“I suffered thirst from Hurricane Katrina. My luck? The family and my 3 children “

the interview

Characters of this type are very rarely found in the basketball scene: always with a smile on their face, able to take life lightly outside and commit themselves to the maximum on the pitch. In the memory of an interviewer, we need to go back to the 2017/2018 season, when John Brown arrived in Treviso, bringing with him an enormous load of energy and vitality. Aaron Jones, in this respect, is the player who comes closest to the acrobatic former center of TvB, now in Kazan.

Twenty-eight years old on July 26, a native of Tuscaloosa in Alabama, Jones met basketball at a very young age, starting a path that, after his career at college and university, took him around Europe to Treviso.

Tell us Mr. Jones, how did your relationship with basketball start?

“Very soon, I had practically just started walking. My grandfather put one of those children’s baskets in my hand and from there I started playing. Before entering a real gym, however, a few years passed, until my family moved to Gautier, Mississippi ».

What was it like to change cities at such a young age?

«Normal, no particular upheaval. I was very lucky because they are two quiet cities, with very low crime rates when you think about what is happening in other parts of the United States. In Gautier I started playing basketball and this then helped me in my growth as a person and as a man ».

In between, however, he also had to face Hurricane Katrina, which struck right there in August 2005..

“Not many people ask me about this moment in life. I remember it like it was yesterday. We had no electricity and there was no food. The water was contaminated and undrinkable, thirst was a real torture. We had to go back to Tuscaloosa for about two months, the hurricane hadn’t done too much damage there. Then we went back to Gautier, but the city has never been the same since Katrina ”

When did you realize that you could have become a professional player?

“Maybe around the age of 15, when I got over six feet tall and kept growing. My luck was to have coaches who believed in me and trusted me to become a player. I worked even more on the fundamentals in order to become a better player ».

You became a very young father and already has three children. How has your life changed with fatherhood?

“Not that much. I became a father at 18, it happened, then my son’s mother and I took different paths, while remaining on good terms. His name is Aaron Eugene, like me. With my wife Molly, who follows me, I had two daughters, Carmen and Kennedy. They are three fabulous women, it is no coincidence that I have their names tattooed on my skin “

And also on the shoes, they are always with her. What other significant tattoos do you have?

“One in particular features Batman and the Joker. They are two very contrasting characters, a kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I see myself a lot, I am like that too, sometimes my daughters associate me with Batman and others with Joker, it depends on the days (laughs, ed)».

How did your friendship with DeWayne Russell begin?

«Weezy and I met in 2019 on the plane that took us to Germany with the final destination Crailsheim, the team in which we played together. The first thing I asked him was if he was a “dog”, that is, a person who works and plays hard. He said yes, we started talking about everything and it was as if we had known each other forever. Our families also hang out outside the parquet and next summer we will organize ourselves to vacation together. In all honesty I would like to finish my career playing with him, because he has the mentality of a champion and it is rare to find it in a player ».

What do you like most about Italy?

«The coach and his teammates. I’m not kidding, that’s just how it is for me. I have traveled to many places, in Europe, in Israel, but here everything is calmer and more peaceful, it is an environment that I like very much “

How do you relax when you are with your family?

«We go out and take long rides in the many parks that are in the area, the girls are still small and for now it’s okay. We also did some trips out of town, obviously we went to Venice which is beautiful and to Milan, just to see how it is ».

A dish that you particularly like?

“The pasta! I often joke about it with my mates. I like pasta so much that I would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! And another dish that my family and I love are gnocchi, really delicious “

What music do you listen to?

«Oh, here too I have to say that my teammates often tease me affectionately. I’m a guy with a bit of retro tastes, my favorites are Phil Collins and also the duo Hall & Oates ”

In 2017 he also created a clothing line brand, Chasing Greatness. How did the idea come about?

«I always try to improve myself and become the best version of myself. And this can be done by anyone, a teacher, a delivery boy, anyone. “Chasing greatness” means precisely this, chasing greatness, trying to become the “Goat”, the greatest of all time in one’s field. The last line of products, last year, sold out and now I’m preparing the new collection. I really can’t wait to be able to present it! ». –

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