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sportsTexas Longhorns

Andrew Jones puts on career performance just weeks after final round of cancer treatment

Jones steals the show with 20-point performance as Texas cruises to 24-point win.

AUSTIN –– Andrew Jones was honest, there was a fear inside of him as Texas’ season opener approached. It wasn’t nerves –– he made it clear that there weren’t any jitters before the game –– it was just a fear that spurred from the uncertainty that Tuesday night brought with it.

“I did have a fear of I didn't know what to expect,” Jones said.

This uncertainty, however, was different from the one the Texas guard faced throughout the last 23 months.

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In January of 2018, Jones’ family publicly announced Andrew was diagnosed with leukemia. Nine days later, Andrew moved to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

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Jones was eventually released in February of 2018 and received treatments on an outpatient basis before enrolling in web-based courses in June of that year. He was able to rejoin the team for the 2018 season, though he only played in two games and had a few more rounds of treatment remaining. Uncertainty was seemingly all the redshirt sophomore knew during the 23 months that separated what Shaka Smart calls “Andrew Jones basketball,” and he has a medical redshirt for both the 2017-18 and the 2018-19 seasons to show for it.

So by the time Tuesday night arrived, that feeling of uncertainty wasn’t new for the redshirt sophomore.

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He may not have known it at the time, but Tuesday night wasn’t about Texas’ 69-45 victory over Northern Colorado, it wasn’t about the season opener in general. It was about him and what turned out to be his career-high 20-point performance.

“It was really emotional the first time he went into the game,” Smart said. “This is before he went and scored 20 points, went 4-5 from three and played so well. It being 23 months since he really went out and played Andrew Jones basketball in a Texas uniform, it’s just really cool for him to be able to go out there and play, not just today to play, but to have gone through the journey he’s gone through and the approach that he’s had.”

Jones knew he wasn’t starting, which allowed the redshirt sophomore to settle in on the bench as Texas held onto a 6-5 lead in the first half. Then he was able to rather quietly check into the game during a timeout at the 13:50 mark. There wasn’t a dramatic announcement, denying the Texas fans the opportunity to give him a standing ovation, though that all changed with 2:47 remaining in the first half when he tossed in a floater.

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He only put up two points by halftime, but it was the second half where he sent the fans at the Frank Erwin Center into a frenzy. Jones hit a three with 13:33 left in the game, followed by a layup and another three-pointer on a fast break, giving the Longhorns took a 50-23 lead.

“It was a great feeling to get back out there officially, back with my teammates,” Jones said. “All the work we’ve been putting in this summer, I was glad to be able to step out onto that court with no restrictions.”

Jones wasn’t done, though. Texas fans stuck around despite the lopsided affair as he dropped another three, and one more after that to cap off his career-high 20-point performance.

“I was happy for him,” Texas guard Courtney Ramey said. “It was just so special to see. Not a lot of people score 20 points and he did it in his first game back.”

“When he played the way he did, to be honest, I wasn’t surprised,” Smart said.

This performance was much more than a 20-point outing for Andrew. It was a promising sign for a Texas program relying on players like Matt Coleman, Courtney Ramey, Jase Febres, Jericho Sims and now Andrew Jones to take the next step after missing the NCAA Tournament last season. Perhaps most importantly, though, it was a reminder of what the guard from Irving is capable of.

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“Andrew is a great player,” Ramey said. “Of course he should be talked about, but him being out for so long people kind of forgot about him. He’s going to wake up them up.”