WEST PLAINS, Mo. – A familiar face will rejoin the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team for the 2022-2023 season.
Martaveon Jones, a 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore guard from Kansas City, recently signed a national letter of intent to play for the Grizzlies during the upcoming season, Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said.
Jones, an all-state selection at Southeast High School, was a star performer for the Grizzlies during the pandemic affected 2020-2021 season. He averaged 12.4 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds and earned first team All-Region 16 Team honors.
Personal reasons kept Jones from playing for the Grizzlies during this past season, and Phay said the decision was a blow to the team’s hopes for the year.
“I am very excited to get Martaveon back next season. He was a good player for us at both guard positions, but what I liked most about him was how hard he competes,” the coach said.
That was epitomized in his performance against Moberly Area Community College in the Region 16 Championship Tournament at the end of the 2020-2021 season. Jones scored 35 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists in a narrow loss.
“We have some good players coming back next season, but adding Martaveon to the mix is something we are really excited about,” Phay said. “I know he is hungry to get back down here and get to work.”
Jones played his first season of collegiate ball at Cowley County Community College in Kansas. He averaged 15 points and 4.3 assists per game with the Tigers, who recorded 26 wins in the Jayhawk Conference during the 2019-2020 season.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit MSUWPGrizzlies.com or call 417-255-7991.
Missouri State University-West Plains empowers students to achieve personal success and to enrich their local and global communities by providing accessible, affordable and quality educational opportunities. Missouri State-West Plains offers associate degrees and credit and non-credit courses and serves as a delivery site for bachelor’s and master’s degrees offered by Missouri State University in Springfield.
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