– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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DENTON, TEXAS — In a frustrating season during an otherwise stellar college basketball career, North Texas guard Rubin Jones was reminded of his worth and the historical place that he’s taken in the program before Sunday’s contest, just the fifth game he’s played in the new year. After the recognition, Jones went about showing off to everyone inside the Super Pit another sample of his all-around play that brought a championship to the school a couple of season ago — and another victory for this season.
Jones scored a game-high 18 points and also dished out six assists as the Mean Green 84-69 inside of the Super Pit on Sunday afternoon. Jones’ backcourt mate, Jason Edwards, also scored 18 points as North Texas, in winning its second straight game, scored 80-plus points in back-to-back games since 2012.
Before today’s contest, Jones, a senior, was honored by the school in a pregame ceremony for being the program’s all-time winningest player earlier in the season. Jones was a member of the 2021 UNT squad that won the Conference USA Tournament and eventually defeated Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as well as on the 2022 team that won the NIT postseason tournament and finished with a school-record 31 wins. Jones missed 11 consecutive games due to a hamstring injury and only came back to the lineup last Saturday in a home defeat to UTSA. In the last two games, Jones has looked like his old self, averaging 17 points and six assists.
“I can’t put into words what Rubin means to this program and means to me personally.” said North Texas head coach Ross Hodge. “To know his heart and how much he’s about winning and to be honored before the game as the all-time winningest player and play like he did and has been, I’m really happy for him and his family.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s contest, with photos taken by Dallas-area photographer Ross James. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 23 pictures in total.
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