Black History Month Story / Will Jones Story
It was the summer of 1972 and it was early in my basketball career. That summer I was fortunate enough to create a memory in my basketball journey that would last a lifetime. My mother registered me for my first basketball camp, the American University camp located in the Pocono Mountains. The camp was run by Tom Young who went on to have a stellar coaching career at Rutgers (i.e., Final Four Finalist) as well as Dr. Tom Davis who coached successfully at Boston College & Iowa U. We also had a special guest visit from Chuck Daley who coached at Penn and went on to take the Detroit Pistons to the NBA championship. It was there I met my mentor/counselor Will Jones, the most animated personality in DMV basketball history, I liken him to the GREATEST Muhammad Ali. Will was a muscular smooth cat sporting some slick coaching shorts that I had never seen before; He took me under his wing without hesitation. His keen eye for raw talent afforded a young man heading into his junior year of high school the chance to play with college ballers. One of those college standouts was Kermit Washington the last player to average 20 points & 20 rebounds in division1 basketball. Washington went on to have a very productive NBA career. Kermit was walking around the camp with a weight jacket, he was determined to lead the nation in rebounding, It got an up close and personal view of what dedication looks like. That jacket he was wearing created some explosive hops; Kermit was a beast on the glass. I remember taking him to the basket in a counselor game one night and he blocked my shot off the mountain, that was embarrassing. The ball was never found. I left that camp feeling confident, I thought I could ball with anyone. I was ready for the world!
Later in my journey after my senior year in high school, I played in the Tournament of Champions at Woodson high school. That tournament had the best players on the east coast. I was playing alongside Moses Malone (i.e., NBA Hall of Fame) and Skip Wise (Balt Legend). I was checking the great point guard Aubrey Nash, a Dematha All-Met who had won a city championship & taken Kanas to Final Four. He went for 25 points in the 1st half before they put me on him, and I was on him like a cheap suit. I held Aubrey to 6 pts in the 2nd half of the game and we went on to victory. Coach Jones was standing at the exit and he remarked to me “Penny Greene” I knew you could shoot the ball, but I did not know you played defense like that son! “That was an immensely proud moment for me, I had the blessing from one of the godfathers of DC Basketball.
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Willie Jones vs Georgetown
