FEATURE: A full-circle moment, Jones finds closure after men's basketball win at Pfeiffer

Averett University men’s basketball assistant coach Isaiah Jones thought about it on the drive down, but it hit him even more as he walked into Pfeiffer University’s Merner Gymnasium before Tuesday’s game.

The last time Jones was in that gym was a heartbreaking experience. It marked the final time he wore an Averett uniform as the Cougars fell short at the buzzer in the 2021 USA South Athletic Conference East Division championship game — a makeshift title game played during an abnormal season as colleges across the country came out of the pandemic.

Although it was a painful memory, Jones entered the arena with a different mindset this time.

“The emotions that I felt were excitement,” he said. “Excitement for the new opportunity.”

Just as Jones has turned the page on the past, this year’s calendar is set to turn to 2026 — meaning this spring will mark five years since that spring 2021 semester, when all of Averett’s teams competed during second semester as everyone navigated the post-pandemic landscape after traditional fall and winter sports seasons were delayed until spring.

Jones is one of several Averett assistant coaches or head coaches who were student-athletes during that unusual spring 2021 season. 

“That 2021 season was still far from normal but we were thankful we were allowed to be back on the field again,” said Averett softball coach Anna Coleman, who was the team’s starting catcher that season. “Each school had different rules about spectators, but I remember playing a lot of games with very few fans. Wearing masks on the field, health checks every day, COVID tests every week and games being cancelled or rescheduled because of outbreaks. The ‘new normal’ was anything but normal, but I was very thankful for the opportunity to play again.”

While much from that period can be debated, there were positives that emerged. Streaming technology grew significantly, which has allowed more fans to follow games from home if they can’t make it to the game in person. Even how some coaches dress on the sidelines has been adapted. But perhaps the biggest takeaway for some were lessons about adapting and also not taking anything for granted.

Current Averett women’s volleyball head coach Emma Nash was a freshman when the Cougars were forced to play their 2020 season during spring 2021. It brought challenges, but Averett went on to claim the USA South’s East Division championship that spring.

“After that year, I definitely look back and know that I cannot take anything for granted,” Nash recalled. “All of us student-athletes were dealing with online or hybrid classes, wearing masks — even during games and practices — and the occasional quarantines. Looking back on pictures and game film really blows my mind thinking about how that year was and how it has changed over time and we are pretty much back to normal now. It shows that anything can be taken away or cancelled or flat out shut down. Being a coach now, it is a wonderful learning piece for players to look back on and talk about what mindset can do for players and that all of this can be taken away in a week or even a few hours. As a player and now a coach, I have always said that it’s a privilege to be where we are.”

Averett wrestling head coach Sam Braswell also uses it as a teaching tool for his student-athletes. Braswell perhaps had the most heartbreaking experience of any Averett student-athlete during the COVID era. Braswell was on the practice mat in Iowa on March 12, 2020, when the NCAA Division III national championships were canceled less than 24 hours before they were set to begin.

“I apply it to tell my kids to fight through sickness and find your inner strength,” Braswell said. “Yes, I think we take things for granted on a daily unfortunately, so I try to seize every opportunity there is.”

Coleman also believes that experience helped her and teammates learn how to handle adversity and extended periods of uncertainty.

“Looking back, I definitely learned the value of adaptability and mental toughness,” she said. “As a student athlete you get in a routine of practice, training and competition. when that was taken away it was extremely hard to stay motivated. The absence of all of these things definitely made me more patient and more appreciative of every opportunity to compete.”

Pfeiffer’s Merner Gymnasium isn’t all bad memories for Jones. It also happens to be where he played his first minutes for Averett men’s basketball as a freshman. And Tuesday provided another positive moment in that arena, as the Cougars defeated a veteran Pfeiffer team 86-74. The win left Jones smiling — and gave him a sense of closure when reflecting on 2021. 

“This one meant more to me than most games,” Jones said after Tuesday’s win. “I felt a lot of joy through our players.”