BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The CSUB men's basketball team added both size and rebounding on the first day of the spring signing period when Head Coach Keith Brown inked 6–8, 240–pound freshman power forward Kregg Jones (San Diego Army–Navy Academy) to a national letter of intent.
Jones, a native of Barbados, moved to San Diego to complete his senior year of high school at the Army–Navy Academy. He averaged 10.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game for the Warriors this past season.
He scored in double figures 13 times, including a season–high 20 points in a win over San Dieguito Academy. He added a season–high 15 rebounds that night for the last of his five double–doubles in 2009–10.
Led by Jones, the Warriors earned the No. 2 seed in the CIF San Diego Section Division IV tournament, where they advanced to the semifinals before bowing to Francis Parker.
“Our needs are greatest on the frontline, where we need to improve our length and strength,” says CSUB Head Coach Keith Brown. “Kregg provides those things, along with the mobility to be an asset running the floor. He gives us the type of presence we've seen at levels above the Big West Conference.”
Brown expects Jones to make an immediate impact, even while noting that there is significant room for growth in his game.
“We expect him to have a presence defensively and as a rebounder right away,” says Brown. “He is more advanced in those areas than he is offensively, which is true of most young post players. But he has the potential to be an offensive force and we will help him develop in those areas.”
When he was first being recruited by the Roadrunners, Jones already had an interesting connection to CSUB, although nobody knew it at the time. While he was vice chancellor at Cal, current CSUB President Dr. Horace Mitchell directed an academic program in Barbados. One of the people he met through his work with the program was Neval Greenidge, Kregg's father.
“It is a unique situation to have your university president know the father of a recruit,” says Brown. “Coach (John) Mosley does such a thorough job with the recruting process that he uncovered that relationship and helped them reconnect. Dr. Mitchell took the time to meet with Kregg and his father on his visit and we are very appreciative of his efforts in the process.”
In the classroom, Jones plans to major in business administration at CSUB. He earned San Diego Union–Tribune All–Academic team honors last season with a 3.88 grade point average.”
