Dom Amore: On Asjha Jones’ night, the Sun played her kind of game
Geno Auriemma coached it, Curt Miller watched it from far. If there is a game that defined Asjha Jones, it was the 2012 Olympics game against Australia, that time Liz Cambage scored 19 in the first half, then Jones came off the bench to defend her for USA Basketball.
“Asjha was waiting at the free-throw line and Liz came across the 3-point line,” Auriemma told the crowd assembled to honor Jones after the Connecticut Sun’s 77-60 victory over the L.A. Sparks in their home opener Saturday night. “And Asjha went bam. ... [Cambage] didn’t score again in the second half.”
Jones was the one UConn player Auriemma went to the mat to get on that Olympic team, and she was a difference-maker, as she would be as a pro, with her sheer toughness.
“I always appreciated the chip on her shoulder,” Miller said. “As big and as tough as she is, she was regarded as undersized. She guarded Liz Cambage better than even some of the true, dominant big centers for years. And she was on that team for that matchup.”
That was Jones in a nutshell, not as flashy as some of her UConn teammates on some of the best teams Auriemma, or anyone else ever assembled, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tamika Williams, Swin Cash, but she came from New Jersey to work, and she came to make her presence felt.
The Sun added Jones’ No. 15 to its banner in the rafters, signifying the franchise’s legends, and they honored her, too, by playing her kind of game. Cambage, 31, is still around, with the Sparks, still dominating, and here she was held to 10 points and four rebounds, most of that defensive handiwork from Brionna Jones, one of the best defenders in the league.
“I’ve watched Liz play for years. She’s just a force,” Jones said. “And they did a good job on her, players who actually battled with her. That’s what you need, right? Somebody to sneak in there and muck it up. I was proud of them tonight. It’s fun to watch when people play physical, and a lot of times that gets lost in the game today. Frequent movement and all that stuff, scoring points.”
Jones’ physical style didn’t fit Washington, her first pro team, and she was traded to the Sun to play for Mike Thibault in 2004, for the franchise’s second season after being in relocated from Orlando, Fla. Both Jones, 41, now an executive with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and the Sun, who are celebrating Year 20, have proved their staying power. They grew up together, in a way.
“When I first started, we were so new, a lot of the fans were coming in UConn gear,” Jones said. “And I would pass them and say, ‘OK, that’s great, but now your season’s over. Buy some new gear. You can be UConn fans and Sun fans. The seasons actually allow for that.’ I mean, fans in Connecticut are amazing.”
Saturday night was a time to recognize Jones’ nine years with the franchise. She’s second in Sun history in games (271), points, (3,336) and rebounds (1,447). When she returned to UConn last December for a celebration of the university’s Olympians, Sun president Jen Rizzotti told Jones her number would soon be retired. It was time.
“It’s players that started here, that came before our current group that deserve a lot of credit for building our fan base, building the excitement for a pro team in the state of Connecticut,” Miller said. “Asjha, as a UConn player on top of that, is a beloved star of this franchise. You just have to take a glance at her career rankings in major categories and you realize the impact she had on some of those great Mike Thibault teams that were knocking on the door.”
The Sun reached the WNBA Finals twice during Jones’ time. The championship has continued to be elusive for the franchise, but Jones won hers with Minnesota in 2015, becoming one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA championship, a FIBA World Cup gold medal and a WNBA championship.
She did by showing up for work ready to muck it up. “She never missed a day of practice,” Auriemma said. “If you asked her where the trainer’s room was, she’d say she has no idea.”
Last April, after several years coaching in the WNBA, Jones took a front office job in Portland, as director of basketball strategy and planning. Part of her growth, after Thibault encouraged her to start coaching, is an openness to new ideas, to getting out of her comfort zone.
“It was really comfortable for me to say no to things,” Jones said. “I told myself, ‘I can’t do that anymore.’ Once they laid out the description, I said, ‘That’s me. That’s who I am. That’s what I’ve been looking for.’ It has morphed into more than I expected. The person I wanted to learn from (Joe Cronin) is now our GM, so I’m learning from him. I’m in meetings. My wife [Jennifer Nolan-Jones] and I joke about it, ‘I’ve got to go exec-uate,’ I just made that word up. I count my blessings, because I could not have predicted this for my future.”
Maybe she doesn’t start her days off with a bam anymore, but it’s a solid bet Jones makes her presence felt.
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.
