Texas forward Taylor Jones has the shot to establish herself among the Big 12's best posts

danny davis, austin american-statesman

Wed, Jan 10, 2024, 1:11 AM·6 min read

Texas forward Taylor Jones leads the team out for pregame warmups ahead of the Nov. 29 win over Oral Roberts at Moody Center. She went on to make all 11 of her shots without a miss in the game, only the second time a Longhorns player has accomplished that feat.

When she was in high school, Taylor Jones had her fair share of superstitions for the basketball court.

But when she began to deal with injuries, she had to ask herself what good were these superstitions and routines doing. They didn't appear to be bringing her much luck. So she ditched all of them except for one.

"I cannot remember any practice, game, workout that I have not chewed gum in probably like seven or eight years," Jones recently recalled.

So when No. 10 Texas (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) hosts TCU (14-2, 1-2) on Wednesday night, Jones will be chewing gum. And don't bother bringing her any Doublemint or Double Bubble.

"5 Gum, that's the brand and usually the green (spearmint) or the blue (peppermint) kind," the Texas senior forward said. "All the other ones, I've tested them out. They don't last as long."

Texas forward Taylor Jones shoots over UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards during the Longhorns' nonconference win at Moody Center on Dec. 3. Jones leads Texas in scoring, rebounding and blocks, and her 71.4% shooting accuracy is No. 1 in the country.

This season, the gum-chewing Jones is leading the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and blocks (1.4 bpg). She's shooting 71.4% from the field, which leads the country, and she's a little more than a month removed from becoming the second player in school history to take 11 shots in a game and not miss.

Jones recently missed four games with a hip injury, but returned for a 70-49 win at No. 24 West Virginia last Saturday. She played 21 minutes in the 21-point win.

"It's so nice to play with her," teammate Shay Holle said. "Literally I just throw it up to her sometimes, I'll glance and I'm like, oh, there she is. Just the rebounding and just the motor too ... with how hard she plays and how much she's banging around down there, to be able to have that motor is a really great combination for us."

Taylor Jones has mastered the fundamentals

Why has Jones found success this season? On Tuesday, UT coach Vic Schaefer assessed that "she's so good at catching (the ball) up, keeping it up. She doesn't bring the ball down, it's hard to get to her." Opposing coaches don't disagree with that analysis.

"She's probably the best post in the country at keeping the ball high," Arizona coach Adia Barnes said after Jones shot 4-of-6 from the field and hit eight free throws against the Wildcats last month. "Super fundamental, super efficient around the basket. She's 6-5 and keeps the ball higher than any post I've ever seen."

Said Oral Roberts' Kelsi Musick, after Jones' aforementioned record-setting performance on Nov. 29: "She's hard to guard because she's so big and she keeps it high."

Texas forward Taylor Jones catches a pass under the basket during the Longhorns' 80-35 win over Southern on Nov. 8.

Making the most of that 6-foot-10 wingspan

While praising Jones, Barnes gave her an extra inch. She's actually listed on the UT roster as a 6-foot-4 forward. But Jones does have a 6-10 wingspan. She recalled that in high school, one of her AAU coaches consistently demanded that she keep the ball up when she had possession. If she brought the basketball down, the entire team had to run.

"Once I realized, like, why am I bringing the ball down? If I get the ball, why do I bring it down and go back up," Jones said. "It's just easier. I mean, I think it is the best thing that I do is being able to keep the ball up and it's hard to guard with my height and my wingspan. So it's like, why not?"

The Forney product spent the first three years of her collegiate career at Oregon State. After the 2021-22 season, she decided to transfer. Picking between Arizona and Texas, she chose the Longhorns despite the fact that her father, Keith, is an Aggie. A fan of concerts, being outdoors, drawing the designs for each of her 11 tattoos and drinking coffee, Jones fits right in in Austin. She also had a longstanding relationship with Schaefer, who recruited her while he was coaching at Mississippi State and sold her on how he'd coach her as a post player.

Jones said playing at Texas was something that her mother, Deanna, would have always wanted. Deanna Jones passed away in 2019 from cancer.

"My mom's side of the family, a lot of them are Longhorns and I think that she really loved the idea of me being closer to home and just loves UT," Jones said. "I think the biggest thing was she wanted me to be closer to home. And she was a cowgirl and so this was just right up her alley."

A crowded Big 12 field under the basket

During her first year in Austin, Jones missed time with a lower body injury but averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds. This year, she'll attempt to help Texas defend the conference championship it won last season.

Standing in UT's way are a handful of Big 12 teams that, like Texas, have a presence in the paint. No. 12 Kansas State is led by All-American center Ayoka Lee. BYU's Lauren Gustin is one of the nation's top rebounders, and there aren't that many shot blockers better than Kansas center Taiyanna Jackson. TCU's Sedona Prince is currently sidelined with a broken finger, but the former Longhorn is averaging 21.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

In most of UT's nonconference games, Jones was able to bully undersized defenders. That won't be the case going forward. Lee and Jackson are both 6-6. Prince is 6-7. Gustin is only 6-1, but she's trying to lead the nation in rebounding for a second consecutive season.

"I'm excited to actually be a true post player and get to show the moves I actually worked on in the offseason," Jones said. "I think it will be a really good test just to see where I'm at against great, All-American competition."

To date, Jones' toughest matchup this season came against UConn's Aaliyah Edwards. Like Lee, the 6-foot-3 Edwards has earned AP All-American accolades. In UT's 80-68 win over the Huskies in Austin on Dec. 3, she had 22 points and six rebounds over 38 minutes while Jones played 18 minutes and finished with two points and five rebounds.

If Prince does indeed miss Wednesday's game, between Texas and TCU (14-2, 1-2), Jones will be tested in the paint soon enough. Next up on the schedule is a trip to Kansas State (15-1, 3-0) on Saturday. Kansas (7-7, 0-3) will be UT's guest at Moody Center next Wednesday.