By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
A brief offseason break for Jonquel Jones came to an end in just over a month as she returned to the hardwood in Turkey’s Herbalife Nutrition Women’s Basketball Super League.
Jones made her debut for CBK Mersin Yanisehir Belediyesi Sunday night and immediately staked her claim as a dominant force in the league.
She finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds in Mersin’s 73-70 win over Emlak to help her club improve to 2-1 on the young season.
The club now shifts its attention to FIBA Euro League play on October 26 when they face Perfumias Avenida of Spain.
Jones highlighted a season of high-priced acquisitions that vaulted Merson to no.3 in the FIBA Euro League power rankings.
“The decision to acquire the services of Briann January looks smart as her hard-nosed veteran play was a foundation for Sopron’s historic title win last season. But the big news is that they will surely be frontrunners to make it to Final Four with Jonquel Jones and Chelsea Gray both agreeing moves to the club. Those two are absolute elite at every level and immediately make Mersin serious silverware contenders if the chemistry is good and they can play together consistently at both ends of the floor.”
Club President Serdar Çevirgen said the club is excited about the possibility of adding a player of Jones’ calibre. “We are proud to add a world star like 5-time WNBA ‘AllStar’ Jonquel Jones to our squad,” he said. “We hope our transfer will be beneficial for our club and our city.”
Jones has spent her last three European seasons with Russian Premier League powerhouse - UMMC Ekaterinburg.
Russia has been the preferred offseason destination of many of the league’s stars, but many of those stars have opted for other locations amid Brittney Griner’s highly publicised imprisonment in the country.
Griner was Jones’ teammate with UMMC and left the club to sign with Mersin in June.
In 11 Euro League games, with UMMC last season, Jones averaged a team leading 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. Speaking with ESPN, Jones has said she will continue to seek opportunities outside of the WNBA in her offseason.
“I’m going to have to deal with it,” Jones said of playing abroad. “Because I feel like while the [WNBA] is making the right and necessary strides to pay us more and ensure that if we don’t want to go overseas, we don’t have to, I just feel like in my situation, the money is not comparable. I have to think about the financial status of my family and everybody else, and also the opportunities that I’m leaving if I don’t go.”
Jones reportedly signed a two-year deal during the offseason with an annual average salary of $208,075. But her WNBA salary pales in comparison to her payday abroad. What she makes in a season in the WNBA, she makes in a month in Russia, ESPN reported.
A marathon season for Jones came to an end in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup Quarterfinals in September at the World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
Jones led Bosnia and Herzegovina with averages of 13.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, and two assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the field, but her team was eliminated following the group phase.
Her appearance at the World Cup came just days after her WNBA season came to an end in the Finals for her Connecticut Sun.
Jones began her 2022 season with UMMC in the Russian Premier League, and in May, she returned to the WNBA and the Sun. She was named to the All-WNBA Second Team, the All Defensive Second Team and received her fourth WNBA All-Star selection, voted a starter for a third time.
She completed her third career season shooting at least 35 percent from three-point range, 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the three throw line. She is the only player in WNBA history to have three such seasons.
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