Husky Talk- Rashamel Jones

An unbelievable Husky Talk with former UConn Men's Basketball Star Rashamel Jones, who helped the Huskies win their first National Championship in 1999.

Growing up, Rashamel was a three-sport guy playing basketball, baseball and football. “I was playing football and baseball before I ever picked up a basketball.” Rash had been on football and baseball teams starting around 5 but didn’t join a basketball team until around the age of 12. It wasn’t long before he realized basketball was becoming his favorite of the three sports.

One day in the spring of the eighth grade, Rash’s gym teacher asked him what his plans were for high school. Having grown up in Mount Vernon, New York, Rash said he’d probably go to Mount Vernon or Port Chester. Rash’s gym teacher went on to tell him that he had accepted a new job as head football coach at Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford, Connecticut, and wanted to take Rash with him to play on his team.

Rash visited Trinity Catholic with his teacher and while there he saw the varsity basketball team practicing. The basketball coach asked Rash if he wanted to jump in. First time he touched the ball, he tomahawks a dunk on Trinity’s player who started at center.

Basketball was going very well, and he didn’t want to take the chance of getting hurt playing football. “The decision made sense, and I have no regrets.” Although Rash’s eighth grade gym teacher had invited Rash to Trinity to be on his football team, Rash actually never even played on the football team. Rash proceeded for the next four years to get on a 7:00 a.m. train in Mount Vernon arriving in Stamford, CT at 8:00 AM, then taking the city bus arriving at Trinity Catholic around 8:20 AM every morning, then returned to Mount Vernon each night.

Rash was named Fairfield County Player of the Year three out of his four years, and during his senior year was the state of Connecticut and the Gatorade Player of the Year.

For college, his top choices were UConn Huskies, Boston College, and UMass. He remembers Coach John Calipari from the Minutemen visiting him at home. Calipari told Rash he would start as a freshman, blow teams out with the tandem of him and Marcus Camby. When he left, Rash's grandmother said he sounded like a used car salesman and no way was he attending UMass.

Coach Calhoun visited, there was no pomp in circumstance, only truth and transparency. Coach said he would get a few minutes playing behind UConn Legend and NBA star Ray Allen as a freshman. All