Texas Basketball: 3 reasons why the Longhorns will be better than Texas Tech in 2018-19
2. Inspiration of the season
College basketball was dominated by sordid stories last season, from FBI scandals to recruiting scandals to combined scandals. A storyline that wasn’t self-inflicted, but just as devastating, was the cancer diagnosis of Texas star and potential NBA draft pick Andrew Jones.
Since he took his leave of absence from the team upon learning of a leukemia diagnosis, Jones has been fighting his cancer like hell, making progress day by day.
Just last week, Jones posted an emotional video on Twitter, showing him ringing a bell to mark the end of his chemotherapy treatment.
The last 8 months have been crazy and stressful for me and my family but with the grace of god we can see a better day. I’ll like to say th thanks to all the fans and supports #hookem #aj1Boom 🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/r6gsu9uy3k
— Andrew Jones (@Drewdotcash1) August 24, 2018
Jones returning to the court this season seems somewhat unlikely. People are discussing his recovery and progress in terms of him returning to school and enrolling in classes, not practicing basketball and enduring intense cardio workouts on the court two nights a week.
There is a chance that he returns to the bench, however, in a pseudo graduate assistant role, helping Shaka Smart run some plays from the huddle. That in itself would be a victory that stretches well beyond the basketball court.
No matter what unfolds, Andrew Jones is already THE feel good story of the college basketball season. He’ll serve as an inspiration to teammates and peers alike.