As far back as he can remember, Portland (Ore.) native Terrence Jones has traveled cross-country to family reunions in New Orleans every other year, with 200-plus people attending the weekend-long festivities. Now that Jones has been acquired by the Crescent City's NBA franchise, some of those large-scale get-togethers between the forward's relatives may be hosted by the Smoothie King Center.
“It was very exciting for them when I signed here,” Jones said, smiling widely. “Everybody was (half-jokingly) trying to get dibs on tickets, talking about what games they wanted to choose. It was a lot of fun. It gave my family (in Oregon) a happy, warm feeling, that they knew I was going to be around true family members who've shown me love and support, even if my family from Portland isn't here.”
Jones, who spent his first four NBA seasons with Houston – about a five-hour drive from New Orleans – is accustomed to seeing the Big Easy as a home away from home. During his two-year college career at Kentucky, the Wildcats' trips to face LSU drew scores of family to Baton Rouge. Fortunately for the 24-year-old, his mother Linda has always been there to handle ticket requests, a role she will continue to help fill when she visits New Orleans (coincidentally, Kentucky won the '12 national championship in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a game attended by dozens of Jones' relatives).
“I put a lot of faith in my mom when it comes to organizing the ticket numbers, just because I want to focus on the game, and make sure I can go out there and compete at the best of my abilities for the team,” Jones said, who paused before pointing out, “it would hurt my heart to ever have to tell any family member no on tickets.”
Born in New Orleans, Linda moved with her family to Portland when she was about 10 years old, the third-youngest of 10 children. That accounts partly for the large number of family members Terrence visits when he comes to Louisiana, including some of his six aunts. Although he grew up on the West Coast, he sounds a lot like a Gulf South native when he describes his love for the local cuisine, including some of its unique dishes.
“I'm a big seafood guy, so I like anything with crab, crawfish, etouffee, alligator,” the 6-foot-9, 255-pounder said. “Anything that is Southern and reminds me of home, I'll eat. When I was growing up, the food was what I thought of most about New Orleans. From the home-cooked food, to crawfish, greens, all the soul food, just how diverse it is and how you can get any genre of food you want. From healthy all the way to just greasy, or however you like it.”
Asked if he has a favorite NOLA restaurant among the legions of world-class locations, Jones laughs and points out that his go-to dinners have always been family recipes.
“I mainly get meals home-cooked when I've been here,” he said, smiling. “I'm taking them out of my auntie's kitchen!”
Jones estimates that his support system in the area numbers close to 100 family members, accounting for roughly half of the attendees at his regular summer reunions.
“We've had a couple hundred people at our reunions and do activities all over the city,” he said. “From (community) givebacks to picnics to everyone going to church. It's just quality time to get to know another family member that maybe you haven't had a chance to meet, who can actually better you because they've gone through experiences of life that can help you as a person. That's what our family is all about, coming together and making each other better. It's always been a warm, welcoming feeling and a home away from home for me.”
