March 2, 2018
Willie “Hutch” Jones (1980-82) left Vanderbilt with Commodore basketball fans talking about his commanding dunks and multiple sweatbands from wrist to elbow. Jones was once referred to in a Vanderbilt press release as “flamboyant.”
“I enjoyed wearing them,” Jones said recently from his Buffalo home. “I had about three sweatbands on each arm. Now they call that a brand or trademark. Back then they called it flamboyant. That was my trademark. I liked wearing those red sweatbands. It kept the sweat off my hands and it was multipurpose. If I’m going towards the rim, I’m going to try and dunk the ball, which will lessen some of the banging on my arms.”
Jones played for Buffalo’s Bishop Turner High School where he averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds per game. He was named as the team’s captain and most valuable player.
Jones played for three coaches in four years during a divisive time in Vanderbilt basketball history. The 6-foot-8, 190-pound small forward began his collegiate career in his hometown at Buffalo State. They were a Division II school that dropped to Division III having to give up scholarships due to poor finances. Jones decided to transfer after playing in 21 games averaging 7.1 points and 6.9 rebounds as a freshman.
“It was time for me to become a journeyman,” said Jones. “I considered transferring to a junior college in New Mexico, the University of Detroit, Oral Roberts and Vanderbilt. Dale Clayton offered me a scholarship to Vanderbilt. He was an assistant for [head coach] Wayne Dobbs.
“They brought me down on a recruitment trip. I really liked what I saw with the culture at Vanderbilt. Charles Davis (1978-81) took me around Nashville and I immediately knew this was it. I loved the SEC with Kentucky and LSU and the original members. Vanderbilt had been televised regionally in my area so I was familiar with them.”
Jones was required to sit out a year to satisfy the NCAA transfer rules. The red shirt year enabled Jones to work on his game playing at a higher level and gain strength. That season the Commodores were 18-9 (11-7 SEC) in Dobbs’ third year after replacing legendary coach Roy Skinner.
At the end of the season, Dobbs was named SEC Coach of the Year and shortly thereafter was fired by Vanderbilt officials for undisclosed reasons. Virginia assistant coach Richard Schmidt replaced Dobbs.
In Jones’ first season as a Commodore, the team was 13-13 (7-11 SEC). He broke into the starting lineup averaging nine points and 5.7 rebounds per game. That ranked him behind Mike Rhodes (18.4), Ted Young (10.0) and Mark Elliott (9.6) in scoring. But it was a victory against Auburn where Jones became a fan favorite. A Vanderbilt press release reported:
“A twisting, 360-degree slam-dunk off a long, lead pass at the crest of the game’s deciding moments produced prolonged pandemonium among 15,350 Memorial Gym fans present and a visible gleam in the face of Vanderbilt caused celebration.”
“That blew the lid off everything down there,” Jones said. “At that time stuff like that was not happening especially in a game situation. It put me on the map and gained attention to Vanderbilt basketball. Richard [Schmidt] did not like it. He thought it was a showboat thing. We had a discrepancy about that. He thought it was a hotdog thing and shouldn’t have been done. I told him the game of basketball is changing and this was just showing my expression. He did mess with my playing time when that happened. He couldn’t hold me back because I was doing my thing statistically.
“The fans had not seen that before. I had already perfected it in practices doing a 360 from every angle on the floor. Things you do in practice the public don’t really see. James Williams (1980-83) knew I was going to do it before I did it. When he saw me on a breakaway he thought to himself, ‘he’s getting ready to do it. I know he is. He’s going to let it go.’”
In Jones’ junior season, Vanderbilt was 15-14 (7-11, SEC) while averaging 9.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Jones also led the SEC in field goal percentage (66.7). The season began with seniors Davis and Rhodes each within reach of becoming Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer. Controversy ensued when Schmidt sometimes benched his star players before and at crucial times during games. Vanderbilt fans and the Nashville media were confused.
“From my point of view he [Schmidt] did not want to see Charles get the record,” said Jones. “It might have been jealousy. When you start jerking a player around like that it messes with his confidence. It wasn’t right to hold somebody back. Charles should have gotten the record.
“I can’t understand why he treated Rhodes the same way. Rhodes was a great guy who could shoot and score. It was obvious that he [Schmidt] and Charles didn’t get along. Charles was a workaholic and just wanted to win. If it took him not playing to get a win Charles would say ‘sit me down.’ It was not an attitude thing.”
Jones became a part of Memorial Magic history against Ole Miss when he hit a turn-around jumper with two seconds on the clock for a 52-50 Commodores victory.
“Every kid fantasizes while playing in the backyard and counting down 5-4-3-2-1 and boom take a shot to win a game,” Jones said. “It was like a dream play. It was a five-foot bank shot. Statistically I wasn’t missing too many close shots. I have a poster that I sent out to many people throughout the country of me actually taking that shot in that game. You can see the ball leaving my hand.”
Another big win for Vanderbilt was an upset over No. 7 Kentucky 60-55 in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats’ key players were Sam Bowie and Mel Turpin. Rhodes eventually became Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer (1, 699) while Davis finished his Commodore career with 1,675 points. Clyde Lee (1964-66) held the previous mark (1,691).
With the season’s turmoil, Schmidt was replaced by former Alabama coach C.M. Newton, who was in retirement from coaching. Newton stabilized the Vanderbilt basketball program.
“As a ballplayer you gravitate to knowledge and fair play,” Jones said. “C.M. said he knew what he walked into and was only worried about what we could control and not the things we can’t control. That stayed in my mind. He wanted us to stay in shape and do certain things on the court.
“We were in a new weight program stressing to get as strong as we could. Those were things we could control. How was the officiating going to be? We could not control those variables. He got us off the past distractions with a very good knowledge of basketball. Alabama always had good teams with C.M. We all respected him. I wish I had another year with him. He was awesome. I appreciated that he was in my life. Each year my coaching got better. The new coach was better than the last coach.”
In Jones’ final season the Commodores were 15-13 (7-11, SEC). As a co-captain, Jones led the team in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (6.4). For the third consecutive season, Jones led the team in field goal percentage (58.7). For that effort he was named first-team All-SEC.
Jones scored career-highs with 37 points against Alabama (Memorial Gym) and 32 against Florida.
“As a player I was getting better and my work ethic was there,” Jones said. “I was getting the ball and shooting well. Everything was clicking. Before the Florida game I was sick I was in bed and after the game I was back in bed. I had a bad cold and I couldn’t breathe very well.
“We won down there and I played great. Looking at some of the video footage I missed a few shots under the basket. I should have had over 40 points that night. At that point in time if somebody had 30 points in a game that was awesome.
“Then we came home and played Alabama. That was the night I had 37 points and eight dunks in the game. If I had another season I might have made All-American the way I was playing.”
Being from the northeast Jones said he enjoyed playing the competition in the SEC and wasn’t concerned who the opponent was or if it were Vanderbilt’s bitter rivals Tennessee and Kentucky.
“I was up to playing against anybody,” said Jones. “On the other teams there was probably someone that I knew real well and I had to match up against. When we played Georgia I had to go against Dominique [Wilkins]. The thing about Dominique was don’t let him touch the ball and don’t give him the opportunity to dunk it. He was a highlight film himself.
“At UT I had to go against Howard Wood. As you play in the conference you become friends with these people. Players are players and they respect each other. At Tennessee, I had a friend Tyrone Beaman who was from Buffalo. We had played against each other in summer leagues. Now we are rivals and are going after each other.
“Then after the game we are still friends. At Auburn I remember checking [Charles] Barkley. He was a freshman and I was a senior so I outfought him. There weren’t too many players on our team that could stay with those guys. They played street ball and got you in foul trouble.”
Jones ranks second all-time in Vanderbilt career field goal percentage (60.5) behind Will Perdue (1984, 1986-88) at 60.6. In a season (minium100 FGA) Steve Grant (1989-90) ranks first (.678) while Jones follows at .667.
Jones was selected in the third round (54th overall) of the 1982 NBA Draft by the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. He said this was long before “one-and-done” but certain players were leaving college early as a “hardship.” Jones felt this hurt his draft position where a first or second rounder had guaranteed contracts.
“Pat Riley and the Lakers were building a team for the regular season,” said Jones. “They knew they were going to win the Western Conference. They were putting a team together to beat either Boston or Philadelphia in the finals. That was their mindset.
“The Lakers picked up Bob McAdoo in a trade and power forward Mark Landsberger who came over from playing in Italy. James Worthy was their first round draft pick and No.1 overall. I was just out of college and was released before the season began. It was a great experience for me because our practices were harder than some of the teams we played in exhibitions. If I beat James Worthy on a play, I had maybe two dribbles before Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper or Magic Johnson was sure to whip me.
“They were the top defensive players in the league. If you got by them there was one more man there waiting for you and he is seven-foot-two. If you got by obstacles one, two and three then there was Kareen [Abdul-Jabbar].
“I was out of basketball for about a week when the [San Diego] Clippers asked me to come out for the team. That was the year that Bill Walton was injured and playing about one game a week. That gave me an opportunity to play at a forward spot. That was also the year they had Terry Cummings and Craig Hodges. These guys were not as good as the Lakers.”
Jones played in 13 games in parts of two seasons in San Diego where he averaged 3.2 points (17-of-40) and 1.3 rebounds per game. He did have a few memorable moments in the NBA.
“When we played Boston I had to check Larry Bird,” Jones said. “I was expendable. They didn’t care if I fouled out. A game in San Diego with the New Jersey Nets was televised in the New York City area. I had family living there and they actually got to see me playing on television. I got a few minutes of playing time and scored about six points.
“I remember during the game I was checking a guy named Buck Williams. They set a pick against me. I felt like I ran into a wall. My kneecaps bumped each other. I thought my knees were fractured. I looked up and had run into Darryl Dawkins [Nets]. I don’t think he knew I ran into him.”
Jones finished his seven-year professional basketball career in the Continental Basketball Association and overseas in Spain and Italy. Jones is employed by the Buffalo Board of Education and has been coaching basketball for 25 years, the past 17 at Burgard High School.
Many years ago he started the Willie “Hutch” Jones Educational and Sports Program where the “mission is to provide underserved children at no charge, equal opportunities to engage in the highest quality programs and to offer character-building activities through academics, sports and the arts.”
The initiative has served more than 10,000 children in 33 years. It features free after school and summer programming for ages 5-16. Jones has received numerous community awards for this effort. Jordan Matthews, former Vanderbilt football player and current Buffalo Bills receiver has become involved with Jones and the organization.
This past year, Jones was inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. In attendance at the black-tie event supporting Jones were former Vanderbilt teammates Tommy Springer (1977-80), Jim Lampley (79-80) and Charles Davis.
“It was great to hang out with my old teammates again,” said Jones. “We had a ball for a few days. I did not get inducted for a great hall of fame career like O.J. Simpson, but for my work in the community of which I’m very proud.”
Traughber’s Tidbit: Several years ago Vanderbilt asked Jones to donate part of his memorabilia for a display in Memorial Gym. Jones donated his Lakers jersey, which is in one of the lobbies in the gym. Displayed in a glass case with Jones’ jersey are jerseys from Frank Kornet (Milwaukee) and Charles Davis (Bulls). Included in other lobby displays around the gym are a collection of photos, trophies, more jerseys and various memorabilia from past Vanderbilt men and women student-athletes. Special displays record the accomplishments of Coach Roy Skinner and Perry Wallace, the first African-American basketball player in the SEC.
Tidbit Two: Congratulations to former Vanderbilt basketball player Rod Freeman who will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame on March 21. Freeman averaged 23.3 points per game as a senior with a school-best 866 career rebounds playing for Anderson, Ind. Philadelphia of the NBA, the Memphis Tams of the ABA and the New York Giants of the NFL all selected him in 1973 drafts. Freeman played in 35 games in one season for the 76ers.
Other Vanderbilt basketball players included in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame are: Jim Henry (1957-59), Tom Arnholt (1970-72), Bob White (1952-53), Jerry Southwood (1965-67), Hub Houghland (1957-58) and Bill Depp (1959-61).
If you have any comments or questions contact Bill Traughber via email WLTraughber@aol.com.
