By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
About three minutes into the second quarter of Tuesdays’ (20/1) EuroLeague game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Maccabi Tel Aviv, center Tyrique Jones delivered what was to become the official No. 1 highlight of Round 23.
Tyson Ward drove toward the basket and noticed Jones also making his move in the same direction, ready to play the two-man offense. He threw the lob up high and his new teammate soared to catch the ball with his right hand way above the rim and bring it down for the slam in thunderous fashion.
The Reds crowd erupted in excitement, celebration and cheers. It was quite the contrast to Jones’s previous fan experience during his last stretch with former team Partizan Belgrade.
Amid a streak of losing results and disappointing team outings, Jones was among the players that became easy scapegoats for Partizan’s strugles. Even when he was delivering some of his signature powerful, energetic and often spectacular plays on the floor, the reaction by fans in Belgrade was booing instead of cheers, heckling instead of applause.
There was a permanent cloud of negativity emmiting toward him, regardless of how he was actually performing.
“I have love for the fans that loved me over there. But certain situations happened,” Jones told Eurohoops after his EuroLeague debut with Olympiacos in the win over Maccabi. “Now I’m moving forward. There’s no bad blood. I don’t feel anything bad towards them [Partizan fans]. Things happened that needed to happen. Now, I’m moving forward. I’m going to learn from it and continue to be myself.”
Some Partizan supporters were accusing Jones of displaying an indifferent attitude and even claimed that the injuries that sidelined him were fake. After his last game with Partizan – a 25-point loss to Maccabi – Jones had what appeared to be a heated interaction with some fans.
At this almost breaking point, the clock was just ticking for Jones’s exodus from Partizan. Olympiacos was one of the multiple teams interested in acquiring the 28-year-old big man and managed to secure his services with a multiyear contract.
Jones is now focused on leaving that past misadventures behind and channel his focus on the new high-aspiring challenges with the Olympiacos jersey.
“I just try to go out there and play basketball. I’m here now,” Jones said. “I’m trying to give my all to this club and to the other guys in the locker room. Every time I go out there I just try to be the best version of Tyrique Jones I can be.”
It’s not easy to join a EuroLeague team halfway through the season, succesfully adapt to a variety of diverse and sometimes demanding systems, and quickly click with your new teammates.
Jones named some players that have been of particular assistance to him in better understanding his role on the court.
“When I first got here, especially Nikola Milutinov talked to me,” Jones said. “He helped me run through the plays. Evan Fournier has been a huge help. But I everybody on the team has been guiding me and being helpful, particularly when it comes to defensive coverages.”
“I don’t think anything has been too hard,” Jones also mentioned on his adjustment to Olympiacos. “Just making a bit of mistakes. Defensive-wise, getting used to the principles. The guys on the roster and the coaches have been very helpful in helping me understand what we’re trying to accomplish, especially defensively. Where I’m supposed to be, mainly.”