CENTRAL'S MONES WENT FROM STAR SCORER TO STAR STOPPER

For a player that owns nearly every Cape Central scoring record, Ron Jones became known primarily for his defensive prowess in his four years at the University of Missouri.

At 6-foot-4, Jones was a dominating center on the prep level. He led Cape Central to the Missouri Class 4A championship his senior year in 1980. He averaged a school-record 26.5 points per game that season and scored a combined 50 points in the semifinal and state championship games. The Tigers needed all 23 of his points in a 53-51 victory over Hickman Mills in the state title game.

In his senior year he also averaged 13 rebounds and shot 62 percent from the field. He was named all-state in both his junior and senior seasons.

He totaled a record 1,556 points in his three years (1978, 79, 80) as a letterman at Central and scored a school-record 48 points in a single game. His sophomore season he shot a school record 67 percent from the field in averaging 12.2 points a game.

A forward at Missouri from 1981-84, Jones started five games as a freshman and became known as the team's defensive specialist by his junior year, often taking on the opposition's top scorer. As a junior, when he started all 34 games, he limited future NBA great Michael Jordan to 13 points in a 64-60 victory over North Carolina.

He was not often called upon to score, but still had the touch when the situation arose. He shot over 50 percent from the field for his career and sank nearly 60 percent of his shots his junior season when he averaged 7.1 points a game.

During his four-year stay at Missouri, the Tigers won three Big Eight championships (1981, 82, 83).