Jones Inducted Into Orange Plus Hall of Fame
11/8/2002 2:29:47 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Former Syracuse women's basketball standout Vera Jones was inducted into the Orange Plus Hall of Fame on Friday, November 8. Jones earned her master’s degree from SU in 1991, graduating from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a B.A. in broadcast journalism and an M.S. in television & radio.
Orange Plus, founded in 1979, is the support organization for women’s athletics at Syracuse University. It has grown during the past 20 years into one of the largest and most active organizations of the SU Orange Pack. Funds raised through contributions and special projects benefit 12 women’s varsity sports.
Jones has worked as a television analyst at ESPN for the last three NCAA Women's Basketball Tournaments. She also has served as an analyst on both radio and television for the Big Ten Conference, the BIG EAST Conference and the WNBA. Jones formerly worked for Time Warner Cable, providing commentary for both SU men's and women's basketball.
Jones was a senior tri-captain on the 1988 Orangewomen, who posted a 22-9 record and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Jones is ranked 10th on the SU all-time leading scorer’s list and is one of 14 Orangewomen to score more than 1,000 career points. Jones played in two NCAA Tournaments, helping Syracuse to an automatic berth as the BIG EAST Tournament champion as a rookie in 1985.
In 1988, Jones became the first SU player to earn the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. She led the team in scoring in her junior and senior seasons, and currently ranks second on the Syracuse all-time three-point field goal percentage list (.353).
Jones resides in Laurel, Md. with her four-year-old son, Andrew.
