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Chicago. A city built on buckets and legends, where the game is gospel. Cappie Pondexter, Yolanda Griffith, Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker—the list goes on and on. The city’s favorite roses blossomed and, like any great flower, they made sure to grow the game for the next generation. We see it every day: the CP3 face-up drive from the high post, the drive-and-spin from Tamika Catchings, and every layup package from Pondexter and Griffith. But who’s up next?
Trinity Jones, a 6-1 guard from Naperville Central, would like a word.
Don’t believe us? Jones broke Candace Parker’s single-game high school scoring record of 42 points when she dropped 43 against reigning state champ Kenwood Academy in her senior home opener. Then she turned around later in the season and broke her own record with 44.
She finished her senior season averaging 28.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.8 spg while leading the Redhawks to a 26-7 record and a deep postseason run.
When asked what her scouting report on herself would be, Jones kept it simple: “Y’all just got to lock up. Lock up and talk to each other.”
That dawg mentality has always been in the cards. The SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 7 alum pulled up to New York City and made it hers. Trinity has a spark that lights up every room, and the moment she steps on the court, that spark doubles. “I just want to win,” she says.
The Team USA gold medalist knows her worth, but that growth didn’t happen overnight and it definitely wasn’t easy. In the spring before her junior year, Jones tore her ACL, sidelining her for the season. Her confidence was tested, but her faith prevailed.
“There was just so much stuff that I had to overcome, especially with my mental. I’m still overcoming it to this day,” Jones says. “Obviously rehab, getting the strength back. So I would say when it came to finding my confidence again, it was a roller-coaster effect.”
It was a minor setback for a major comeback. And come back she did. Dropping dimes, knocking down shots and meeting opponents at the rim. But behind the scenes, the journey looked different. Trinity had to learn how to trust her body again with every stride, while mentally pushing herself to believe everything would be OK.
“Honestly, some days I’ll feel like, OK, I’m back,” Jones says. “I just had a 20-point game in AAU. I’m feeling good, feeling myself. Then the next game it’s like, Do I want to hit a Euro step? Do I want to spin move? I don’t know if my leg is going to react some type of way.”
Through family, friends and teammates, Trinity found her rhythm and made her presence felt as if she had never stepped away from the game.
One person who helped during that journey was Katie Fudd, mother of Dallas Wings’ rookie Azzi Fudd. Trinity spent time watching Azzi’s road-to-recovery documentary, and at camps, Katie Fudd pushed her to another level, fueling her competitiveness.
“She’s like, So what are you doing? I’m like, Watching practice. She’s like, Oh, so you’re just going to waste an hour of your time? Are you going to stretch? Are you going to do stuff? I’m like, You’re right, you’re right. Then she stretched me out. She helped me. So just things like that. I really looked up to [Azzi’s] journey,” Jones says.
So when we say major comeback, we mean it. If dropping a 40-ball in your home opener doesn’t prove she prevailed and pushed herself, we don’t know what does. What we do know, though, is Maryland is getting a dawg. A powerful class is coming in, and Trinity is ready to work and show that she is not just ready for this level, but the next one, too.
“I would say consistency,” Trinity says, when asked what she wants to improve at the next level. “I feel like I’m at a good spot in my life where I know the things I need to work on. The two factors I would say are ballhandling and shooting consistently. I feel like I can do both of them now, but if I can do that consistently at all times whenever I want, you can’t stop that.”
All it takes is Trinity being herself. Every turning point, every obstacle, every challenge, she’s answered it with work. Now she heads to the DMV with everything she needs to become a star.
“Positive energy, positive vibes, the mentality to work. There are going to be hard days, adjustments, more responsibility. I’m excited. I’m ready to endure it all and see how it goes,” Trinity says. “I just got to trust the process and go with it.”
