QUINCY (WGEM) – For former Hannibal basketball standout Dezi Jones, playing professional basketball is something he’s always dreamed.
And that dream is about to come true after the Pirates all-time leading scorer recently signed with Rogaska Crystal of the Slovenian League.
“Playing professional basketball has always been a dream of mine ever since the seventh grade,” Jones said. “After my seventh-grade season, that’s when I told myself that I want to go as far as I can with the sport and wanted to just focus solely on basketball. I also played other sports like football in middle school and after seventh grade I wanted to stop playing (football) but my mom made me play in eighth grade for some reason. But that was when I started to take it seriously and started training and putting in all the hours and doing everything I needed to be the best at basketball.”
Rogaska, based out of Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia, is coming off a 8-19 season in the Slovenian League (Liga Nova KBM) but the team was in the Slovenian Cup semifinals the previous season in 2023-24.
“The opportunity came about from my agency just being well connected over in Europe and getting me the best exposure to get on a team so shout out to them for their help,” Jones said. “I mean, of course, the coaches watched me play and really liked my game and believe in me, especially since I’m coming off a long year of recovering from the hip labrum surgery that I had last July (2024). So it’s only right to be a part of an organization and coach and agency that believes in me to the fullest.”
Jones played collegiately for Moberly Area Community College, Quinnipiac University and Austin Peay University.
After graduating from Austin Peay, Jones returned to Hannibal working a part-time job and training future basketball players through his “Dezi Jones Skills Training.” He was also an assistant coach under Hannibal High School boys basketball coach Josh Pickett and helped with YMCA league.
Jones offered words of encouragement for the next generation of area basketball players and their hopes for the future.
“To every kid I trained and coached I hope I made an impact on your life with all the information that I have given you,” Jones said. You might not realize what I was saying during the time I would get on you, lol, but in the future you will understand what I was trying to instill in you. All you have to do is believe you can do something, plan it out and execute that plan and blessing will come your way. Everyone has their own path to success so don’t rush it and embrace your journey and don’t live life with regret, time always goes on with or without you.”
Jones has also put in a lot of time recovering from the hip injury.
“It has been a tough and challenging process but also a blessing for myself,” Jones said. “I think I’m better than I was before this surgery and that’s scary. I had a lot of time to find myself in this process and to plan out my life and how I’m gonna be successful in whatever that I do.”
During Jones’ final year with Austin Peay during the 2023-24 season, he averaged 14.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, playing a total of 35 games. He was named to the A-Sun All-Tournament Team.
At Quinnipiac, the 5-foot-9 guard was named to the 2022-23 All-MAAC second team. He led the team (20-12 overall, 11-9 MAAC) in points per game (12.5), 3-point shot percentage (.417) and free-throw percentage (.835).
During the 2021-22 season at Quinnipiac, Jones averaged 11.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on 47.4% shooting.
Before signing with Quinnipiac, Jones played at Moberly Area Community College during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
He averaged 17.5 points, 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game in 22 contests as a sophomore at MACC in 2020-21 – shooting 41.5% from the field and 35.5% from 3-point range.
During the 2019-20 season, Jones averaged 12.0 points, 4.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game for MACC in 33 contests as a freshman. Jones shot 43.6% from the floor, and 37.9% from 3-point distance.
As a senior at Hannibal during the 2018-19 season, Jones led the Pirates to the North Central Missouri Conference title as he averaged 30.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
For his career, Jones left as Hannibal’s all-time leading scorer with 2,153 points. He tallied 721 points during his senior year and set a school record for points in a game with 50 against Marshall on Feb. 9, 2019.
Although Jones is still awaiting on details off the court to be ironed out before heading overseas, he’s ready to do whatever it takes on the court to be successful.
“Coach (Damjan Novokovic) told me what he wants me to be for the team and that’s just like every single coach in the world,” Jones said. “But at the same time it’s all up to me, myself and I. I can’t come in complacent or cocky and be like I’m not gonna work hard. I’m going to work the hardest like I’m the worst player on the court. I’m going to do what Coach needs me to do whatever role that is. I’m going to be the best version of myself and do whatever it takes to win basketball games. So it’s up to me on how my role will be and it’s up to me on what I’m going to get out of my career.”
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