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The Daily's best: Jones ends stellar career with state championship [The Decatur Daily, Ala.](Decatur Daily (AL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apr. 7--After a career full of accolades, Hazlewood High's Amber Jones finally accomplished what every high school player dreams of. Jones will have a state championship ring to carry with her when she heads to UAB to play basketball next season, and she'll arrive as one of the most highly respected recruits in the state. The undisputed leader, taking her team to the Class 1A state championship this season, Jones is The Daily's Class 1A-3A player of the year. Jones said she remembers what she thought about former players who won player of the year awards on state and local levels. "That they're a great basketball player, and I wanted to be like them one day," Jones said. "I'm just glad I can be a role model for younger kids at the school to look up to." Two torn knee ligaments kept Jones sidelined during her freshman and junior years, but she averaged 18.7 points a game as a seventh grader, 28.7 points as an eighth grader and 24 points as a sophomore. As a senior, her 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals a game drove Hazlewood's girls to the Class 1A state championship. She was the Northwest Regional MVP all four times she played in the event and is the state's seventh leading scorer all-time. Smooth ball handling, aggressive defense and the kind of plays that left crowds in awe trademarked Jones' game. Hazlewood High graduate Nicholas Vinson coached Jones in basketball and track her senior year. "She's like a piranha," Vinson said, describing her comeback during her senior season. Vinson knew what winning a state title would mean not only to Jones personally, but to the school. The 2009 title was just the second girls basketball title in the school's history. The other was in 1998, the year Vinson graduated, but the school has 44 state championships in all sports combined. After sitting our her junior year following knee surgery for the second time, Jones said she was anxious to get back on the court, but a little afraid of not being able to play at a top level. Those fears were silenced when she posted 29 points in just the fourth game of her comeback season in the second week of December. Over the next month she continued to prove herself. She hit six 3-points for 34 points in a 66-46 win over Speake and scored 30-plus points three more times over the next four weeks. What could she do against the bigger schools? She poured in 34 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the Lady Golden Bears' 65-56 win at Class 4A-ranked Lawrence County on Jan. 5. With her senior season on the line in the sub-regional, Jones scored 36 to beat Tharptown in a come-from-behind effort to send the Lady Golden Bears to the Northwest Regional. She posted 24 points in the regional semifinal against Hubbertville and 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, passed out seven assists and blocked five shots as Hazlewood downed Belgreen to reach the state semifinals. Jones led Hazlewood all the way to the state finals where she had 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a 59-52 win over previously undefeated J.F. Shields for the championship. The state final was a place Hazlewood's girls had been five times in Jones' career, but had never won it. She made sure that this time it would happen, making seven of eight free throws in the fourth quarter, including two with 50 seconds left to seal the win. She was the MVP of the championship game. After graduating as Hazlewood's valedictorian in May, she'll take her game to UAB next season, recently committing to the Blazers of Conference USA after being showered with postseason honors including the Alabama Sports Writer's Association Class 1A player of the year and Super Five honors. Jones' former coach and mentor, Darin Liles, coached her from seventh grade through her junior season before switching to the boys side. Still, Liles remains one of her biggest fans and supporters, observing her remarkable talent first-hand. "Amber is a phenom. She deserves every accolade that comes her way," Liles said. "I feel privileged to have coached her for whatever amount of time it was. Players like Amber don't come around very often in a coach's career. As Louis Armstrong once said, 'There are plenty of Mona Lisas out there, but people still line up to see the original.' " And to Liles, Jones pure talent is original. "Like Coca Cola, 'Ain't nothing like the real thing baby,' " he said. Class 1A-3A girls all-area team First team Amber Jones, Hazlewood Hayden Hamby, West Morgan Bailee Robinson, Elkmont Kylie Black, Speake DaNeshia Malone, Clements Second team Sierra Sales, Tanner Jordan Johnson, Hatton Ashley Nance, Danville Alex Gholston, Hazlewood Stephanie Bentley, Elkmont Third team Kayloni Cross, Danville Amelia Ayers, Decatur Heritage Bernisha Harris, R.A. Hubbard Elizabeth Dison, West Limestone Whitlee Potter, West Morgan Player of the year: Amber Jones Coach of the year: Sonya Marks, Clements Related Stories: --Decatur Daily Class 1A-3A girls All-Area: The Daily's best: Marks transformed Clements into a regional finalist |