by Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Hard work typically comes with a reward.
The prize for Debrionna Jones was a college basketball scholarship.
Jones, lauded by Union City girls’ head coach Mason Storey as “a great kid whose work ethic is off the chart,” has signed a letter of intent to continue her hoop career at the University of Tennessee Southern.
The two-sport Lady Tornado standout was surrounded by family, teammates, and coaches Friday afternoon while making her next-level plans official. She then went out and scored a career-high 20 points and yanked down 10 rebounds to help UC beat Lake County that night.
The 5-10 senior is averaging a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) this season while shooting 46 percent from the field. As a junior, she was good for 11 points and eight rebounds per game on average, with a 49 percent shooting clip.
She’ll become a part of the UTS program formerly known as Martin Methodist until joining the University of Tennessee system in 2021. The Firehawks compete as a member of the NAIA Mid-South Conference and are currently 6-6 (5-3 in conference play) under first-year head coach Ross James.
Jones’s exemplary work ethic is indeed considered her calling card after she worked diligently to recover from a torn ACL in her freshman year and, later, a stress fracture.
“She’s a gym rat… she’s already overcome so much adversity – just by her work ethic,” Storey continued. “After her injury, she jumped right back into the gym and our routine. She constantly asks for help and truly desires to get better every day. She’s a little bit of a throw-back in that respect.”
Jones received interest from several programs other than UTS, particularly Huntingdon (Ind.) University who offered her a ‘full ride’ similar to the one she accepted from the Firehawks.
She insisted the Pulaski school located in Giles County had the feeling of home, though.
“Coach James reminded me a lot of Coach Storey in that I felt he cared about me, more than just as a basketball player,” Jones said. “That Coach James has experience coaching on the Division I level was a plus, and there are three other girls from the AAU team I played on who’ll be joining the program, too. That helped give the program a family feel for me.
“I’ve had a lot of great people help me along the way. Coach Storey really encourages you to work on your own and makes you want to. Of course, as anyone who has come to our games and heard her cheering, my mom (Annie Alexander) has always been my biggest fan. And (UCHS Graduation Coach Carolyn) Nipp has given me inspiration with her willingness to help in any way.”
Storey insisted that UTS was getting a player whose character matched her abilities and shared a specific example while continuing to rave about Jones’ work ethic.
“Not only has she excelled at both basketball and track, but she’s held a part-time job with extensive hours at the same time and still found ways to give to others,” the Lady Tornado coach claimed.
“We had a time last summer where she and some of our other girls worked with our middle school kids for a few days. One day after one of those sessions, Debrionna was to leave at 9 in the morning with her AAU team to go out of state to play in a tournament. I got a call at 6:30 a.m., asking me if I could open the gym for her where she could work with one of the middle school girls who’d asked her for some tips before she left town. She happily did it without any hesitation.
“That’s just the kind of person she is.”
UTS is indeed getting a good one.