WNBA: Meet Atlanta Dream Alexis Jones

While on self-quarantine I had a chance to do a telephone interview with the newest member of the Atlanta Dream on Thursday.

She was drafted 12^th in 2017 by the Lynx and played college basketball for Duke University, before she transferred to Baylor University. She brings to Atlanta playoff and championship experience in winning the WNBA championship in 2017.

She was born in Midland Texas, daughter of David Jones and Carla Seldon. Her mother Carla was an All-American track athlete at Angelo State and Texas A&M and was inducted into the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division II Athletes Hall of Fame in 2003. Her father was her coach until he was in a horrific car accident that changed her life forever.

Sports Lovelies meet Atlanta Dream’s newest guard Alexis Jones.

 

How have you been holding up since the coronavirus outbreak?

I been holding up pretty well. I have to go to doctors and all the doctors are out. Other than that, I been holding up well. I been managing to find places to work out. My trainer has been focusing on me. We been quarantine, wearing gloves working outside doing a lot of things for my legs. I been productive during this time.

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What has been the biggest challenges staying at home and practicing social distancing?

Its been super challenging staying in the house. I been playing 2k all the time and trying to stay in the house. I just been on 2k and connecting with people on 2k and trying to get involved with areas that I don’t do a lot. I try to work outside and walk the dog. I go meet with my trainer somewhere outside and I come back and play 2k.

 

Hey, you can’t go wrong with 2k. I love that! Growing up who was your inspiration or who inspired you?

I would say my dad and my older brother Anthony. I would say those two inspire me because I was always around them and around all different types of sports, and had me connected to playing tackle football, playing softball and I would go back to play basketball with the girls then we would have tournaments and would play the boys. He (Dad) would always keep me involved and busy with things. When I was younger the boys and girls club was my inspiration. Just to play all different types of sports like four squares, teether ball, pool, all weird stuff like hockey inside. He just always managed to keep me super active doing any type of sport, and he let me know that you can play any sport and enjoy it no matter what.

 

Oh my gosh that is so amazing, so to say the least he is a Girl Dad?

Yes, he is.

 

Since we are talking about your dad. There was a car accident in 2007 that resulted in your father, being paralyzed from the waist down.  You, your brother, and teammates suffered injuries? Can you talk about how the accident altered your life and your dad’s life as well?

He was on his way to help girls, provide something better for them and reach a goal that they probably didn’t believe that they could ever reach in life. So he was trying to get all of us up there to try to get more recognition, to get those kids in college. He ended up having an accident. It changed things in a lot of different ways for him. He could not coach anymore but than it became normal. I grew up around a lot of older kids and women. Once he got into that car wreck it was natural for me to stay tuned in. I was already in love with the game and had what he had in him. I just kept pushing and kept going. Next thing you know God was able to let him come coach again. He was able to coach me again. He was the only coach the coached me. When he went down, I was starting to get coach by other people. I had to learn their way. Then me and him got another opportunity for him to coach me again. It was successful. We had a great AAU team. We played against a lot of Elite teams and won a state championship together. It was a bittersweet feeling. We put in a lot of hard work. That made me happy because it brought the passion back in him and it made him happy just to be able to coach me again and to have the feeling of just winning and working hard and doing what he was doing on his feet. It also showed that he could do it being in a wheelchair.

 

That is so inspiring! The upcoming season what can we expect from you? What are your expectations being apart of the Atlanta Dream?

My expectations is to just be me. Do everything I been doing. Work hard, give the team what they need to bring in that energy, bring it on the defensive end, to just come in and be that consistent player that I always wanted to be and I’ve been working hard to take everything I learned from the last three years of being with great teams putting it all on that court and showing and being the best player I can be.

 

Speaking of being the best you can be lets go back to your college life at Baylor. You helped lead the Lady Bears to a pair of Big 12 Championships and back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances. You was a two-time All-Big 12 first team selection and just the second player in Baylor history to record a triple-double. From this experience what are you most proud of?

I think I am most proud of coming back from injuries. It wasn’t easy. I sat out for a whole year. I could’ve failed. I could’ve went down, and knowing what I was going through then, I wasn’t fully healthy then and knowing that now, I’m just happy that Kim gave me the opportunity to play in front of my parents again. I think that’s what I’m really proud of, just to have that opportunity to say my dad still had the opportunity to see me play and do different things and be a part of the Elite 8 and Sweet Sixteen. That’s what I was wanting and fulfilling and having that family oriented to make sure that we are all coming together as one. I am super appreciative that Kim gave me that opportunity to be me and play my game.

 

Alexis final question. When it’s all said and done what will your legacy be?

My legacy is what I portray my logo to be is, Make them believe and I just want people to know my story. What I been through and all the hard work that I put into that. No matter what the tragedy you go through, the injuries you go through, the minds you go through. I just want people to know it’s a learning experience. You can make people believe in all different types of ways. There’s a lot of people who don’t believe in you and what you do until you know, it all comes down on that court. That’s just my motto and that’s my legacy I want to live up to, to make people believe in you as a person and just keep showing, keep showing and keep fighting no matter what you go through. That’s just my motto in life to make people believe in themselves and anything is possible.