Tyrique Jones lost his dad days before he turned 5 years old, but his mom kept alive the memory of his father, and the first-year Anadolu Efes Istanbul center credits his basketball success, and his personality, to the way he was raised.
Tyrique Jones, Efes: 'My smile is a permanent tattoo of my mother'
Interviews
5 Mins read
Approach Tyrique Jones to talk about his family and his mother, and he is quick to comment with a big smile:
"Everybody wants to talk about my mom."
Tyrique says that with a great sense of pride, because he considers talking about his family nothing but positive.
"I think it's just a testament to my upbringing and who I am as a person. She means the world to me," the Anadolu Efes Istanbul first-year center explains.
"She's my biggest supporter. She keeps it real with me and she lets me know when I'm wrong. She lets me know when I'm right. And she's just my mother. In my eyes, she's the best mother anybody has, but I feel like every kid who has a good relationship with their mom would say that."
Petronia Baily does have a great relationship with her two sons, Tyrique and Dajoun. Unfortunately, when boys were very young, the Jones family was struck by a great tragedy.
"I want to put a smile on people's faces and it's just natural."
Tyrique and Dajoun lost their dad Lester, who drowned in Connecticut River "after a run-in with a police".
"I got the news that my father passed away two days before my fifth birthday," Tyrique says.
Even though Tyrique was too young to remember many of the things about his dad, mom made sure her sons keep alive the memory of their father through many stories and many photos.
"She never tried to take the place of my father, she just always used to be herself," Tyrique explains.
"She never tried to say, listen, I'm going to be your father and your mother. But she would let me know, you act like your dad. This mannerism you've got, you act like your dad. You're doing certain things like your dad. And I always had a bunch of pictures."
Tyrique also carries a nickname his father gave him, and wears it – on his jersey.
Eighty-eight.
"The first time I ever got number 88 was when I played football as a kid. And mom told me, 'Your dad called you 88, cause you were 8 pounds 8 ounces when you were born.' So that's where it originated from. When I was born, my dad automatically just said 88, and it stuck."
"Ever since I had the chance to put on the number 88 on a basketball court, I stuck with it," Tyrique says.
The first tattoo he got was number 88. He also has bunch of tattoos on his right arm that honor his brother, his late father, and the entire family.
As for his mother…
"My smile is a permanent tattoo of my mother. That's why you always see me smiling."
Jones was the All-EuroCup selection last season, as well as the Turkish League MVP. But apart from his success on the basketball floor, it is his personality that shines through. He is one of the most upbeat basketball players you will ever meet, the one who keeps everyone around him, in the locker room and on the court, smiling and in a good mood.
"I can't be quiet. I want to put a smile on people's faces and it's just natural. It makes me happy seeing other people smile and make other people joyful."
Despite all the comparisons with his parents, however, Tyrique Jones is not trying to imitate anyone. His outgoing personality comes from within.
"I think it's just me being me. Me being Tyrique Jones. I can't be nobody else but myself."
But make no mistake, he knows it comes because of the love he received when he was being raised, and it is very important to him that he is making his family proud.
"One of the things my mom tells me all the time, she respects the fact of how humble I am," Tyrique says, admitting he gets the chills thinking and talking about it.
"I wish my dad could have seen me play, but I know he's up there watching me."
He says he never even thought about feeling pressure because of the number he is wearing on his jersey, but he always has his family in his thoughts.
"Family means the world to me. I wish my dad could have seen me play, but I know he's up there watching me."
His mom has been with him every step of his basketball career, first in high school and in college, and now as much as she can as a pro. She has made many trips to Turkey and even flew for the EuroCup Finals last season to the Canary Islands.
"No matter what I do, if I have a good game or a bad game, as long as I'm not disrespecting myself or disrespecting others, I think I'm making my mom proud," Jones says.
"I try to hear her voice before I go out there and play. And I know she's watching. So it's always a plus knowing that she's watching."