MILWAUKEE (AP) — Marquette’s Kam Jones wants to spend this season honoring one of his high school coaches. He’s off to a heck of a start. Jones recorded the third triple-double in Marquette history Tuesday night by posting 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the 15th-ranked Golden Eagles’ 76-58 victory over No.
6 Purdue. It was his first game since learning about the death of Terry Tippett, who coached Jones his freshman year at Evangelical Christian in Memphis, Tennessee. Tippett died Saturday at age 79.
He won six Tennessee state championships at three different high schools during a remarkable coaching career that ended in 2018, after Jones’ freshman season at Evangelical Christian. “I wanted to really dedicate this game to him and dedicate the rest of the season to him,” Jones said. Jones’ triple-double was the Golden Eagles’ first since Dwyane Wade had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in an 83-69 NCAA Tournament regional final victory over Kentucky that earned Marquette its most recent Final Four appearance in 2003.
“It’s an honor to be in that type of company,” Jones said. Marquette’s only other triple-double came when Tony Miller had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Wisconsin on Dec. 31, 1994.
Jones’ 13 rebounds and 10 assists both constituted career highs, showing how the 6-foot-5 senior is expanding his game. He led Marquette (5-0) in scoring each of the last two seasons averaging 15.1 points for their 2022-23 Big Ea.
