Recruitment Of Jones Leaves a Sour Taste

Canzano: The recruitment of Terrence Jones leaves a sour taste

By John Canzano, The Oregonian

May 05, 2010, 3:03PM

He has a big physics final exam coming, so Terrence Jones figures he'll study this weekend. There's a senior project to prepare for as well. And he'll probably call his sister, away at college, because it's what he's always done.

More importantly, what's it gonna be kid?

Right?

That's become the big question to ask the Jefferson High basketball star this week. It won't go away. And it's not the question any of us might have expected after last Friday when Jones sat in a gymnasium at a news conference with six baseball caps on the table in front of him and, after some noticeable stalling, chose the University of Washington.

Jones picked Washington, but didn't sign a letter of intent. Key point. What followed this week was the revelation by those close to Jones that the kid walked into that news conference and chose the Huskies not because he was certain, but because he was tired of being squeezed by the pressure.

"I'm still committed to Washington," Jones said on Wednesday, "but I'm not willing to sign anything at this point."

His word, but not his signature.

Therein lies the angst of six college basketball programs who are watching Jones twist while listening to him say things such as, "I don't like to let people down."

When Jones was a little boy, he followed his sister Ashley everywhere. She's four years older, and would have her girlfriends over, playing with dolls, and they'd be running around, and here came Terrence, wanting to join in.

"He always, always, always followed us," Ashley said.

So who does Jones follow now? Where does he go to play college basketball? And does this mean the University of Oregon has a chance?

Jones has until the signing period ends May 19 to decide.

But here's a question we should answer while we wait: Have we lost our minds?

Because 25,000 people tuned in to oregonlive.com last Friday to watch the Jones decision live. And the instant Jones chose Washington, his family began to receive harassing telephone calls from fans of the programs he didn't pick. Jones' cellular telephone blew up with angry activity, too.

Fans at Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Oregon and Oklahoma, miffed that the 6-foot-9 Jones didn't choose their programs on Friday, blasted Jones' social networking sites with insults and slurs that were so offensive his sister instructed him not to read them and went in herself and deleted it all.

"I saw some of it," Jones said. "Really hurtful stuff."

Also, there were erroneous news reports about Kentucky coach John Calipari calling Jones in the wake of the announcement, too. Jones insists he called Calipari, not the other way around.

"I called all five of the coaches that I didn't pick," he said.

The kid wanted to apologize because he felt bad about letting down the coaches he didn't choose on Friday. And you should know, all five "losers" in the race for Jones' services told him they were disappointed, but they'd be there if he should change his mind. They've done this before, see, and they understand the door is never shut.

Fans don't. Some of them can be unforgiving, and relentless, and so it's them I find myself thinking about today. Because what we're really talking about here is a teenager who is trying to decide what's the best course of action for his future. And while we should all empathize with it, I'm not so sure most of us can.

Jones hasn't changed his mind from Friday. He's still committed to Washington, but he's also acknowledging publicly that this process stinks, and that he's reserving the right to dump the whole thing on its head if he so chooses. There's something about that I can live with.

Jones won't make his choice official until he feels certain about it. And while it's the advice any of us would give our children, here were Huskies fans in the last few days, learning about the possible indecision and blasting away at Jones with, "BE A (bleeping) MAN OF YOUR WORD!" messages sent to him.

Ashley, the sister, away at Howard University where she studies marketing, has been watching the last few days unfold from across the country. It's killing her because, "I'm way over here, and I feel helpless as his older sister. I knew when he walked in Friday that he still wasn't sure."

For the record, Ashley chose Howard over Oregon and North Carolina A&T.

Nobody outside of her family seemed to notice when she did. And maybe that's worth thinking about when we try to figure out the current fan obsession with the "indecisive" Terrence Jones.

Her brother wasn't trying to play games, or increase the drama, or even milk the moment on Friday. He was simply seeking relief from an absurd process that few of us can relate with. Instead, he's found himself squeezed even tighter. One Jones family member told me on Wednesday that irrational and well-meaning fans at the finalist colleges, who believe they're serving as de facto recruiters, serve as the worst enemy of their respective programs.

The whole thing is ugly.

The Jones family has become leery of outsiders, who are angling with their own agendas. Former Jones coaches, parents, strangers, and media are all greeted this week with, "Can I call you back in five minutes?" while the family huddles and tries to figure out who can be trusted, and who cannot. Because fans, coaches, friends -- everyone, it seems -- wants something from Jones.

I want something from Jones, too.

I want the kid to take his time and be sure.

The rest of us could use the break to focus on trying to get a grip.

-- John Canzano