“There would be other kids there around the same age, squirming, crying, wanting bottles, wanting food. Kameron would literally sit there and turn his head back and forth and watch the whole game all the way through. It was crazy,” said Kam Jones’ father, describing one of his early encounters with the game.

Today, he is Marquette’s leading guard who personifies a perfect blend of Shaka Smart’s core beliefs, i.e. relationships, growth, and victory, and is shining bright for the Golden Eagles. Playing his fourth season at Marquette, Jones put out quite the display in the open scrimmage in early October. So, let’s take a deep dive into the makings of a trailblazing basketball student-athlete.

Meet Kam Jones, the son of an Air Force Sergent

Born in 2002, Jones grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He fell in love with the game when he was little, playing basketball with his father, Kevin, at the YMCA. More so, they would enjoy talking about sports, playing video games, and HORSE together.

But more importantly, having an Air Force Sergent, as his dad, nurtured the values in him. “He shaped me into the man I am. He’s a great role model, someone I really look up to and I know he’s always going to be there for me. I know he loves me and cares about me,” said Kam.

Although a Sergent, Kevin never became a super strict father around the house, rather he maintained an easygoing relationship with Kam. “I tried to purposely not do that, but some of the elements still leak over. I’ll say I adhere to a standard and I don’t bend and break. Below the standard is not going to cut it. As far as folding your T-shirts in six-inch circles and putting your dish a certain way, nah it’s not like that,” he added.

During his time in high school, Kam Jones played for Evangelical Christian School in Cordova, Tennessee, under Coach Willie Jenkins. There, he led his high-school team to back-to-back state semifinal appearances.

Jones’ time in high school

As a freshman, he averaged 12.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, secured a spot on the all-district squad, and was the team’s most valuable player. He competed on the AAU circuit for Team Thad and received the honor of the program’s top players in 2019.

As a sophomore, he averaged 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. That season, he was named an all-district once again. His growing potential led him to honors like the program’s most valuable player and the district’s top player award.

As a junior, he helped his team to the Division 2-A semifinals averaging 20.4 points per game. That season, his team put out an overall record of 21-10 and made their first appearance in the state semifinals in almost a decade.

As a senior, he put out a double-double average of 20 points and 10 rebounds and led the program to a 17-9 overall record in the 2020-21 season. After finishing high school, Kam Jones became a nationally ranked prospect and was named Division II Class A Mr. Basketball by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Now it was time for him to go to college. During that process, Jones took heed of the lessons he had learned from his father. One of them was that every action has a consequence and the other one was never to give up.

How did Jones end up at Marquette?

Those lessons helped him as he moved forward with the recruitment process. He remained unranked in the 247Sports Composite, however, his recruitment process picked up pace when he received offers from a couple of other programs in the last month, i.e. South Alabama and Florida.

“I just feel like with all that’s been going on now, I never thought that this wouldn’t happen. I was always confident in myself and knew that I worked hard. It was frustrating, not having people see what they see in me now. I felt like I always worked hard and it was always in me,” Kam expressed his thoughts.

As a freshman, he averaged 7.4 points trying to make a difference. He made his collegiate debut against Jackson State and spent 24 minutes on the floor, scoring 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists. He had a career-high 19 points against Georgetown and was named to the Big East All-Freshman team.

As a sophomore, he was named to the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off all-tourney team after he averaged 16.5 points through 2 games. He was then named All-Big East Second Team, NABC All-District 5 second team, Big East Conference All-Tournament Team, and Big East All-Academic Team.

As a junior, Jones added some colors to his hat as he led his team in scoring and became the program’s 51st player to reach 1000 career points. He had 4 30+ point games in the regular season and opened the NCAA Tournament with a 28-point performance against WKU. All in all, he’s a talent to watch out for.