Even Dick Vitale is blown away by Texas senior Andrew Jones’ story of cancer survival

Who’s the best story of the NCAA Tournament? Heck, who’s the best story in college basketball? It’s not even close. It’s Texas guard Andrew Jones, easily one of the toughest Longhorns ever.

Just ask Dickie V.

“Andrew is so special,” legendary college basketball announcer Dick Vitale told the American-Statesman earlier this week. The Texas guard was one of the featured honorees at Vitale’s annual gala last May down in Sarasota, Fla. The event raised $6.5 million for the V Foundation.

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“We annually bring a number of youngsters battling cancer — my All-Courageous Team,” Vitale said. “Andrew did a fantastic job inspiring them during the night. At my house the next night, we pay tribute to the youngsters, and Andrew could not have been nicer giving them words of encouragement. He was loved by all at the Gala.”

Jones was there when the 82-year-old broadcasting legend got a tough diagnosis last August, too.

“When I came down with melanoma and then lymphoma,” Vitale said, “he lifted my spirits with the messages he would send me. He represents Texas in such a positive and classy way.”

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Vitale and Jones now have something in common — both are cancer survivors. Vitale announced he was cancer free last Saturday and celebrated by going to the SEC Tournament, as a special guest of conference commissioner Greg Sankey.

Jones spent a few days last week at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. He scored five points in Texas’ quarterfinal game against TCU and is now tied for 10th on UT's all-time scoring list with Brandon Mouton.

Just four years ago, Jones and his family wondered if he might die from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Well, Jones dunked on cancer. Going into Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Virginia Tech, he’s got 1,582 career points, 10 shy of tying Kris Clack for ninth-most in school history.

A cancer survivor will go down in the record books as one of the greatest scorers in Texas basketball history.

The United States Basketball Writers Association will honor Jones at the Final Four as co-winner of this year’s Most Courageous Award.

Vitale knows the power of positivity. He’s hopeful Jones will come back to this year’s Dick Vitale Gala, where the goal is to raise $7 million for pediatric cancer research.

Everyone — young, old, doesn’t matter — could use a lift from time to time. That is Jones’ new gift, his new superpower, maybe even his new calling in life.

Boom, AJ1.

“It is so encouraging when a young guy like Andrew, who is a survivor, his words are very powerful,” Vitale said via text. “In the ultimate end, you want them to follow the words of my late buddy Jimmy Valvano.

“Don’t give up. DON’T EVER GIVE UP.”

Is this Jones’ last season?

Jones, who first enrolled at UT in 2016, is finishing up his sixth season with the Horns. He’s now 24 years old. Will this be his last?

Believe it or not, Jones actually has a seventh year available to him thanks to the COVID-19 exception granted to all NCAA athletes.

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“Who knows? I’m optimistic about everything,” Jones said Monday. “Because you never know what doors might open, you never know what God might put in your life moving forward. And I'm trying to live day by day, game by game. Who knows what could happen? The more we win, the better things are and the more peoples’ lives change.”

It feel like it's been forever since Jones' fractured wrist injury at Virginia Commonwealth in early December 2017 and the mysterious delay in his return. He felt so worn down, so UT doctors ordered some extra tests. Head coach Shaka Smart first told the team about Jones’ leukemia diagnosis and then broke the news to reporters the next day on Jan. 10, 2018.

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Within days, Jones’ family set up camp at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where his care was overseen by Dr. Elias Jabbour.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Jones said about those days. “For the first couple of months, I didn’t even talk, not even to my doctors. I didn’t talk to my mom. I wasn’t on my phone; my mom took my phone away from me. So I was just there, in a daze, day by day. It just took awhile for me to actually grasp my situation.

“Once, my doctor was like, ‘You’ve got to get up, you’ve got to move.’ He’s the one who told me I’m going to play basketball,” Jones said. “He believed in me more than I did. I used to look at him crazy when he told me that all the time.”

Play basketball again? Yeah, right. Later in 2018, Jones would tell The Players’ Tribune, “Most people hear cancer and… OK, death.” His father, David, told the website, “Five years? Six years, maybe? Man, that’s all my son got to live?”

On Monday, Jones recalled those days at MD Anderson.

“I’m sleeping with all these heartrate monitors. I can’t even wipe my own butt,” he said. "I can’t even brush my own teeth. I don’t know what he’s talking about. But as the days went on, I started feeling better, started getting a little more energy. I think it was the day I had my first walk around the floor, holding an IV and could barely move. My nurse kept saying, ‘It’s OK if you want to stop? You wanna stop?’ No, I don’t want to stop.”

Heck no, Jones wasn’t going to stop.

“At that point, I was going to go until I passed out,” he said. “The goal was 20 minutes. I was going to keep walking until I literally blacked out. But I felt good and I made it. So we started doing that every day.”

Jones had enough energy to get inside the nearby gymnasium. A video of him shooting baskets while standing still went viral. From there, it was only a matter of time before Jones was back in burnt orange.

David and Carla Jones, Andrew’s parents, haven’t missed many games this season. Andrew’s older brother and sister, Anthony and Alexis, have been there every step of the way, too.

“My dad is a big inspiration to me. But my mom is also a superhero,” Jones said. “Man, it’s unbelievable how strong she is emotionally and mentally throughout this entire journey.”

‘What does overconfident mean?’

Jones returned to game action in November 2018. He made one of two free throws against Eastern Illinois and two free throws against the Citadel. Just spelling out the drugs ponatinib and blinatumomab, much less taking them, is much harder by comparison.

“I heard Kanye (West) say this, ‘What does overconfident mean?’” Jones said. “I’m not the biggest Kanye fan, but I watched a documentary. He said people would look at him crazy for being overconfident. And at that moment, I didn’t realize how overconfident I was, you know?

“People were like, ‘Do you not know you can barely walk and barely run?’ I was like, I don’t care. I’m going to go out there. I had such belief in myself. With that self-confidence and belief, you can do anything.”

Jones played 31 games and averaged 11.5 points in his first full season back during the 2019-20 campaign. He averaged 14.6 points the following season and 10.7 this season under first-year coach Chris Beard.

One moment will forever stick out. Texas got demolished at Iowa State 81-52 on Feb. 15, 2020. Afterward in the tunnel, where UT players do post-game interviews, Jones didn’t want to answer any more questions about his health. “I want to be known as a basketball player,” he told the Statesman.

Done. No more questions about Jones’ health, not from the beat reporter, the coaches or his teammates.

Forward Brock Cunningham recalled last season’s runup to the Maui Invitational.

“Three days before, Andrew and I are getting chippier and chippier and it’s escalating,” Cunningham said. “We’re at the Maui Invitational, before we play that first game. We’re mid-practice, Andrew pokes the ball away from me. I thought there was a bit of contact, so I shoved him. So then we fight before the Maui Invitational.

“He catches me good, right underneath the nose, and then it gets broken up,” Cunningham said. “And we go on to win the Maui Invitational.”

Over three consecutive days, Texas beat Davidson, Indiana and North Carolina. Jones had 30 points combined. “Oh, I knew well before that he was fine. Well, well before that,” Cunningham said. “Andrew is a confident individual. He’s awesome to hang out with.”

Bouncing back stronger than ever

Now, it’s like the leukemia never happened. Jones is done taking medical trips to Houston on any sort of regular basis. That PICC line stuck in his arm is long gone.

Now, he’s one of the critical Longhorns who must play well if the team is to have any success in the NCAAs. Going 3-for-10 against Baylor, 4-for-14 against Kansas and 2-for-7 against TCU simply won’t cut it.

After Jones had 21 points against TCU on Feb. 23, Frogs coach Jamie Dixon was asked what he thought about the Longhorns guard. “I like the person he is and what he’s done to overcome his challenges,” Dixon said. “I think that’s enough. That’s pretty good.”

Beard went from coaching against Jones at Texas Tech to coaching alongside him at UT. He has been rooting for the fellow Irving native the whole time.

“Andrew Jones, I mean, he’s the toughest guy I’ve ever met,” Beard said. “He beat cancer. He’s not supposed to be here. He not only beat it, he’s playing basketball. He’s not only playing, he’s an all-conference player. The story is real.

“This wasn’t a deal where he went down and got a couple pops of chemo and he’s back,” Beard added. “This was a guy who was down for the count. He’s a hero kind of guy.”

Moving forward in basketball

It took awhile, but Jones now embraces his role as a cancer survivor and quasi-motivational speaker. Beard went with him down to the Dick Vitale Gala last May and “brought the house down.”

With new name, image and likeness opportunities, Jones has donated 10% of all money he’s received to The Jimmy V Foundation. So far, he’s given $1,000. “I can’t actually see the fund of how much has been donated, but I’m assuming it was $600 more than it was before because of me.”

Jones wants to have a role with the V Foundation going forward, whether he’s still playing basketball or not. Texas will participate in the Jimmy V Classic in December at Madison Square Garden in New York, although the opponent has yet to be named.

The game is part of “V Week” as part of ESPN’s efforts to raise money for cancer research.

Maybe Jones is still playing for the Horns next season, maybe not. It’s still undecided. What’s not up for debate is his impact on the Texas basketball program and the entire athletic department.

“You know, I don’t know what people think every time they see me,” Jones said. “I can catch their vibe. ‘Oh, he’s the guy who had leukemia. Oh, he’s the guy.’ And what I don’t want is anybody’s pity.

“Like, now I understand that people want to empathize with me,” he added. “I empathize with those who go through tragedies and stuff like that. But I don’t want anything handed to me based on my life circumstances.

“I grew up playing basketball, I made my name in basketball and I want to be able to do both. No hand-in-hand. Yes, I’m a cancer patient as a survivor who can inspire others. But also I want to be able to inspire people who play basketball. You know, that’s my dream and my passion.”

Doubt him, and Andrew Jones will dunk on you, too.

Contact Brian Davis by phone or text at 512-445-3957. Email bdavis@statesman.com or @BDavisAAS.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketballer Andrew Jones' cancer survival inspires teammates