Along the way, Ohio State commit Dorian Jones turned grandma's coaching into success
RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio – Charlotte Powell can hoop, and she has the accolades to prove it.
Before she joined the coaching staff for the girls’ basketball team at Lyndhurst (Ohio) Brush, Powell scored more points than anyone in the history of Salem (West Virginia) University. It earned her an induction into the school’s athletics hall of fame and a position on the conference’s list of the top 25 women’s athletes from its first 25 years.
It also uniquely afforded her an opportunity to help shepherd the growth of a future Buckeye. Seven years ago, Powell was in the gym at Brush when her firstborn grandson, Dorian Jones, came to her with a request.
“I came up to her and said I’m ready to play, and probably the next day she put me into AAU,” Jones said.
Now a member of Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class, Jones announced his commitment in a ceremony at Richmond Heights High School. Seated at a table on the stage in the atrium just outside of the gym, Jones’ family members removed layers of outer clothing to showcase scarlet-colored Ohio State shirts underneath as he made his announcement.
Just to his left was Powell, whose love of the game helped push Jones along on his journey. Although the two-time conference player of the year had spent much of her life working in a gym, she approached her grandson’s nascent interest in the game with a hands-off approach.
If he wanted to play, it wasn’t going to be because she pushed him in that direction. It had to be his decision, and that conversation took place when Jones was in fourth grade.
“Oh, I was excited,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to have somebody to give my learning and teaching to, so he said he wanted to play and I was excited.”
Powell scored 1,451 points at Salem and was a two-time West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year. In 1995, she led the WVIAC in scoring (24.2 points per game) and field-goal percentage (55.7%) while earning second-team NAIA All-America honors. One year later, she again led the league in scoring (23.5 points per game) and in 3-point shooting percentage (39.2%). In both seasons, Powell finished among the top 10 in rebounding and assists.
Powell played professionally for the Cleveland Crush of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League before starting a 20-year career working with at-risk mothers at Catholic Charities. Now she’s an intervention specialist in addition to her duties as assistant coach and trainer for her grandson.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “He’s the firstborn, and so that automatically gave us a close connection. Being able to have played myself to understand what it is that he’s going through and be able to provide him the input, it’s great.”
A four-star recruit, the 6-5, 175-pound Jones picked Ohio State from a list of finalists that also included Michigan, Missouri and Rutgers, with the Scarlet Knights proving to be the most significant challenge to the Buckeyes. Jones is the No. 60 national recruit according to 247Sports.com, which ranks him as the No. 13 shooting guard in the nation and No. 2 player in Ohio.
After watching Jones make his announcement, Powell said it was a different situation than when she graduated from high school.
“It’s very rewarding,” she said. “I had a lot of offers, but back then I didn’t have anybody to guide me. It’s really a big thing for me to be able to be here present for him, to be able to help him through this journey.”
In celebrating his commitment to Ohio State, Jones credited the impact Powell has had on his game.
“She’s helped a lot,” he said. “Her being in the gym with me every day, paying attention to the little things, yelling at me, it got emotional in the gym some days but she really helped me a lot.”
Powell’s primary emphasis has been on Jones’ shooting, a facet of his game Richmond Heights coach Quentin Jones cited as being among his skills most likely to translate to the collegiate level. She’s just one of several coaches who have helped him along the way, but her impact has been indelible, he said.
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“He’s been a gym rat,” he said of the guard. “She got the basis of his game going and she let other people put their hands on him and they’ve still got that relationship where he still gets up shots with her.”
The work continues. Powell said she’s still trying to help her grandson improve his shot as he enters his senior season with the Spartans after he averaged 14.1 points per game and earned first-team all-Ohio honors while helping Richmond Heights win a third consecutive state championship.
He’s made it this far, though. And he’s gotten here in part because he asked grandma for help.
“It’s been long,” she said of the journey. “It’s been a lot of hours, but very, very joyful. He’s a great kid. Willing to learn. Excited about his future and playing basketball.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball: Dorian Jones developed with grandma's help
