Moon Township, Pa. - Redshirt freshman guard Velton Jones (Philadelphia, Pa. / Northeast Catholic) of the Robert Morris University men's basketball team became the third player in as many weeks to be honored by the Northeast Conference Monday, as he was named the Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week.
Jones follows in the footsteps of freshman guard Karon Abraham (Paterson, N.J. / Harp Academy) and redshirt freshman forward Russell Johnson (Chester, Pa. / Chester) to garner the award, as Abraham was bestowed the honor Jan. 18, 2010, followed by Johnson a week ago.
Thanks to the honor by Jones, it marks the first time an NEC team has captured back-to-back-to-back rookie honors with three different players since the St. Francis (N.Y.) trio of Henry LaLane, Marcel Dimbeng and Richy Dominguez turned the trick Dec. 8-22, 1997.
In a pair of home victories last week, Jones averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from the field in helping RMU stretch its winning streak to seven games.
Jones led the way in a 66-58 win over Long Island (1/28/10) at the Charles L. Sewall Center by establishing a career-high with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting while also adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal. He scored 14 points after halftime, including six during a 12-2 spurt that turned a 46-43 deficit into a 55-47 lead with 6:22 to play.
Two nights later in a 74-56 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) (1/30/10) Jones chipped in with eight points, six assists and two steals. He scored the first three points of the second half to give Robert Morris a double-digit lead, which it would not relinquish the rest of the contest.
On the 2009-10 campaign, Jones posts averages of 8.1 points and 2.6 assists per game while leading RMU in steals with 29, an average of 1.3 per contest.
Robert Morris, led by third-year head coach Mike Rice, takes part in Rivalry Week in the NEC with a home-and-home series with in-state rival Saint Francis (Pa.). The Colonials will travel to Loretto, Pa., for a 7:30 p.m. tip against the Red Flash Thursday, Feb. 4, at DeGol Arena before returning home to the Sewall Center to host Saint Francis (Pa.) Saturday, Feb. 6, in a 7:00 p.m. tip.
