Larry Jones obit

Columbus loses ABA pioneer Larry Jones, who starred for East High and Toledo Rockets

 

 He was not on the list.

Columbus native and basketball star Larry R. Jones has died at age 83.

Jones played for East High School, the University of Toledo, and spent 10 years in the NBA and ABA.

He was a four-time ABA All-Star and the first ABA player to score 2,000 points in a season.

After his playing career, Jones coached professionally and later dedicated his time to youth basketball programs and substitute teaching in Columbus.

Columbus has lost a basketball trailblazer.

Larry R. Jones, a standout guard from East High School who starred for the University of Toledo and played 10 years in the NBA and ABA, died Aug. 16 at age 83.

Jones, a 2011 inductee into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, spent the bulk of his pro career in the ABA starring for the Denver Rockets, Floridians, Utah Stars and Dallas Chaparrals. He played two seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and finished his playing career with the Munich Eagles in Germany in 1975 before playing one game for the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Eastern Basketball Association in 1975-76.

At East High, Jones was a late bloomer as a forward listed at 6 feet 2, 180 pounds. According to his recollection during a 2024 appearance on the “Be A Baller” podcast, Jones was cut multiple times from East’s varsity team before showing rapid improvement the summer prior to his senior season.

After starring as a senior, he earned a scholarship to play for the University of Toledo. His career got another boost there after coach Ed Melvin switched Jones from forward to shooting guard. He starred for Toledo, becoming an all-MAC first team selection in 1962. He finished his collegiate career with 1,315 points in 63 games for a 20.9 points per game average, including 23.3 PPG in 15 games as a senior.

He missed all but one game during his junior year due to a fractured wrist and scored 35 points during the game he was injured. Jones was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the fifth round of the 1963 NBA Draft but returned to Toledo for his senior season. He was then selected by the 76ers in the third round of the 1964 draft.

The 76ers assigned him to Wilkes Barre of the Eastern Professional Basketball League, and he averaged 20 points per game in 1965 before making his NBA debut for the 76ers as an injury replacement to finish the season. He played two more years with Wilkes Barre before the 76ers released him.

Jones, a free agent, earned contract offers from the NBA’s Lakers and ABA’s Denver Rockets. He picked Denver and became an ABA star, but it wasn’t an easy decision.

Jones told The Dispatch in 1987 that he packed his things and began driving West before making his decision along the journey.

“When I got to St. Louis, I had to make a decision,” Jones said. “I-70 to Denver, or Rt. 66 to L.A. I decided to go to Denver. It was closer.”

During his second ABA season with the Rockets, Jones averaged 28.4 points per game and became the first ABA player to score 2,000 points in a season. In 1968-69, he set a league record with 23 straight games scoring at least 30 points. Jones became a four-time ABA all-star, three-time All-ABA first-team selection and was chosen as the ABA Players Association’s first president.

Following his playing career, Jones became an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons before taking a head coaching position with the Las Vegas Dealers of the Western Basketball Association. Jones also coached Franklin University for one season (1982-83) and joined the Women’s Professional Basketball League as director of player personnel before taking a general manager/head coach position in 1984 with the WPBL’s Columbus Minks in his hometown.

Following his career in professional basketball, Jones returned to Columbus to run youth basketball camps and work as a substitute teacher. He also earned a master’s degree in education from Ohio State.

“You try to pay back,” Jones said on the 2024 podcast appearance. “Maybe I could say something, talking to kids, that could make a difference in their life.”

Career history

As a player:

1964–1965         Philadelphia 76ers

1965     →Wilkes-Barre Barons

1965–1967         Wilkes-Barre Barons

1967–1970         Denver Rockets

1970–1972         Floridians

1972     Utah Stars

1972–1973         Dallas Chaparrals

1973–1974         Philadelphia 76ers

1975     Munich Eagles

1975–1976         Wilkes-Barre Barons

As a coach:

1976–1978         Detroit Pistons (assistant)

1978–1979         Las Vegas Dealers

1982–1983         Franklin

1984     Columbus Minks

Career highlights

 

    4× ABA All-Star (1968–1971)

    3× All-ABA First Team (1968–1970)

    All-EPBL Second Team (1966)

    First-team All-MAC (1962)

    Second-team All-MAC (1961)