot, which surprised me.”
Although he’s only played in a handful of official ball games, it’s evident that Jones has acclimated well. He’s often the most enthusiastic cheerleader for his teammates when he’s catching a breather on the bench, and he’s the first guy to pat Anderson on the head when the latter makes a mistake on the court. Maybe he’s just reciprocating the love he’s been shown since moving west.
“Everybody here is really nice, lots of open arms,” Jones said. “In Chicago, everyone is sort of hesitant to open up to you.
“Here, they’re willing to embrace you.”