Perry Jones III left Baylor in 2012 as a first round draft pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Three years later, he was out of the NBA for the G-League.
"After I left and got drafted by the Thunder, I had my three and a half year stint there. Then I got traded to Boston some things happened... my cousin passed away. It affected basketball, and I ended up playing for [the G-League's] Iowa [Energy]."
Injuries and life have cost Jones III one shot, but now the 6'11" forward is rehabbing for another run at basketball. Only this time, he's come back to his roots in Waco.
"I feel like I needed to start over... be around, be around people that love me, be closer to my family. . . work with the coaching staff here, it is going to prepare me for my next chapter."
Jones III's next chapter, if the NBA doesn't give him another chance, is the Big 3, a 3-on-3 basketball league made up mostly of retired NBA players.
"I want my family to see me play on a big stage like that, that's something the Big 3 can do for me. Playing against people that I've had on my wall, that I watched growing up. That's a dream in itself. It might not be the NBA, but I get to play against legends that I used to watch and idolize."
Jones III is currently in the Big 3's draft. He says he should learn his fate in the next few months, but until then he's training at Baylor and working on his degree.
"Baylor's been my second home. Everybody here from the front office to the coaching staff to the managers to the ball boys to the fans... it's a great place to be and it's a great place to get better."
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