Here’s a troubling and sad story from the Syracuse Post Standard about former Peekskill star Mookie Jones, who said he’s “done playing at Syracuse.”
The senior-to-be was suspended a year by the university after another student accused him of cyberbullying last fall. The suspension would put Jones’ eligibility as a student-athlete in jeopardy and bring a sad ending to his disappointing Syracuse career.
Jones left the team and the university this winter. He was highly recruited out of high school, but has played sparingly in three seasons with the Orange. An injury forced Jones to redshirt as a true freshman and he never became a regular member of the rotation.
43 Comments
Very sad. Hope the can at least get his degree and move on.
Lesson learned kid. Big fish in a small pond can turn into guppies in the midst of an ocean. Nothing wrong with going mid-major at all. Could have developed himself at a Marist or Stony Brook. Who knows how good of a career he could have had.
I wish him the best moving forward.
He can play overseas and make a very nice living,wash the slate clean and look forward.
STATES
GREAT POST AND VERY SAD STORY THO!!..AS LONG AS HE GETS THAT DEGREE!! #HE IS WINNING!!..
Wood,
That’ll be ideal. The overseas game is improving so he has his work cut out for him to compete there. Lost valueble minutes the past 5 yrs. Hope it works out for him. Start over, get that bread and forget all this. No student loans, that’ll be money stacks for him.
Hated,
Got that right. Don’t think we’ll see Jim B down here again anytime soon though.
States on point with everything you have said. Wood, I am not sure he has a complete game at this point to profit overseas. Offensively he is ok, but defense he lacks. Many overseas players can shoot…he needs to do something different. I am talking about the larger venues, sure Iraq has a team, but does he want to go there to play? He needs to start over in my eyes.
“He can play overseas and make a very nice living”. Really? Just like he was going to be a star at syracuse and get drafted to the nba. Enough already.
Get your degree and start sending resumes out and begin learning how to interview for jobs. Welcome to the real world as basketball is over.
Bad advice was given to him throughout his high school years. Aau groupies were always stating he was a “pro.” Unfortunately it didn’t work out the way some ppl would have hoped. Time to move on.
move on,
Where are all the groupies now?!
MOVING ON,
MOOKIE IS AT THE MOST 22 YEARS OLD,I KNOW HE HAS A FAMILY NOW AND I THOUGHT HE WAS ONLY A FEW CREDITS FROM GRADUATING,IF THIS IS THE CASE ,WHY SHOULD HE GIVE UP BASKETBALL.
Sad story guys…
http://espn.go.com/ncb/conversations/_/id/8204619/iona-gaels-recruit-michael-haynes-shot-killed-chicago
STATESMAN,
WOW,IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN TO OFTEN
Sorry to hear about Mookie, but another player given way too many props as a teenager. Peekskill (LP)seems not to do a good job of preparing the kids. Plenty of blame to go around though. Mt Vernon kids seem to make better college choices BC) so that it something to look at as well. IMO he should put hoops aside, get a degree and get a job. Game over
Statesman
You are right. Where are all the adult groupies Peekfatdaddy etc.. now. They touted this kid as a no miss pro. These impressionable kids unfortunately listen to this stuff and have a higher opinion of themselves then what is reality. Coach stands by and watches all this adult adulation go on but I wonder if he ever sits down and tells the kid the real deal. Again, bad job from Mookie, coaches and hanger ons
Coach prepares the kid to graduate high school, no easy thing in Peekskill where the best players are slamming and jamming at Franklin Park as 32 year old dropouts. Coach gets the kid to the next level, a D1 scholarship.
That’s plenty of opportunity. Coach’s job done and done well. Now time to kid to be a man, own the outcome. Nothing to do with high school coach, please.
If the kid shows up to college with a feeling of entitlement and an attitude (which by all reports was a problem) dont you think the adults who spent the most time with him getting him supposedly ready for the next level didnt do a good job. Look at all the kids recently who dont take advantage (Watson, Brickhouse, Mookie etc…). There are other schools with better programs that have a much higher success rate (kids staying or going to school). Just saying its his fault but not entirely
mount v has had there share of kids not making good college choices, dexter gray, john mitchell, etc.
mookie made his decision to go to syracuse now he has to live with it.
get degree and move on because basketball is over. no more of the aau phone calls paying him to play.
Wood,
You’re right man. Shame, all the talk about the second amendment has never stopped the flow of firearm.s. Gotta change the culture of things moving forward. Athletics help but there are some exceptions but that’s life I guess.
for a place w/ a lot of issues MV hoopers do well and thats cool. Tough to see that this can be anyone anywhere these days. Hope everyone does their best to stay safe.
States/Wood this type of news doesn’t stop. So sad to see a young kid taken for no reason. Also just read there was a shooting at the Rucker. Pathetic that I can’t even bring my kids to a tourney like that anymore.
HRs,
Take them to orchard beach,and kill to birds with one stone,eye candy beach,and great basketball,lol
It’s too bad, but the handwritting was on the wall when he picked Cuse. After the results are in, it’s very easy to say now that he picked the wrong school but I am not surprised he did not go pro.
if you do a little research on the odds to become a first round draft pick in the NBA your going to find the numbers are rather high. It’s only a 3 percent chance a kid will just move on the NCAA and about 25.000 to 1 you will get drafted. Lets stop and realize that guys like Peekdaddy and even myself (thinking Kevin Jones was a shoe-in after last year) to get drafted are just expressing our wishes but eventually the cold sting of reality slaps you in the face. Mookie never was in that catagory
Wood….hahahaha Orchard beach. Grandparents used to take me there a long time ago. Think its a little different nowadays.
Space…I still think Kevin Jones got the shaft. Same as Machado. These kids should be in the league. They bring certain skill sets that many NBA players are lacking. Both will get picked up in my opinion. Just a matter of time.
HRs,
Well said. I’d be scared to bring my kids outside if I had any. Glad places like Hoop Group exist now-
develop your craft against good comp. I agree about KJ and Machado, I don’t know how some dudes slide in over otbers-GM’s must have some nice her.b. Wood always says, “The cream will always rise to the top” so we’ll see. Kids get the shaft all the time so I only lock in A few folks these days.hoops, I have never touted any kid as a no miss pro. Try someone else.
Okay. So when Peekskill plays in the County Center and i see grown men (who have nothing to do with the team) walking around with red jackets with championship patches all over them carrying on like they are watching a professional team and grovelling over 16 year olds what do you think the kids on the team are thinking. Probably that they are something special which leads to a false sense of self importance due to the adult adulation shown their way. Just one mans opinion from what I have observed over the years
One thing is for sure, if Mookie was a starting 20+ per game player, he would not have been suspended. This was an out for Syracuse who wanted to end their relationship with the non productive Mookie Jones.
Sorry to go off topic, but what will probably be the biggest debate next year on this blog during basketball season is if Mount Vernon or Stepinac is the number one team and since they will not play next season that argument MAY rage one. However, they will be playing each other next Tuesday at 8:00pm at The New Roc Classic in New Rochelle, NY – Lincoln Park.
This should be a good one…
IQ,
Thanks for the heads up… I’ll try to make it over… I’ll tell you one thing… My boys from the north is coming for that claim… I know it’s like a broken record but I like what I see, especially since a very good soph is back and should be occupied during the football season and Barger demanding his best.
hoops, you exaggerate. There are not many with those coats in Peekskill, only those that have been involved with the team since day 1. Why are you not complaining about everyone in Mt. Vernon wearing State Championship shirts? It is something to be proud of. Just because somewhere wears a jacket doesn’t mean he is filling a kid’s head up. Stop the nonsense. Mookie was a star in High School. It didn’t work out at Syracuse. Maybe Jim Boeheim should also take some of the blame here.
have to agree with Peek here. Nothing at all wrong with fans dressed up to support their team. I think it’s great for the kids to see a fan base that follows the team. Better that than an empty gym.
Exactly Spacecadet. I think the bigger issue with kids being pumped as pros comes directly from the shoe company paid AAU coaches who are paid to tell these kids that and then when the kid doesn’t make it, the AAU coaches turn their backs on them and look for the next kid. Don’t get me wrong, not all AAU coaches are bad, but alot of them are crooked and really don’t even know basketball, but put alot of talent together that can win and bring them more money. AAU is great exposure for the kids, but is run very poorly.
Results and standings from Monday night’s Gold’s Gym League:
Marlboro 55 John Jay-EF 47
Poughkeepsie 69 RCK 35
Red Hook 62 FDR 56
Kingston 73 Carmel 33
Pine Plains 60 Arlington 52
Poughkeepsie 4-0, Marlboro 4-0, Kingston 3-1, Arlington 2-2, Red Hook 2-2, Pine Plains 2-2, FDR 1-3, John Jay-EF 1-3, Carmel 1-3, RCK 0-4
Real talk on the blog, gotta love it!
Man I wish I had printed out posts from a couple of years ago where Peek fans would be on here hyping kids way beyond their talent. They all thought Mookie was a shoe in Big East player and everytime someone would disagree they would slam them. Singing a different tune now. Easy to blame AAU coaches and I agree to a certain extent but again, the Head Coach has to take some responsibility for the way a player goes off to college. After all he spends the most time (4years) with the player and you would hope that the player is prepared but for on and off the court
hoops, what part don’t you get? Obviously Jim Boeheim thought Mookie was good enough to play in the Big East or he wouldn’t have offered him a scholarship. Every kid that gets a scholarship doesn’t work out for the school. Look at Melquan Bolding and kids like that. This is the same thing as all of the Mt. Vernon guys talking about how Kevin Jones was a shoe in pro in the draft. It didn’t work out. While I didn’t think Kevin was an NBA player, he did very well for himself at West Virginia. He picked the right school for him. Mookie probably didn’t. There are hundreds of kids that look good enough in High School that don’t make the right college choice and that even goes beyond sports. How many kids pick a college after they visit it and then transfer out because they get bored and homesick? Do you blame their parents for that like you are blaming Mr. P? Do you blame Bob Huggins for Kevin Jones not being in the NBA? Do you blame the JV coach when a kid that was good on JV can’t hack it on the Varsity? Why don’t you just come out and say you hate Mr. P and Peekskill people in general instead of hiding behind your ludicrous arguments.
Don’t close the book so fast on Kevin Jones.
SPACECADET,
The last report I read is,Kevin is ready to compete for a job with Cleveland,he has a good shot to make it.
Wood,
One of the most deserving kids to earn a shot out of that program. He just does everything right and had to work very hard every single step of the way. Too many 7 foot Eastern Europeans wth no skills around this year in the draft…
SPACECADET,
IT IS ALMOST LIKE,DAVID STERN CUTS A DEAL WITH THE OUTSIDE COUNTRIES,THAT X AMOUNT OF PLAYERS WILL BE DRAFTED TO GET MORE EXPOSURE FOR THE LEAGUE,SMH
B BALL IQ,
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MOUNT VERNON PLAYED STEPINAC?
ANY DETAILS?
MV B team lost to Portchester
Byram Hills threw in the towel in New Ro last night. I think MV beat Step a couple of weeks ago but they may be playing next week in a playoff game.
I heard Rodney and Scooter preaching very valuable words of wisdom to 100 campers on Calif.Rd. Stuff like getting an education in case your dreams get broken and focusing on winning as a team and not how many you score a game. Rodney told the kids he averaged 10 points a game at Louisville and guess where he got drafted.. 3rd.. If you win, they will find you,
Wood…...The rumbling is the 8th graders…
SPACECADET,
I saw a picture on bobby c. Twitter with scooter,Rodney,carlton Samuels,Joe palmer,Donald RUSSELL,AND RICKY STANLEY
Wood
I hear Tuesday is MV/Step… they have not played yet
Wood,
Good point. Sort of like the CFL deal.