Falcons' Aaliyah Jones is becoming CHSAA standout
11/13/12 - 09:30 PM
SETH WALDER
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The hard work and early mornings are just starting to pay dividends for Aaliyah Jones.
The sophomore guard at Bishop Ford has many memories of 6 a.m. wake-ups — extra early, she said, because she takes a long time to get ready — in Charlotte, N.C., working out with her dad and her cousin.
“It was no break for me: We just played ball, played ball, played ball,” Jones said. Any chance they got, her father would take her down to Charlotte to visit his niece, teaching them both to play basketball in the process.
When she reached high school at Bishop Ford, the tall, lanky teenB still had her father running her through drills.
But this time, he was her coach.
Rick Jones ran the Bishop Ford J.V. squad, while Aaliyah ran the show as the point guard.
“It’s hard to deal with your father as your coach; you don’t want to hold grudges,” Jones said, smiling. “But at the end of your day, he’s your coach on the court but your father when you step off.
“Basically, he taught me everything I know.”
Even at home, the coaching continued. Rick Jones said he used to sit in the living room with Aaliyah, watching basketball, and he would freeze the game on his DVR and ask her what she would do in certain situations. Then he would resume the tape and they’d find out if she’d made a good decision.
Now a sophomore and a member of the Lady Falcons varsity, Jones is making a name for herself. Bishop Ford is 14-1, and Jones has been a large part of that success. Her style of play has changed, too.
“This year I just started, my form and shot are beginning to work. Last year on J.V. I used to always penetrate,” said Jones. “This year it seems as if my shot’s been working.”
In Bishop Ford’s game at St. Francis Prep on Wednesday, Jones’ shot was definitely still working.
She hit two 3-pointers — the first from several feet beyond the arc — for the team’s second and third field goals of the game. Jones finished with 16 points in the 56-37 win over the winless Terriers.
With the Falcons playing out the clock in the fourth quarter, Bishop Ford coach Mike Toro caught Jones taking a deep breath. “Oh, so you’re tired?” Toro asked her.
“No, I’m good,” Jones said, chuckling while jogging down the court to make sure she stayed in the game.
Toro doesn’t hold back in his praise for Jones. He says that because she played J.V. as a freshman, Jones has been overshadowed by the likes of fellow sophomores Sierra Calhoun (Christ the King) and Bianca Cuevas (Nazareth).
“I feel like every game, for some reason she has to prove herself,” Toro said. “She’s just as good, if not better than these kids. And I’m not intimidated to say it.”
Toro coached all of Wednesday’s game after missing some practices this week. The coach is recovering from a series of anxiety attacks he had since the death of Nazareth coach Apache Paschall earlier this month.
Toro said he has been asked not to discuss his health issues, but he did indicate that he was feeling better. “Slowly, but surely,” his status was improving, he said.
“We’re kind of scared and shaky about it,” said Jones. “But at the end of the day, we still have to play ball. It’s been a roller-coaster for us: Sometimes our intensity is up, sometimes it’s down.”
swalder@nydailynews.com
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