YouTube Gold: Bobby Jones

A wonderful basketball player and a good man too.

In the early 1970’s, Duke was trying to find its way in the post-Bubas era.

Vic Bubas had put Duke in a dizzying orbit, competing with schools like UCLA and Kentucky for national championships. For part of the 1960’s, the Bubas era, UNC was not very relevant. But Dean Smith first reached parity with Duke and then went to three straight Final Fours from 1967-69.

By the early ‘70’s, Duke had lost its way while UNC continued to soar. And as much as suffering Duke fans detested the surging UNC program, there were occasionally players who everyone respected. Perhaps no one was more respected by opponents than Bobby Jones.

A 6-9 defensive demon from Charlotte, at UNC then in the ABA and later the NBA, Jones earned immense respect for his competitive character. Jones took pride in playing the right way, once saying that if he ever felt he had to play dirty to hold on to his career, he’d just retire.

When he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1978, Jones proved to be a perfect complement to Julius Erving and later, when the Sixers got Moses Malone in 1982, Philadelphia suddenly had one of the best teams in NBA history.

As you’ll see in this video, Jones was a superb defender and one of the best running big forwards in the history of basketball. And he never compromised his principles. Yes, he was a Tar Heel, but he is a good man, and that should be appreciated.