DURHAM, N.C. – On Thursday, March 5, North Carolina Central University officially retired the jersey and its number of alumnus and Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones during a ceremony between the NCCU women's and men's basketball games against rival North Carolina A&T inside McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
Governor Pat McCrory and Sam JonesPrior to the unveiling of the jersey hanging from the rafters of the gym where he played more than 50 years ago, Governor Pat McCrory presented Jones with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen of North Carolina.
One of the greatest NBA players of all-time, Jones played at NCCU from 1951-54 and 1956-57, and remains the school's second-leading career scorer with 1,745 points in four seasons under head coaches John McLendon and Floyd Brown.
Born in Wilmington, North Carolina and a high school graduate of Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute, Jones was chosen by the Boston Celtics with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 1957 NBA Draft.
His 12-year career with the Celtics included 10 NBA Championships, five All-Star Game appearances and three selections to the All-NBA Second Team. Nicknamed "Mr. Clutch," Jones amassed 15,411 points, an average of 17.7 points per game, 4,305 rebounds and 2,209 assists in 871 contests.
Jones was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the NCCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984, as well as the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1969. He was selected to the NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1970, and was later named among the top 50 players in NBA history as a member of the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.
