Courtesy of NCCU Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. – Family and friends of North Carolina Central University alumnus and 10-time NBA champion Sam Jones, who passed away on Dec. 30, 2021, will join university officials to unveil a sculpture of the Boston Celtics legend prior to the start of the NCCU men’s basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 14.
NCCU will host a basketball doubleheader versus South Carolina State University inside McDougald-McLendon Arena, with the women’s game starting at 2 p.m., and the men’s contest scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
The sculpture, which stands 30 inches tall and 22 inches wide, was created by award-winning artist Douglas Aja, who is based in Vermont. After its unveiling on Saturday, the sculpture will be prominently displayed in McDougald-McLendon Arena in celebration of the life of Sam Jones.
One of the greatest NBA players of all-time, Jones played at NCCU from 1951-54 and 1956-57, and remains the school’s second-leading career scorer with 1,745 points in four seasons under head coaches John McLendon and Floyd Brown. He scored 668 field goals and 409 free throws, averaging 17.8 points per contest in 98 career collegiate games.
Born on June 24, 1933, in Wilmington, North Carolina, and a high school graduate of Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute, Jones was chosen by the Boston Celtics with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 1957 NBA Draft.
His 12-year career with the Celtics included 10 NBA Championships, five All-Star Game appearances and three selections to the All-NBA Second Team. Nicknamed “Mr. Clutch,” Jones amassed 15,411 points, an average of 17.7 points per game, 4,305 rebounds, and 2,209 assists in 871 contests.
Jones was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the NCCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984, as well as the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1969, the NAIA Hall of fame in 1962, and the CIAA Hall of Fame in 1981. He was selected to the NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1970, and was later named among the top 50 players in NBA history as a member of the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996, and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in October 2021.
In March 2015, Governor Pat McCrory presented Jones with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen of North Carolina.