Jumaine Jones, who was named SEC Newcomer of the Year in 1998 and led the SEC in scoring in 1999, will be the Georgia Bulldogs’ SEC Legend at the upcoming SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
This marks the 21st year of the SEC Basketball Legends program. Each of the 14 Legends will be recognized at halftime of his school’s first game of the tourney, which is slated for March 13-17 at Bridgestone Arena.
Jones earned Parade All-America honors as a standout at Mitchell-Baker High School in Camilla, Ga. He was named the SEC’s top newcomer as a freshman in 1998 when he led the Bulldogs in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.5
Jones was a consensus All-SEC honoree after each season, earning third-team honors as a freshman and first-team accolades as a sophomore.
Jones declared for the 1999 NBA Draft and was selected in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks. He went on to play eight seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers,Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Bobcats and Phoenix Suns through the 2007. He continued his professional playing career internationally with success in Italy, Russia, Israel, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico and Mexico until retiring in 2017.
The other 2019 SEC Legends are: Erwin Dudley (Alabama), Corey Beck (Arkansas), Mike Mitchell (Auburn), Livingston Chatman (Florida), Johnny Cox (Kentucky), Wayde Sims (LSU), Justin Reed (Ole Miss), Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State), Melvin Booker (Missouri), Carlos Powell (South Carolina), Mike Jackson (Tennessee), Antoine Wright (Texas A&M) and Derrick Byars (Vanderbilt).