Eshaunte "Bear" Jones took a 3-point shot against Kennesaw State Jan. 26 at The Bank of Kentucky Center. He is averaging 16 points a game and shoots 41 percent from behind the arc.
NKU men's basketball senior guard Eshaunte "Bear" Jones scored the College Sports Madness Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks. The title is awarded each Monday nationally and is given to the player who has made the biggest contribution toward their team.
Jones currently averages 16 points a game, leading the Norse, and plays an average of 31 minutes a game. Making 43 percent of his shots throughout the season, he scored 21 points in the game last week against East Tennessee State University. He also has a total of 82 rebounds and 38 assists for the season.
He previously played Division I for Nebraska University and came to Northern Kentucky to be closer to his family. Jones has two kids, Eshaunte and Elyseana, three and two, respectively.
Eshaunte is one of only three seniors on a team of mainly freshmen. He is now 24, born in 1988 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Jones has three things that inspire him on and off the court, according to him it can motivate him to do anything. God, his family and his friend Ronald who played basketball for a university in Indiana and collapsed and died while playing.
Not only does Jones attend mandatory practices regulated for the team, he makes plenty of time to lift weights and condition on his own according to NKU Athletic Director Scott Eaton.
As a Division II team, NKU never received any awards of this stature in their conference, according to Bezold. Jones was the first player to be awarded the men's basketball player of the week title.
Jones has had a basketball in his hands since age two when his older sister taught him how to play. His favorite childhood memory is scoring the buzzer beater in eighth grade to win his city's championship.
Being on this team means a lot to him and he loves to hang out with his teammates on and off the court, according to Jones.
Lately, Jones has reached and broken his career-high of 25 points. But according to Jones, winning is more important to him than his own achievements.
The team plays tomorrow at 7 p.m. against Lipscomb. NKU is overall 8-11 right now and is ranked sixth in the conference while the Bisons are ranked ninth. The team will return home Feb. 14 to face Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m.