Tre Jones is playing through adversity in the NCAA tournament as his mother, Debbie Jones, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. After a subpar performance against UCF in the Round of 32, Jones was a big reason for Duke’s victory over Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16. After the game, Jones admitted that he is fighting for his mom.
Jones announced the news about his mom via an Instagram post on March 7th.
We are writing this post so that this information comes from our family, and that we can answer any questions before they are asked. Our mother, our rock, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. We are fortunate that it was caught at an early stage. We want to let everyone know she is doing great and fighting extremely hard. Anyone that knows her, knows how tough and strong she truly is and that she will beat this! We would like to ask for prayers, positive vibes, and privacy for our family during this time. We love you momma and we got your back!?
After the ACC championship, Jones called his mother his “coach” and noted it provided him with a little extra motivation to continue winning for her.
“It’s been able to help me,” Jones told the News & Record. “It’s kind of motivated me to just play the game as well. I grew up around basketball; my mom has always been my coach or been at my games and now with what she’s going through, she’s not able to be at as much stuff right now. It definitely makes me want it even more and do it for her.”
Tre Jones Honored His Mother by Wearing Custom Nike Kyries
Duke posted a photo of a pair of custom Kyrie 5’s Jones was wearing to honor his mother. The shoes are white and maroon with a prominent ribbon on the side.
“??? @Tre3Jones will wear these customized Kyrie 5’s in honor of his mom, who is battling breast cancer. Our thoughts are with @Debbieddjones and the Jones family. ???,” Duke basketball tweeted.
Jones’ teammates have taken notice of how much adversity their point guard is overcoming. RJ Barrett complimented Jones’ toughness after Duke defeated Virginia Tech to advance to the Elite Eight. Cam Reddish noted to the News & Observer that he admired how Jones is still able to perform at a high level despite the family challenges.
Tre has been the same way and he does a great job of whenever he steps on the basketball court, putting everything in there to help the team win. He’s going through some personal stuff and that’s all the more testament. Not many people could go through what he’s going through and perform…Tre is just that guy honestly, I really don’t know he does it. He’s fighting through it … we’re all here for him and everybody has his back. He’s going to continue to fight and we’re going to continue fighting with him.
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