“Our team was huge tonight,” Kam Jones said after securing a win for the Golden Eagles and one for himself. The 22-year-old sealed his name in history as he became the third player in Marquette men’s basketball history to achieve a triple-double in a game. In doing so, he broke the previous record set by Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade. As the team celebrated this new feat, the alumnus also sent his good wishes to the Marquette star.

Taking to his social media handle, Wade congratulated Jones. He shared an IG story featuring Jones’ stats and wrote, “Congrts to my guy Kam.” It was certainly nostalgic to watch Jones deliver a dominant performance of 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists to shatter Purdue’s 39-game regular-season non-conference winning streak. 

His rebounds and assists in the matchup against Purdue showed significant improvement, which speaks of the hard work and perseverance that led him to break Wade’s record.

The Flash was the second player to achieve a triple-double in 2003. The Golden Eagles saw their best record of 26 wins with Wade since 1994. Wade took the team to the Final Four for the first time since 1977. He set several historic records, with the big moment coming in the Elite 8 of the 2003 tournament. Playing against Kentucky, Wade scored 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, breaking Tony Miller’s record set in 1994.

While both games were significant for the team, they had an even special meaning for Jones.

Kam Jones wanted to dedicate this game to his former coach

Jones recently lost his freshman-year coach, Terry Tippett, who coached him at Evangelical Christian in Memphis, Tennessee. Tippett, who passed away at 79, had six Tennessee state championships and a glorious basketball coaching career. This was Jones’ first game after Tippett’s passing, and he wanted to dedicate it to his coach. “I wanted to really dedicate this game to him and dedicate the rest of the season to him,” Jones said

And his determination was evident. The Tennessee guard was also the top scorer for the Golden Eagles in the last two seasons. Playing a supporting role, he averaged 15.1 points during the 2022-23 Big East championship and 17.2 points in their 2023-24 Sweet 16 run.

However, with the two-star players getting drafted in the second round of the NBA, Jones had to step up this year. And he did as he averaged 22.6 points per game this season. Coming back to the present, the Golden Eagles’ riveting defense against top-tier opponents Purdue was clearly on display as it held a dominant seven-point lead over the team at halftime.

After maintaining a lead throughout the game, Marquette won 76-58 over No. 6 Purdue. Stevie Mitchell had 21 points to lead the team and support Jones. After Jones ‘ stellar performance for the Golden Eagles, more accolades will probably follow for the team and the players.