Jazmine Jones remembered what it was like to get thrown into the metaphorical fire.
Last year, she and the Liberty’s core of rookies took on a league with far more experience than them, playing starter minutes out of necessity. Jones’ workload increased ten-fold in games once Sabrina Ionescu was pulled from the WNBA bubble after an early-season ankle injury. Jones was asked to play point guard for the first time since high school.
The 2020 Liberty won just two games.
The present-day Libs went 2-0 to start the season with a chance to win No. 3 against the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center on Tuesday evening. And before the 2021 season even started, Jones guaranteed more than two wins, also explaining there wasn’t much pressure to do so.
“All we need to do is be better than we were last year,” Jones explained again on Thursday before the game. “So all we need is to win another game more than we did last year. It can potentially be three tonight. Just build on that.”
That build couldn’t be more obvious.
Jones, 24, in her second year, has now become a mentor of sorts to the two new rookies on the team, and she also has the opportunity to learn from the more experienced, championship-winning veterans brought in over the offseason.
There’s still Layshia Clarendon, who Jones played alongside in the grueling season down in Bradenton, Fla. She also spent time getting to play with the 2020 Most Improved Player, Betnijah Laney and Seattle Storm champion, Sami Whitcomb, in training camp and now in the season. Rashanda Grey, who signed on a hardship contract, spent two games with the Libs, and Jones, before getting cut to make room for Kiah Stokes, who returned from playing overseas. Bec Allen returned after opting out last year and played her first game on Sunday. And the big offseason addition, Natasha Howard, the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year, was en route to Brooklyn as of early Tuesday morning.
Needless to say, Jones isn’t a starter so much anymore, but much like last season, she’s still been a big piece of this year’s offense. On Sunday against the Indiana Fever, Jones came off the bench and dropped 10 points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals over almost 16 minutes of play.
And when she’s not playing, she’s the team’s biggest fan and motivator, something that hasn’t changed and something Walt Hopkins has touted her for. The Liberty head coach last season even said everyone needed a Jazmine Jones.
“We’re only three games in the season. Everybody is trying to figure out their permanent roles on the team, but I’mma do the same thing that I’ve done last year,” Jones said. “Every single day, I’m gonna continue to bring the energy, the energy, the effort, the passion, the grit on both sides of the ball and just pick up where there’s a lack of effort on the offensive end, on the defensive end, whatever.
“I’m just trying to be that spark coming off the bench.”
