New Madrid star has a lot on his mind as summer progresses

It might be a good idea for New Madrid County Central senior-to-be, Jadis Jones, to hire not just a travel agent, but a business manager, as well.

While a lot of 17- and 18-year-olds are spending their summers chilling at the local pool or hanging out playing video games, Jones is in full business mode.

The two-sport Eagle star has been touring the country playing in basketball tournaments (Phoenix, Atlanta, etc.) and he has also had to carve out time to visit some of the nine different athletic programs that are in full pursuit of his services for a year from now.

Jones recently announced that he is considering scholarship offers from five football programs (Southeast Missouri State, Coastal Carolina, Murray State, Northern Iowa, and Missouri State) and four basketball programs (Southeast Missouri State, Northwestern State, Louisiana-Monroe, and Robert Morris).

“I’m close,” Jones said of his college decision, “But I don’t want to get too deep into that right now. I’ll just see how this goes and where my heart really is, and what I can see myself doing at the college level.”

Not only does Jones have to decide WHICH college to attend, but, because of his unique skill set and athleticism, the 6-foot-5 athlete also needs to decide WHAT he does when he gets there.

He may just play basketball, which he “loves more (than football),” or he may just play football, which he admits to also having a passion for, or in the case of the Redhawk, Racer, and Chanticleer coaching staffs, each said he could play both sports.

“I know that I could handle it,” Jones said of playing two sports at the NCAA Division I level. “I would just need to get there and put all of the stuff that doesn’t matter to the side.”

In addition to (possibly) playing two sports at the highest level of collegiate athletics, Jones is aiming to major “in finance with a minor in international business.”

“I’ll just have to lock in,” Jones said of what will be a harrowing personal schedule. “There is going to be day in and day out, where you really don’t have a lot of time to do other stuff.”

Jones carries 200 pounds of muscle on his frame but has taken the summer off from lifting due to the demands of basketball games being played for the summer circuit program, Bradley Beal Elite.

Jones will leave this weekend for Augusta, Georgia, where he’ll compete in the famed Peach Jam against the top prep basketball players in the country and in front of every major college program in the nation.

Name the coach: Mark Few, Tom Izzo, John Calipari, Danny Hurley, Kelvin Sampson, Dennis Gates, Penny Hardaway, etc. and Jones will be performing in front of them next week.

“It’s nice to have (the coaches) there,” Jones said, “but when you are playing, you can’t really think about it. That would knock your game off. You just have to lock in.”

Recently-hired New Madrid County Central varsity boy’s coach Dontre Jenkins has been with the Eagle program as a player or assistant coach for decades, so he brings a touch of stability and guidance to Jones through this crazy process.

“Jadis will call and ask me questions,” Jenkins said. “My main thing is trying to see what makes him happy. I tell him all of the time to do what makes him happy. Don’t try to please anybody else.

“If it is the football route or the basketball route, at the end of the day, he is the one that has to put the time in, he is the one that will have to be there grinding, so he needs to do what makes him happy.”