Ozell "Hoppy" Jones III (November 20, 1960 – September 7, 2006) was an American professional basketball player. He was listed at and weighed . Born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, his family soon moved to

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

, and later to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, so that he could play high school basketball at Long Beach Polytechnic. Jones first played college basketball with the

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

(1979–1981) and helped the "Shockers" reach the Elite 8 in his second year. He later transferred to Cal State Fullerton to play for the "Titans" in 1982–1984. He entered the 1984 NBA draft and was chosen in the fourth round (90th pick overall) by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. On 24 October 1985, he was waived by the Spurs. He later signed as a free agent with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

on March 31, 1986, but played in only three games. After his time in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, he played overseas in Italy (1986–1987) then spent the rest of his professional career playing in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) for the Cincinnati Slammers (1986–1987), Quad City Thunder (1987–1988), Tulsa Fast Breakers (1989–1990), Tri-City Chinook (1993–1994) and

Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) after having been in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They have one PBL championship an ...

(1994–1995). Jones was selected to the All-CBA Second Team and All-Defensive Team in 1990. He also participated in the USBL with two spells for the Miami Tropics in 1987 and 1988. After retiring, he operated a big and tall men's clothing store in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

Death

On 7 September 2006, Jones was found by relatives shot dead in his apartment. He was 45 years old. According to police reports, he bled to death from a single gunshot wound to the upper torso.
The investigation of this case remains open. He is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach, California.

Notable awards

* USBL Championship (1987) * CBA All-Star (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ozell 1960 births 2006 deaths Albany Patroons players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from Long Beach, California Cal State Fullerton Titans men's basketball players Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets players Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Slammers players Deaths by firearm in California Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni Los Angeles Clippers players Power forwards Quad City Thunder players San Antonio Spurs draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Tri-City Chinook players Tulsa Fast Breakers players Wichita State Shockers men's basketball players Unsolved murders in California 2006 murders in the United States