William Lawrence Jones (born September 26, 1958) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played the majority of his professional career in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) from 1985 until 1992.

Early life

Bill Jones, a 6'9" (207 cm)

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

, was born and raised in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. Hist ...

and attended

Joliet Central High School Joliet Central High School is a public secondary school located in Joliet, Illinois. Central is part of Joliet Township High Schools, along with Joliet West and Joliet East (now defunct). Before the opening of Joliet East and West, the school wa ...

where he was named to the All-Conference team and received an All-State honorable mention. After graduating in 1976, Jones attended the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...

from 1977 to 1981.

Professional career

In 1985, Jones was signed by the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

in Australia's National Basketball League where he played as an import player (from 1979 to 2015, NBL teams, with the exception of the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

, were restricted to no more than 2 non-Australian players at a time). Quickly becoming the starting centre for the team (and easily its tallest player), Jones formed part of the league's best front court with former St. Augustine's Falcons

Power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

, 6'7" (201 cm)

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

. Along with other stars including guards Al Green (a naturalised Australian born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

) and Darryl Pearce, 1980

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

Olympics representative Peter Ali (the team captain), and the NBL's 1985 Rookie of the Year Mike McKay, the Ken Cole coached team made it through to the single game NBL Grand Final that year, but went down 121–95 to the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...

. During the year Jones averaged 13.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 28 games. For 1986, Ken Cole made Jones the captain of the 36ers. In 1985 Jones had fouled out in a number of games and Cole's motivation behind making him the captain was that hopefully he would cut the cheap fouls out of his game. The ploy worked and Jones went on to have his best season in Australia, averaging 19.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game over 30 games, shooting an NBL career high 31 points in the final regular season game against the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

. The 36ers themselves enjoyed a golden year with the team going through the season with a 24–2 record, including going 13–0 on their home court, the 3,000 seat

Apollo Stadium Apollo Stadium (officially called the Apollo Entertainment Centre) was a multi-purpose indoor arena located at 41 Kingston Avenue, Richmond, South Australia, just 5 minutes from the Adelaide city centre. The stadium had an original seating capac ...

, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles". The two losses for the 36ers literally came from last second shots meaning that they were only seconds away from a perfect season, while against Geelong late in the season Jones saved Adelaide from a home loss when in the last second of the game he tip-dunked a missed 3 point attempt from Darryl Pearce to give Adelaide a 120–119 win. Going into the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the 36ers were overwhelming favourites to win their maiden championship having finished 5 games clear of the second placed

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After t ...

. The team easily overcame the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

116–92 in their single game home Semi-final before again facing the Brisbane Bullets (who had come from behind to beat Canberra in their Semi-final clash) in the now best of 3 game Grand Final series. In the opening game at the

Brisbane Entertainment Centre The Brisbane Entertainment Centre is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall, Queensland, Australia. The centre is managed by ASM Global. The arena has an array of seating plans which facilitate the comfort of ...

in front of a then record indoor sports attendance in Australia of 11,000 fans, Jones led from the front for the 36ers with 30 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks as the 36ers won 122–119 in overtime (eventual series MVP Mark Davis had 38 pts, 23 boards and 5 assists). In a pivotal moment late in regulation time, Jones had pulled off the play of the game for his team when he stepped in front of Bullet's kingpin

Leroy Loggins Leroy Loggins (born 20 December 1957) is an Australian-American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1981 until 2001. College career Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Loggins attended ...

(the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

league MVP) and took a charge for what was Loggins' 5th foul (in the NBL at the time players were only allowed 5 fouls). A week later back in Adelaide where the 36ers had been the first team to go through a regular season undefeated at home, the 36ers were expected to wrap up the series, but were stunned by the Bullets who refused to go quietly and pulled off a 104–89 win. Jones and the 36ers would not be denied though, winning Game 3 and the series 113–91 at home. Over the series, Jones averaged 19.6 points, 15.6 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. During his time with the 36ers (which at the time was a semi-professional league with most players still having day jobs), Jones and Mark Davis worked as security at the

Adelaide Casino Adelaide Casino, known commercially as SkyCity Adelaide, is a large casino and recreational venue on the north edge of the Adelaide city centre. Located in the heritage-listed Adelaide railway station building on North Terrace, Adelaide, the cas ...

, with Davis later joking that because of their height, their uniforms were too short making them look like Urkel, but that they had very little trouble from casino patrons as they "towered over everybody back then". While in Adelaide, Jones also formed a close bond with the 'Brothers' (as they called themselves) in the 36ers squad. The Brothers being African-American players Jones, Davis and naturalised Australian's Al Green and Dwayne Nelson. With Ken Cole having been controversially sacked at the end of 1986, Adelaide had a new coach in Gary Fox. Although the team (which was largely intact from 1986) still finished 2nd on the ladder and were still the title favourites in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. However, they were upset 2–1 in their Semi-final series against the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

and failed to make their 3rd straight

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

would be more of the same for the 36ers, but Jones wouldn't be the team captain as Fox had taken that from him and given it to Darryl Pearce and

Peter Ali Peter Ali (born 22 May 1956) is an Australian basketball player who played for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League (NBL). He competed in the men's tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Biography Ali was born in Adelaide in ...

. They again finished on top of the ladder at the end of the regular season but again faltered in the Semi-finals, this time being swept by the eventual champion Canberra Cannons. 1988 had seen the emergence of 6'10" (208 cm) centre

Mark Bradtke Mark Robert Bradtke (born 27 September 1969) is an Australian retired professional basketball player who played mainly in Australia's National Basketball League, but also had a single stint in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the ...

with the 36ers and at the end of the season coach Fox told the then 30 year old Jones that he would not be required in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

. Jones then linked with former coach Ken Cole at the

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

for the year, playing 24 games for the club. When Cole left the Falcons at the end of 1989, Jones left as well and played for two years in Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

before returning to Australia in 1992 where he played 2 games for the

Geelong Supercats Geelong Supercats is a NBL1 South club based in Geelong, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is affiliated with Basketball Geelong and Geelong United Basketball. The Supercats play their home gam ...

in the NBL as well as playing for the Bayside Blues in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

as well as the Gippsland Lakers before retiring from playing in 1994. Bill Jones played 139 NBL games from 1985 to 1992, averaging 16.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game. Although at only 6'9" he wasn't the tallest centre (many centre opponents in the NBL were around 1-3 inches taller), Jones' jumping ability and 7'0" (213 cm) wingspan made him a noted shot blocker.

Current

Bill Jones currently lives in Melbourne, Australia where he is the Project Manager for

Australian Unity Australian Unity is an Australian mutual company having its origins in the friendly societies movement. It was formed as the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) in Melbourne, Victoria, on 7 December 1840 by eight men incl ...

. Since his retirement from basketball, Jones has also taken up Roller hockey and he counts the 1986 NBL Championship win with the Adelaide 36ers as his career highlight.Puckhandlers Roller Hockey - Bill Jones profile
/ref>

Honour roll

NBL career stats

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, 28 , , 28 , , ''NA'' , , .548 , , .000 , , .625 , , 10.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

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, 30 , , 30 , , ''NA'' , , .560 , , .000 , , .598 , , 13.4 , , 0.9 , , 1.2 , , 2.2 , , 19.1 , - , style="text-align:left",

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, 29 , , 29 , , 34.5 , , .469 , , .000 , , .674 , , 10.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 2.2 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left",

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, 26 , , 26 , , 34.9 , , .548 , , .000 , , .609 , , 10.2 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 24 , , 39.3 , , .499 , , .000 , , .730 , , 13.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left", 1992 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 29.7 , , .412 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 8.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 7.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 139 , , 139 , , ''NA'' , , .524 , , .000 , , .649 , , 11.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 16.0

References

External links

Adelaide 36ers - The Golden Era (1980s)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bill 1958 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia Basketball players from Illinois Basketball players from South Australia Centers (basketball) Geelong Supercats players Newcastle Falcons (basketball) players Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball players Sportspeople from Joliet, Illinois American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople