Bobby Jones (basketball, born 1984)
Bobby Ray Jones Jr. is an American-born naturalised-Equatorial Guinean professional basketball player for Scaligera Basket of the Italian Serie A2. He notably played for five different NBA teams in a single season, later moving to Italy to continue his career.
College career
Jones played high school basketball with Dominguez for three years - playing alongside Tyson Chandler - before moving to Long Beach Polytechnic for his senior year amidst the controversial nomination of Mack Calvin as coach.He joined the University of Washington, playing in the Pacific-10 Conference of the NCAA Division I, in May 2002.
Playing 27 games as a freshman, the last 15 as a starter, he averaged 4.1 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he was involved in 31 games, posting averages of 11.2 points. His junior season saw him start all but one of the 34 games he played in, contributing 11.2 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds for Washington as they won the 2005 Pac-10 Tournament for the first time.
He averaged 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in his senior season. At the end of his Huskies career in 2006, Jones was ranked 20th among the school's all-time scorers with 1,226 career points and 4th in career steals with 134.
His last collegiate game was the NABC College All-Star game.
Professional career
2006–07 season
Jones was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 37th pick in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft on 28 June 2006, he was traded the same day to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a 2007 second-round draft pick and cash considerations.He was assigned to the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League on 28 November, averaging 13.7 points and 8 rebounds in around 24 minutes per game over 3 games, before being recalled on 8 December.
With the Sixers he would have 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in more than 7 minutes per game in the NBA over 44 appearances, with an end of season flourish of 13.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 31 minutes on average over the last four games of the season.
2007–08 season
On 10 September 2007, the Denver Nuggets announced they had traded for Jones and Steven Hunter in exchange of Reggie Evans and Ricky Sanchez's draft rights.He was waived by the Nuggets on 7 January 2008, having averaged 3.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 23 games, the Memphis Grizzlies signed him to a 10-day contract on 10 January.
After posting 20 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in a matchup with the Seattle SuperSonics, he was signed to another 10-day contract, the last one the Grizzlies could offer before signing for the season or releasing him.
They did not offer him a new contract and he moved to D-League side Sioux Falls Skyforce, playing only two games before being called up by the Houston Rockets on 26 February 2008.
Returning to the Skyforce after ten days passed, he played in one game before again being called back to the NBA, signing a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat on 12 March.
Posting 8 points and 4 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes per game over six contests with Miami, including a team-high 15 points in his final game, was not enough to earn a contract extension and he returned to the Skyforce at the expiry of his contract.
He would play only two more games for the Skyforce, signing for his fifth NBA team of the season, the San Antonio Spurs, on 1 April.
Right after that contract, on 11 April, Jones was re-signed by the Denver Nuggets on a deal until August, with a non-guaranteed option for the next season.
2008–09 season
On 28 July 2008, Jones was traded along with Taurean Green and 2010 draft second round pick for the New York Knicks' Renaldo Balkman and cash considerations.In effect he was just a bargaining chip in a salary dump by the Knicks, who - with 17 players compared to the league maximum of 15 - were widely expected to cut him, which happened the next day.
On 5 August 2008, he was claimed off waivers by the Miami Heat, but after Yakhouba Diawara was signed at his position two days later, he was again waived on 15 August.
He joined the Sacramento Kings' training camp on 30 September, before being waived again on 21 October.
Returning to the Sioux Falls Skyforce in November 2008, he spent the 2008-09 D-League season with the team, finishing with 16.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in more than 34 minutes per game after playing 49 games.
2009–10 season
Jones played with the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Summer League from 13 to 19 July 2009, posting 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals in nearly 25 minutes per game.He declared preferring an overseas move over another D-League contract if he did not make an NBA team by mid-to-late August, which happened sooner as he signed a contract with Italian Serie A side Banca Tercas Teramo on 24 July 2009. Jones signed a contract to 76ers on January 23, 2010.
His Teramo career started well as he scored a team-high 16 points in the 27 October game against APOEL, including two contest-winning free-throws with 5 seconds left to play, that helped the Italians reach the group stage of the European second-tier Eurocup.
He finished the competition 12 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals over 27 minutes per game, posting 11 points 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in around 25 minutes per game domestically, all the while mystifying observers by alternating great performances and apathetic no-shows.
2010–11 season
Despite having one-year left on his two-year contract with, Jones bemoaned his difficulties living abroad and adapting to the European game, publicly contemplating a departure.He left Teramo but stayed in Italy and the Serie A, signing for Fabi Shoes Montegranaro in July 2010.
Averaging 7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2 steals in around 22 minutes per game, Jones did not convince Montegranaro, who replaced him with Ryan Toolson and released him in March 2011.
He moved right after to Fulgor Libertas Forlì of the second division LegaDue.
Forlì - at the time battling to avoid relegation - won 8 of 9 games played after Jones' arrival to stave off relegation, with the American contributing 17.2 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals per game.
2011–12 season
Jones did not answer Forlì's attempts to extend his contract, penning another with rival LegaDue side Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia in July 2011.At first struggling with fouls, committing more than any other player in the league at one stage, that limited his playing time, Jones flourished after being repositioned as a power forward halfway through the season, augmenting his points and rebounds averages whilst diminishing his ejections.
He averaged 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds over the season, with some decisive performances in the promotion playoffs to help Pistoia reach the finals against Enel Brindisi, though they were thwarted in their efforts to earn the lone Serie A spot.
That was in spite of an incredible game 3 performance from Jones, that saw him contribute 31 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals while drawing 12 fouls to earn a game-high valutation of 37, in a victory that kept the series alive at the time.
2012–13 season
Jones returned to the Serie A in all cases, signing a deal with Acea Roma on 26 July 2012.Unequal performances saw him average 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in around 19 minutes per game during the regular season.
He had a more positive impact during the playoffs, starting in the quarterfinal series against Trendwalker Reggio Emilia, with 16 points and 9 rebounds coupled and a good defense on Andrea Cinciarini during game 3, then 9 points and 10 rebounds for a +/- of +19 in the decisive game 7.
In the finals series against Montepaschi Siena, he was determinant in a diverse way, scoring only 3 points but committing 4 fouls, including an unsportsmanlike foul when he held back Daniel Hackett by his jersey with only 41 seconds left in the game, which moved Siena's lead from 3 to an unassailable 7, as they claimed the title in the following game.
He ended the playoffs having played 19 matches in total, for 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in nearly 27 minutes on average.
2013–14 season
On 23 August 2013, Jones re-signed with Roma for another season.Rome had expected him to acquire Cotonou status, however, Jones' efforts to acquire a Dominican Republic passport were unsuccessful and he was not played by Rome to avoid going over the foreigner limit.
After acquiring a passport from Equatorial Guinea, Jones played his first league game of the season on 10 November, posting 20 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist to help a Rome side coming from two defeats beat Caserta.
The team's next game in the Eurocup, in which Jones had been able to play earlier in the season, also saw him in good form, posting a team-high 19 points against Bonn.
In Serie A, Jones had a consistent 2013-14 season, finishing with 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in nearly 28 minutes across 31 games, as Roma's playoff run was again stopped by Montepaschi, this time in the semifinal, notwithstanding a good game 4 performance from Jones that brought them their only win in the series.
2014–15 season
Jones was the only Virtus player reconfirmed the next year, as the cash-strapped club assembled a squad made of rookies and players unproven in the Serie A.The team predictably struggled, with Jones one of few to perform well, he was singled out by the La Gazzetta dello Sport as one of the unrehalded key men of the league.
He was also decisive in the Italians' Eurocup campaign where his good output, including a 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists game against Nymburk that gave him a PIR of 36, helped them reach the Last 32.
This streak continued in that round, with Jones contributing 8 rebounds and 18 points, of which a three-point play that sent the game to overtime, as Roma beat Krasny Oktyabr on their way to the Eighthfinals.
His form dipped afterwards, he had little impact in the Eighhfinals defeat to Banvit, before a hand fracture ended his season in mid-April, leaving Rome short of his leadership and defense.
His average statistics at the end of the season read: 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in nearly 29 minutes in the Serie A, 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals over 27 minutes in the Eurocup.
2015–16 season
With Roma reported to have opted out of the second year on his contract, he became a free agent, signing with fellow Serie A side Juvecaserta for the 2015–16 season on 7 August 2015.2016–17 season
On 13 July 2016, Unione Cestistica Casalpusterlengo was reported to have signed Jones. On 15 March 2017, Jones was reported to have parted-way with Unione Cestistica Casalpusterlengo.2017–18 season
On 9 July 2017, Pallacanestro Mantovana was reported to have signed Jones.2018–19 season
On 28 September 2018, NPC Rieti was reported to have signed Jones.2019–20 season
On December 2, 2019, he has signed with Roseto Sharks of the Italian Serie A2. On January 9, 2020, he has signed with Scaligera Basket of the Italian Serie A2.International career
Whilst at Washington, Jones was part of the United States representative national team that went to the 2005 Summer Universiade, played in İzmir that August.He averaged 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1 assist and steal apiece off the bench as the unbeaten U.S. team took home gold.