Future in clear sight for USF's Dominique Jones

There have been numerous others raised here in this hilly town surrounded by orange groves and farmland who had the same goal as Dominique Jones. They had a vision of a better life thanks to their ability in a pair of gym shorts with a basketball in their hands.

Before he became an NBA star, Amare Stoudemire endured a troubled childhood here, eventually leaving and attending five more high schools after starting at Lake Wales. So did former NBA star Vin Baker, whose problems as a teenager forced him to leave town and attend a prep school in Connecticut. Some say Jones' older brother, Ralph Williams, was even more talented than Dominique when he left Lake Wales High in 1997.

Williams scored 39 points on an array of dunks and acrobatic moves in his final prep all-star game, and he later played at Pomona (Calif.) College and professionally in Italy. But Williams admits he was different than his younger brother, quickly learning that lesson when he returned here following several years away while Jones was in high school.

"He has always been driven," said Williams, who at 31 is 10 years older than Jones. "It would be a Friday night, and there would be little gatherings and people would be out, and he'd be working on his game. I was like, 'Man, this guy here is serious about this basketball.' I was good, but I never did go work out on my own."

While others shared a similar vision, Jones managed to keep his crystal clear.

"There were different things that stopped them from chasing their dream," Jones said. "Some of them went to jail, some of them got in trouble at school ... I'm just following my heart and doing what I've wanted to since I was a kid."

The starting point

The gym at Lake Wales High sits atop one of the largest hills in town, right next to the tall, blue water tower that reads "City of Lake Wales." Below to the east, flanked by an industrial area highlighted by rows and rows of trailers full of oranges parked outside the Florida Natural Orange Juice processing plant, is the rough-and-tumble neighborhood Jones spent much of his time in growing up.

Prior to starring at the University of South Florida for three seasons and developing into a possible first-round NBA draft pick, Jones and his buddies used to run up and down C Street and Lincoln Avenue, spending much of their time playing basketball on a hoop in the street that is no longer there.

It was there that Jones developed a unique toughness and the trademark determination that made him a star at USF and has caught the attention of NBA scouts and draft analysts.

"Back then, there used to be people all around, people with no job, basically guys out there trying to make a living just hustling in the streets," Jones said. "I'm talking about me being 12, 13 years old, playing against a guy who did five years in prison.

"He didn't take it easy on me, and I think that's something that affects me now."

Lake Wales boys basketball coach Billy Dee Washington, a Highlanders assistant when Jones played there, used to visit his grandmother in the same neighborhood and he would see Jones playing in the street. Washington respects Jones for maturing and staying on course while so many of his friends took more destructive paths.

"He could have easily gone the wrong way. That neighborhood, it's not the best and it's not the worst, but you could easily get trapped up in it," Washington said. "I've seen many players who have come through this gym, players better than he is, and they get caught up in that neighborhood and they never leave here.

"They are still here on the corner."

The guiding light

Norman Jones has spent the past several weeks in constant communication with his son. While Dominique has been in the Atlanta area working out with a personal trainer and playing pick-up games with former NBA and college players to prepare for June's draft, Norman keeps Dominique informed on what scouts, coaches and others are saying about his draft position.

Their father-son bond tightened when Norman became essentially a single parent for many years after Dominique's mother, Joanne Williams, left the family to battle personal issues when Dominique was very young.

"He loves her for being his mom," Norman said. "But there have been years and years without any conversation with her. That's why it was so important for me to be there.

"I never wanted him to feel like nobody had time for him."

Norman spent much of Dominique's youth serving as a father-coach figure, whether it was football, baseball or basketball. Before he began focusing on basketball in high school, Dominique was a star quarterback in middle school.

"I was really hoping he would play football," said Norman, a plumber who always found jobs that allowed him to attend his son's games.

By the time he arrived at Lake Wales High as a sophomore - Jones spent his freshman season at All-Saints Academy in Winter Haven - he began to blossom on the court, helping the Highlanders advance to the state semifinals.

Burney Hayes, a Lake Wales assistant who coached Jones on different AAU teams, remembers a tournament in Maryland the summer before Jones' sophomore season that seemed to wake up Jones, still maturing and uncertain of his direction at the time.

Hayes said Team Stat, a Central Florida-based AAU team once sponsored by Stoudemire, was playing a team coached by former NBA player Buck Williams that featured Jonny Flynn, the sixth pick in last year's NBA draft who recently completed a stellar rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Jonny Flynn dunked on Dominique," Hayes said with a chuckle. "That let him know that 'I can't settle,' and he hasn't settled since."

That's why Hayes is confident that no matter where Jones is drafted, he'll make an impact in the NBA.

"I think Dominique has the tools that nobody likes to talk about, which keeps you in that league," Hayes said. "He has heart, he has guts, he has determination, he has work ethic, and he is willing to listen."

Part of what makes Jones tick is the faith those close to him have shown him over the years. That's why he downplayed questions about any added pressure of carrying the Bulls last season when forward Gus Gilchrist, the team's other big scoring threat, missed half the season with an ankle injury.

"Everybody that I grew up with, they have high hopes for me," Jones said. "The people I looked up to when I was growing up, they've got high hopes for me. I've been dealing with pressure all my life, just with life in general and me and my family trying to get by."

A new challenge

Jones entered his name into the NBA draft in March, shortly after his junior season ended with a loss to N.C. State in the first round of the NIT. Based on early mock drafts, most analysts have him on the bubble between a late first-round pick and an early second-round pick. He is expected to challenge Solomon Jones (second round, 33rd overall pick in 2006) as USF's highest-drafted player.

Jones reaffirmed his decision Friday to remain in the draft, and he has personal workouts scheduled this week with the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs.

"I love it at South Florida, but I don't feel there is nothing else I can do there," he said. "I want to be around that NBA atmosphere, be around NBA coaches and other NBA players and learn from them."

At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Jones is considered a combo guard with a strong, athletic body, excellent ability to create his own shot, and solid defensive skills.

ESPN.com NBA draft analyst David Thorpe, who is executive director of Pro Training Center in Clearwater, considers Jones one of the draft's top sleepers.

"It's very easy to project him in the NBA as a scoring threat for his team's second unit," Thorpe wrote in his most recent blog. "Assuming his shot from the perimeter will improve, which is a fair assumption, he could become a very dangerous player."

Norman Jones said "the objective is to be a middle first-rounder or better."

One of USF coach Stan Heath's first tasks when he took over the program in 2007 was to drive to Lake Wales and meet his new star player, whom Heath also recruited at Arkansas before coming to USF.

Heath would have liked to have Jones back next season, but he understands Jones' decision to leave school early to fulfill his lifelong dream and to help those who helped him growing up.

"He feels deep down that he wants to be able to help his family and improve his life, and obviously basketball is a vehicle in helping him reach that goal," Heath said. "He is going to find a way to make it. He is not going to be in awe of anybody when he steps out there on the court."

Back in Lake Wales, those who have known Jones the longest plan to follow the draft closely for the next several weeks. While there have been many good players to call the town home, no Lake Wales graduate has been an NBA draft pick.

"It would be great for the school, and it would be great for him," said Washington, Lake Wales' coach. "Basically, it's been long overdue for the talent that has come through this town. Finally, somebody is determined to make a breakthrough. I have never seen a player more determined than Dominique Jones."