Greg Oden was a high school phenom who was named Gatorade National Player of the Year twice, named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, and was a McDonald’s All-American…not to mention being selected as the number one overall pick in the 2007 draft. Although his NBA career has been disappointing, to say the least, those are some pretty nice accomplishments.
Well now his half-brother, Joe Jones III, is trying to follow in his footsteps. The rising eighth-grader, whose nickname is Baby Joe, stands 6’6” and wears a size 16 shoe. Oden and Jones share the same father, Joe Jones Jr, who was a pretty good high school basketball player in his own right having been named an All-West Virginia Conference player in the 1980’s.
Although he’s still very young and developing his talent, you can’t buy height and with doctors predicting he’ll reach 7 feet, it’s kind of hard not to put this 13-year-old on your radar. I’m sure top college coaches and recruiters already have.