St. Martin's Jones overcomes two ACL injuries, signs with South Alabama

"It meant everything," she said later of those in attendance.

One of the top 2016 players in the state, Jones initially committed to South Alabama during the summer, but made her pledge official Friday.

"It was close to home. I wanted to stay close to my family," Jones said. "They have my major (health science, with a minor in education) and it's a good educational university."

Jones and her coaches acknowledged during the ceremony that a few years back, signing with a Division I school looked like it might be a long shot. After her eighth grade season, and then at the end of her sophomore year, Jones needed knee surgeries. But she worked to get through the rehab and hasn't looked back.

"I had doubts," the soft-spoken Jones said, "but my support helped me get through it."

Jones' ability to fight through two potentially crippling ACL injuries was no surprise to Bell.

"She pushed through everything and here she is today," Bell said. "It's her work ethic. She works hard and she's driven

"When practice is over I just have to run her out of the gym. It's time to go home and she wants to stay and shoot."

Scoring in buckets

Her production the last two years has stood out among her peers. After averaging 22.2 points per game with 9.9 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.6 blocks as a junior, Jones is once again off to a hot start. Through three games, she's averaging 22.7 points, 10.7 rebounds with 2.0 steals and 4.3 assists.

"She can do everything," Bell said.

Shoots like a dream

Jones' shooting is what will take her as far as she wants to go at the next level.

"She shoots the 3 like a dream," Bell said. "She's the best pure shooter I've ever coached. It's beautiful. A lot of people say they've never seen someone shoot the way she does.

"She hit a 3 from 4 feet behind the line (Thursday) like it was nothing. It was beautiful."

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 2:51 PM with the headline "St. Martin's Jones overcomes two ACL injuries, signs with South Alabama ."