‘JJ’ set to miss most of June

Off to what could be considered the best start of her Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) career, and helping the Connecticut Sun match their best start in franchise history, Bahamian professional women’s basketball player Jonquel “JJ” Jones has solidified herself among the league’s best players and is a frontrunner for the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.

However, that campaign will take a backseat in the coming weeks as she takes a break from league action to compete for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2021 FIBA (International Basketball Federation) European Women’s Basketball Championship, commonly known as EuroBasket Women 2021. The 6’6” Bahamas native, who pledged allegiance to the European nation three years ago, is aiming to help them qualify for the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and the 2024 Olympics, while at the same time leading Bosnia and Herzegovina to what would be its first EuroBasket Women’s title.

The tournament runs from June 17-27, and will be played at two venues in separate countries – the Rhénus Sport Arena in Strasbourg, France; and the Pavelló Municipal Font de San Lluís in Valencia, Spain. Bosnia and Herzegovina plays in a group with Belgium, Slovenia and Turkey, and will play out of Strasbourg.

Jones, who is leading the league in rebounding for the third time in her career, and is the only player in the league averaging a double-double this season, will miss at least four games for the Sun, and could be out for the rest of June depending on how far Bosnia and Herzegovina advances in the tournament.

Jones has been having a phenomenal season for the Sun thus far. As mentioned, she leads the league in rebounding at 10.4 boards per game and is fourth in scoring at a career-high 21.6 points per game. Additionally, Jones is second in Fantasy Points per Player to Seattle’s Breanna Stewart (45.4 to 43.7), third in three-point percentage (48.9 percent), tied for fourth in three-pointers made at 23, and fifth in field goal percentage at 56.8 percent.

Jones is a huge reason why the Sun has been one of the league’s best teams this season. They have a league-leading 8-2 win/loss record, matching their best start through 10 games in franchise history.

“It’s going to (stink),” Jones said to Ned Griffen of The Day newspaper in New London, Connecticut. “I understand the importance of (EuroBasket) and I’m proud to represent the Bosnian national team, but it’s a tough time to be going. I feel like I have a good flow right now. I feel like things are trending upwards for (the team). I hate that I have to leave, but it’s necessary.”

The Sun host the Western Conference-leading Seattle Storm at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The defending champions Storm handed Jones and the Sun one of their two losses this season. Jones will miss that game on Sunday and at least the next three when the Sun travel to Chicago, Illinois, to face the Chicago Sky in two games and return home to face the Dallas Wings in another.

The Sun temporarily suspended Jones on Sunday which would allow them to sign a player in her absence. They have just nine healthy players rostered.

In her six-year career, 27-year-old Jones is a two-time All-WNBA Second Team selection, a two-time WNBA All-Star, a former WNBA Most Improved Player, and a former WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year.

This season she was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for May, and just recently, was named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for May 31 to June 6, leading the Sun to a 2-0 record during the week, averaging 27 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game in the two games. It’s her eighth time being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week in her six-year career.

Jones was among several players who opted out of the 2020 WNBA season due to the threat of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The league played its entire schedule in a “bubble” at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and the Sun came within a game of advancing to the WNBA Finals for a second year in a row.

“Missing JJ, it’s unfortunate,” Sun’s point guard Jasmine Thomas said to Griffen. “We’re going to have to hold it down, next player up. I think already she has shown what we missed from not having her in the bubble last year. Her impact is huge. We’re just going to have to make up for those points, make up for those rebounds, that defensive presence.”

There is little doubt that Jones is playing the best basketball of her WNBA career at the moment. The Sun’s post player, who hails out of Holmes Rock, Grand Bahama, is one of the more versatile players in the league, and has helped form one of the league’s best frontcourts which could be bolstered more if Alyssa Thomas returns from injury this season. Even without Thomas, Jones, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones have proven to be a formidable trio up front for the Sun. In those three, the Sun form the highest scoring frontcourt in the league.

Just this past Saturday, Jones exploded for a regular season career-high 31 points as the Sun took down the New York Liberty, 85-65, in Uncasville. She also matched her season-high with 13 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. Her overall career-high in points is 32, scored in game two of the 2019 WNBA Finals against two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne and the Washington Mystics.

Jones leaves for Strasbourg, France, on Sunday.

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