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Mark Dywane Jones, Jr. is UD's "whatever it takes" guy in the backcourt. Experienced at two guard and the point, he can score, pass, rebound and usually gets the toughest perimeter defensive assignment. Last season, he led the team in FT% (.766, 59-77), was second in assists (2.5), fourth in scoring (9.1) and fourth in rebounding (3.5). As the Flyers' top returning scorer and only senior, "whatever it takes" this season will need to include leadership on-and-off the court, and day-to-day consistency. Typical of his best efforts in 2003-04 were the 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals he had in the A-10 quarterfinal win over Duquesne. Jones had one of his most complete games at UMass, with 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes of action. He scored a career-high 20 points (7-11 FG) in the win over St. Bonaventure, and also had 13 at Richmond, 16 at home in the Richmond win, and 11 vs. Duquesne. His rainbow three-pointer with 8.8 seconds left sent the home Richmond win into overtime. He passed for a season-high six assists in the Xavier win. As UD's free throw percentage leader, he earned the Alex Schoen Memorial Free Throw Trophy. He improved more than 100 percentage points (.661 to 766) from his sophomore year to his junior year. Jones was a double winner at the season-ending awards banquet. He also was named the 2004-05 winner of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship. Former Flyers Bill Uhl and Bill Uhl II, have endowed a men's basketball scholarship, to be given to a returning Flyer basketball player. The first endowed award of this type in the UD Athletics Division, it is given annually to the UD player who best exemplifies the qualities of good sportsmanship and character, and follows the University's motto of "Learn, Lead and Serve" on and off the court. Keith Waleskowski was the inaugural recipient of the scholarship. Jone was named the winner of the 2003 Chris Daniels Memorial Award, which goes annually to the team's most-improved player. Whether you define the "most improved player" as someone who improved from one year to the next, or over the course of the season, Jones had it covered. He averaged 3.9 points a game as a freshman in 2001-02 and improved to 8.0 as a sophomore in 2002-03. Even more dramatic was Jones' turnaround within the 2002-03 season. The Taftville, Connecticut product began the year making just two of his first 19 three-point shots (.105), but made 34 of his last 85 (.400). He averaged just 3.8 points a game in non-conference play, but recovered to average 10.2 points a contest over the season's last 20 games. Jones averaged 11.0 points a game in the 2003 A-10 tournament, one of six Flyers hitting double-digits in the championship run. In addition to his scoring, Jones was second on the team in assists (3.4) for the year. He really picked it up down the stretch. He averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals over the last ten games of 2002-03. He had 15 points (2-2 3-pt.) and six assists at Rhode Island, came through with a more-than-solid 10 points, six assists and five rebounds in the St. Joe's regular season win. He led UD with 17 points (5-6 3-pt.) in the Temple win, and added seven rebounds against the Owls. In addition to the Daniels award, his teammates also voted Jones the winner of the Dr. George Rau Spirit Award. Jones played well as a freshman as a backup guard. His numbers for the season by themselves were modest: 3.9 points, 1.7 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 15.3 minutes a game, but he had a knack for putting up the best numbers when the team needed him most. Jones brought impressive credentials and a reputation as a winner to the University of Dayton basketball program. He was named Connecticut Player of the Year by the Hartford Courant after leading Norwich Free Academy to the state championship game for the first time in 75 years. NFA lost, but Jones was named the MVP of the game. Despite taking just 12.5 shots a game, Jones averaged 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.6 steals, directing his team to a 24-3 record. As a junior, Jones led Norwich Free Academy to a 21-5 record and the Connecticut state semifinals in the LL division. Jones averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 assists as a junior. He also shot 81% from the free throw line. He was twice named first team all-state by the Hartford Courant, the New Haven Register, and the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. He was also named All-Eastern Connecticut Conference and All-Area in each of his three seasons at Norwich. Jones was a four-year varsity player, and three-year starter. He won a league championship in each of his four high school seasons. He attended East Lime High School as a freshman, and was part of a league championship team there. After switching to Norwich Free Academy in 1998, he was a big part of three ECC league titles. Jones is the first player from Connecticut to play for the Flyers.
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