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twitterUNLV BASKETBALL:
‘Chopper’ Jones has little playing time, lots of inspiration
Guard hopes to make the best of his short time at UNLV
Justin M. Bowen
A sequence of photographs of UNLV’s Steve “Chopper” Jones as he is interviewed on Thursday, June 18.
Monday, June 22, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
UNLV redshirt Steve Jones cheers as Kendall Wallace scores his second three point in a row against BYU during the second half of their Mountain West Conference game Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. UNLV held off a late BYU rally to win 75-74.
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UNLV basketball player Steve “Chopper” Jones is serving notice to anyone sitting, and holding a bag of popcorn or a soda, in the first few rows of the Thomas & Mack Center.
Photographers, too, had better beware.
“Watch out,” the 6-foot-1, 220-pound guard said after a run of pick-up ball last week. “I’m coming for you all. I’ve always wanted to dive into the photographers.”
Cheerleaders should brace themselves when they see Jones flying toward them, hawking a loose ball, next season.
At Stanford, when he was playing for Arizona State, Jones launched himself into a gaggle of cheerleaders. He showed some talent as a thespian when he took … a little … while … to rise from that spill.
“That was fun,” he said with a smile. “I usually bounce right back up, but I took a second that time. I feigned a little injury, but I was all right. The first couple rows, watch out.”
He might be a walk-on, and he might average two minutes a game next season rather than 22, but the son of NBA television analyst Steve “Snapper” Jones has only one goal – to win.
If that means his role is to toughen up the regulars as a scout-team player in practice, as he did with the electric “black shirts” last season after transferring from Arizona State, so be it.
Jones, 22, is a curious case. There might be a dozen better players than him at UNLV, but his devotion to the Rebels might be unmatched.
Even he searched for the proper words when asked how he could assume such ownership and responsibility in the direction of a program that wasn’t even on his radar out of high school.
“I love being here,” he said. “I love UNLV. I love everything it stands for. So it’s easy to put that much into it. It’s easy to invest your all into it. It’s just a great program with great people.”
At Arizona State, Jones became tight with Kevin Kruger. When coach Rob Evans was fired, Kevin used a short-lived loophole to play his final season for his father, UNLV coach Lon Kruger.
That connection eventually enticed Jones to come to Las Vegas, too, and he lives with Kevin Kruger in the home Kevin bought about a year ago.
Still, to explain his motivation and exactly what the move has meant to Jones … I don’t know how to explain it, he said, it’s such an open-ended question. It’s all about passion.
“There are so many things that go on here,” Jones said. “You have great coaches. That makes it easy to love being here, makes it easy to come to practice, makes it easy to try to get recruits to come here.
“Everyone meshes. Everyone gets along. It’s just simple to love being here, so it’s easy to put your whole self into it.”
He has promoted the program, the school and the city with several recruits, but he played official host for the first time when Noel Johnson, who ultimately picked Clemson, recently visited.
“My role was to have fun with him, entertain him,” Jones said. “I want people to come here and have the same kind of experience I’ve had. It’s easy.”
Jones said he was shocked when he won the team’s Most Inspirational award last season, after distinguishing himself with his high energy in his first season at UNLV.
He would dive over anything, anywhere, to grab a loose ball.
“As a redshirt, you want to communicate but you can only say so much,” he said. “I’m happy my teammates accepted me. It was a great feeling when I got that award. Hopefully, I can inspire us to do a little better next season.”
Soon after getting that award at the team banquet, Jones was a picture of discontent when Arizona was picked for the NCAA field and the Rebels weren’t.
Arizona State freshmen quickly learn to dislike the Wildcats. UNLV also beat Arizona last season and, for a second consecutive season, Jones was part of a program that went to the NIT.
He sat alone, tapping a text message to a friend with his head down, at a table at the Cox Pavilion banquet.
“I don’t want another NIT watch,” Jones said. “Sometimes, the sting of watching Selection Sunday and not hearing your name called can really make you think about stuff and propel you to the next level.”
Watching Michael Jordan on television throughout the 1990s propelled Jones to hustle. Once, against Detroit, Jordan saved a ball on the baseline, got it back, scored while being fouled and sank the free throw.
“I thought, ‘Why not play hard?’ ” Jones said. “I couldn’t have fun just standing around. That’s not in my makeup.”
He showed off a Frankenstein-like scar on his right shin, acquired in a practice at Jesuit High in Portland. Almost every game, he’d execute a thrilling one-handed dive to save a ball.
“The crowd would cheer,” Jones said. “I probably rolled around a little too much, but that’s OK.”
His father and mother, Sharon Payton, told him not to dive so much. Why are you always on the floor? Snapper asked Chopper.
“He loves it,” said Chopper Jones. “It’s a great part of my game. But he doesn’t want me to be labeled for that, solely. He wants me to be known as a basketball player more than a guy who falls all over the place.”
His peers at Jesuit, where he earned Most Inspirational honors as a junior and senior, wondered if he’d become a stunt man. No way, he told them.
“You see the things stunt men do?” Jones said. “They hang out of cars and jump out of glass windows. No thank you. Unless there’s a big pad underneath it, I don’t want any part of it.”
In private pick-up games over the past few weeks, Jones said Tre’Von Willis and Kendall Wallace have shot well. New guard Anthony Marshall has deceptively long arms and will add athleticism to the squad.
Jones tempered his review of Derrick Jasper, the 6-foot-6 transfer from Kentucky who sat out last season and figures to be the rudder of the team in the fall.
“He’s been cautious, because of his knee,” Jones said. “But from the looks of what I’ve seen so far, Rebels fans will be pretty happy with what Derrick Jasper brings to the table.
“I don’t want to say too much, don’t want to get people all hyped up and whatnot. But, Derrick Jasper, look out!”
He paused when asked if he wishes he had come to UNLV out of high school.
“Put it this way,” Jones said. “I wish I could spend more than one more year in Vegas, but I have to make the most of it.”
Discussion: 10 comments so far…
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great story... his enthusiasm and positivity gets me fired up. hopefully us rebels fans can learn a little bit from chopper and just be happy we have a great scarlet and grey team to follow. done preaching but if this was a NEGATIVE mud slinging article there would already have been 14 comments. a positive article gets posted, and its a ghost town. anyways good stuff rob, sucks we couldnt get johnson. question..... i know its way early, but are there any rumors for the 1990 championship team festivities coming up? any chance the rebels could wear throwback jerseys?
Am looking into that runrebs ... thanks
He took his role on the black squad very seriously last year. 100% effort all the time. And he worked hard to with the coaching staff to improve his game.
Everyone's going to get some looks early in the OOC schedule. He'll get his opportunities.
Good luck CHOP! Get in there and make some plays.
Coach actually used the term 'throwback' in the recent online q&a on the UNLV Basketball home page.
Big Chop! Three words for you: Nine2Eleven....you da man!!
Rob, did USC transfer kid who visited here a few weeks ago sign with Mississippi State in past few days ??
gregor, Noel Johnson committed to Clemson last Friday. Not a surprise. He's from Georgia. He's a top-30 catch, according to ESPN's rankings. It's good timing for Tigers coach Oliver Purnell, who lost Terrence Oglesby. And K.C. Rivers graduated, too. Incoming recruit Milton Jennings is another top-30 figure, says ESPN, so Clemson might be a team to keep an eye on next season.
great story
Go Choppa!
Steve brings back credibility to name "Chopper" in this city. Steve is fun to watch on the bench. He is so full of enthusiasm and him in on the bench and floor wearing a uniform will be that much more inspiring to the players. We lacked leadership last season and I think he will be the man to get the team going. No matter his minutes.