Colby Jones: Always Stay Prayed Up
Colby Jones – Mountain Brook High School – Class of 2020 - Xavier University Commit
Although Colby Jones is arguably the top basketball recruit in Alabama, but that’s not how he wants to be remembered. It’s not an easy feat when basketball runs in your genes. Colby’s father, Chad, played at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and his brother, C.J., will be playing professionally next year after recently concluding his final season at Middle Tennessee State. It was his father who taught him the game at a young age and his brother who inspired him to keep raising his game to the elder Jones’ level of competition.
How Colby wants to be remembered, however, is as the kid whose father is a construction worker and whose mother, Lesley Bryant, is a nurse. He wants to be remembered as a man who made the most of his opportunities after his parents sacrificed for him and his brothers, C.J. and Trent. When he makes a mistake, his parents’ thoughts and potential disappointment are his first concern. Lesley not only works long hours, but she still finds the time to attend all of Colby’s high school and AAU games. His grandparents sometimes make the journey alongside her.
His dad has taught him how to manage his priorities, stay focused, and keep a relationship with God where you always “stay prayed up.” Staying prayed up entails spiritual preparation and empowerment. It means asking God to offer you insight, protection, forgiveness, strength, love, and hope. Staying prayed up is everything in the Jones’ household.
His family is so tight-knit that his grandmother, aunt, and mother’s cousin all live in Colby’s neighborhood. Summer weekends are spent by the pool and cooking at the grill in the Jones’ backyard. This familial foundation gave Colby the freedom to explore his options.
Up until high school, Colby was a two-sport athlete, with football holding the other half of his athletic interest. Yet after injuring his hip flexor during a game, he realized the wear and tear on his body wasn’t worth it. He also took interest in the saxophone, splitting time between the school band and basketball court. Even with those activities comprising most of his daily schedule, he still made sure to prioritize quality time with his family either at dinner or at movie nights. Although his mother focuses on healthier dinner options, Colby prefers some cajun wings when he gets his choice.
Colby’s coaches, teammates, and friends strengthened his familial infrastructure, beginning with his AAU Coach, Robert Shannon. Shannon played with Colby’s father at UAB and took Colby under his wing as a mentor. Says Colby, “when I played for him in ninth grade, Coach Shannon kept it real from the beginning, told me to never let up, and prepared me for the tough times.”
Colby’s friendships have been crucial in getting through those times. Being that he’s shy until you get to know him, those who he trusts have earned it. Among those who have earned it are Holt Bashinsky and the other seven seniors on his high school team. They keep Colby grounded on and off the court, whether it’s “cracking jokes with each other” or discussing their personal lives over pizza. Give him some pizza, wings, and Lil’ Baby music and he can spend all day with them. He’s hoping to add future teammates Dwon Odom and CJ Welcher to that list of trusted allies. They’re looking to become a trio to be reckoned with when they get their opportunity at Xavier.
Colby’s recruiting trail leading up to Xavier was hectic, but his parents, particularly his mother, enjoyed being involved in the process. She was comforted getting to meet the people who her son may be spending the next four years alongside, but was also glad when the calls and texts throughout the night finally ended. Through everything she emphasized how she would support him no matter what decision he made. So before making any decision he spoke with his brother C.J. who told him to “take it slow.” Coach Shannon advised him to “make the right decision between your head and heart.” That led him to Xavier.
Colby wanted a place that wanted him as much as he wanted it. Xavier provided a good education, smaller more individual-focused classes, and the type of environment where he could embrace the entire college experience. His interactions with the coaching staff “sealed the deal.” Coach Travis Steele and his staff made him feel like they wanted him there. Colby says “they kept texting me and checking in on me before and after my visit.” That visit made him “feel at home.”
He understands that as he becomes more well-known at Xavier, he’ll hear criticism, whether deserved or not, from others. Colby is hoping most of those critics will be positive, but he’ll pray for those who aren’t. Now, he’s just looking forward to working on his game and getting ready for the challenge of higher education. He knows if playing, coaching, or commentating isn’t part of his long-term path, he’ll have a degree in engineering or business to eventually fall back on.
“LeBron came up from nothing. He’s done so much for his community and with everything happening in the world, we need more of that.”
For Colby, it’s more about the journey and impact he makes on others. He views LeBron James as a model for that journey, saying “LeBron came up from nothing. He’s still with his girl from high school and now they have a family. He’s done so much for his community and with everything happening in the world, we need more of that.”
It’s why he wants to bring attention to the GoFundMe account that future teammate Jason Carter has created for Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank, an organization working to solve hunger and provide meals to people in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. For Colby, his faith, humility, and love for people is what makes him different. It’s no wonder that his favorite movie is the Nicholas Cage Drama,“Family Man.” When all is said and done, he only wants people to remember two things about him, how he treated people and that he always “stayed prayed up.”