David Jones looked down at the iPhone in his left hand, dialed his mother’s number via FaceTime and made a bet with himself.

“I know she will answer on the third (ring),” Memphis basketball’s newest star said confidently. “One. Two. Don’t let me down! Three – wow, that’s crazy! She’s probably cooking.”

Rafaela Garcia picked up after the fourth ring.

“How do you do?” she asked The Commercial Appeal with her son serving as her interpreter.

Jones (or, Deivi, to his friends and family) rejoiced. Because, for him, family is paramount. No matter how far basketball takes the strapping 6-foot-6 total package, who leads the Tigers (5-1) in scoring, rebounding and steals, the Dominican Republic native’s constant is his family.

It is why Jones has traveled from Santo Domingo to Scott Depot, W.V., to Chicago to Queens, N.Y., and now, to Memphis. It is why coach Penny Hardaway has to turn the lights off on Jones when he’s still on the practice floor past midnight. It is why, as Jones was burying Arkansas last week with a career-high 36 points, he never stopped thinking about his mother, his late father and his three siblings.

“I let them know every day, as soon as I wake up, that I love them. At the end of the day, when I get to the car, I think about my family,” he says sincerely. “I just want to give them a better life. The life that I think that they all deserve.”

An adjustment period

It became apparent to Jones – who turned 22 last week and was raised in the capital city’s Mejoramiento Social neighborhood – early on that basketball was his ticket.

From the moment he was introduced to the game at 6 years old, Jones’ oldest sister, Flor Elena, said it was almost impossible to find him at home. So much so that tracking him down at the nearby playground became part of her daily routine. Sure, like most youngsters in the Dominican Republic, Jones played baseball. But it was little more than a cursory dalliance.

“We would always find him at the same place – on the basketball court,” said Flor Elena, who is a member of the United States Navy and lives in Florida. “No shoes most of the time, just playing barefoot. All day, every day. Nighttime, 7 a.m. – he was always playing.”

But, in order to make the most of his talent, Jones had to bring his game to the United States. In 2016, he enrolled at Teays Valley Christian, a small school in West Virginia, situated between Charleston and Huntington.

It was the first time Jones had ever been to the U.S. Jones thought he was prepared. But there was a language barrier, and culture shock hit him hard.

“I didn’t even know how to say, ‘I’m hungry,’ when I first got here,” said Jones, noting it took him more than two years to be able to carry on a conversation in English. “In school, I was confused. I used to call my mom every night crying, (saying) that I want to go back home. That I don’t like this. That it’s not for me.”

Despite his protests, Jones’ parents encouraged their son to adapt and overcome.

“They basically made me stay here so I can do what I love to do,” he said. “You will never know more than your parents, even if you think so. We don’t see what they see.”

‘That’s how I like to play’

Determined to make things work, Jones channeled his initial frustration and used it to his advantage on the court.

Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Jones was almost always the biggest player on his team – even at a “skinny” 6-2 or 6-3. That left his coaches little choice but to line him up at center often opposite players significantly bigger than him. As a result, Jones’ game became largely predicated on physicality.

“When people bump me, that’s how I like to play,” Jones said.

Even when Teays Valley Christian moved him closer to his natural position along the wing, Jones regularly boasted an edge over his counterparts. That uncommon blend of athleticism, physicality and instinct made him an attractive recruit.

“I feel like Deivi thrives in very physical situations,” said Domingo Estevez, one of Jones’ best friends. “But he can also incorporate finesse. He’s a player that, I think, can play in any generation.”

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Or any college basketball league. As he wrapped up his high school career early, Jones fielded offers from the likes of Kentucky (SEC), Houston (then the AAC) and Illinois (Big Ten). Ultimately, he settled on the Big East, where he signed with DePaul. In his first full season with the Blue Demons, Jones averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. He scored 33 points against Louisville. He had 10 assists versus Georgetown.

He spent the 2022-23 season at St. John’s, where he finished seventh in the Big East in rebounding (7.8 per game).

When he decided it was time for another change of scenery, Hardaway called. And it wasn’t the first time. Jones said Hardaway was also one of the first coaches to reach out to him his first trip into the transfer portal. That persistence was enough to sell him on Memphis.

“This must mean he really wants me,” said Jones. “And I know he can help me get to the NBA.”

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman thinks so. After Jones had his way with the Razorbacks at the Battle 4 Atlantis, Musselman (a former NBA head coach and assistant) raved about him, saying if he wasn't already on NBA scouts' radars, he is now.

His mother is convinced of that, too.

“The work that coach Penny has (him) doing is helping (him) clear the way to get where (he wants) to be,” Garcia says in Spanish and Jones relays in English.

Always family first

Jones’ goal of reaching the highest level of professional basketball in the world is what brings him full circle.

He pauses to proudly show off the tattoos that blanket his arms. Five names. Rafaela, Flor Elena and his younger sister, Flor Jelissa, cover his left forearm. His father, David (who died of a heart attack in February), and younger brother, Raphael David, are on his right forearm. He also wears No. 8 as a tribute to his father, who would have turned 56 on Dec. 8.

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When Jones looks up again, he’s smiling. He’s got a clear vision.

“My dream is to get a building where it’s got like five or six floors and every single member of my family got their own apartment in the same building – all of us,” he said. “I’m trying to name it, ‘The Jones Building.’ Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball star David Jones nears NBA dream