Momo Leads An Upswing Upstate

After leading Arizona to within one basket of Final Four, Momo Jones' homecoming leads him to becoming centerpiece of Iona's MAAC resurgence. (Photo courtesy of USA Today)

Last season, Long Island University defied the odds and finished with the best record of the seven Division I college basketball programs in New York City. The tiny Brooklyn institution gave North Carolina a run for their money in the NCAA Tournament before ultimately falling victim to the Tar Heels, and now another mid-major just outside the city limits is threatening to give LIU some competition as the feel-good story of the metropolitan area.

In a stunning development broken yesterday by my friend Jon Rothstein, (the college basketball insider for MSG, the CBS Sports Network and 1050 ESPN Radio in New York) former Arizona point guard Lamont (Momo) Jones has announced his decision to transfer to Iona College in New Rochelle; and will seek a waiver to play immediately, citing the health of his grandmother as a reason behind his inability to sit out the upcoming season. Jones had also considered Hofstra, Seton Hall, and even reigning national champion Connecticut; but the Huskies were eliminated as a potential Jones suitor when coach Jim Calhoun secured IMG Academy prospect DeAndre Daniels as the final piece of his 2011 recruiting class. Immediately following his decision to leave Arizona, it appeared that Jones would resurface at St. John's; but Jones would not be able to take his talents to the Red Storm due to an NCAA rule that prohibits schools from signing recruits and transfers if a staff member at the new program coached the player in the past for the first two years of the staff member's tenure. Maurice Hicks, who recently completed his first year as the director of basketball operations on the corner of Union and Utopia, coached Jones at Rice High School in Harlem; so Steve Lavin was facing a "one or the other" scenario.

Jones becomes the latest acquisition for Iona coach Tim Cluess and his staff of assistants, led by former Fordham boss Jared Grasso; and will join Scott Machado in the backcourt for the Gaels, who will also return swingman Michael Glover to a team that was widely expected to win the MAAC even before Jones decided to transfer into Westchester County.