Usually the process of counting calories is for the purpose of losing weight.
Today, we present the case for
Ryan Jones, who also meticulously counts calories - in order to GAIN weight.
One year ago the
Cleveland (Rio Rancho) basketball star had a meager 135 pounds spread across his 6-foot-2 frame. He recalled, "My coach (Brian Smith) really talked to me about gaining weight. I gained 15 pounds in the first six weeks (after he started counting calories). I have an app on my phone and it plugs in calories. I eat a lot of fast food - anything that will get me a lot of calories."
Ryan Jones, Cleveland
Photo courtesy of Gary Herron/Rio Rancho Observer
Coach Smith noted, "He eats a lot of Big Macs. He'll eat anything. He knows he has to put on some weight and get into the weight room to get stronger."
It also helps that his mother, Cindy, is a personal trainer.
Jones plays for the Danny Granger Ambassadors in the offseason and its coach, Malik Waters, recalled, "Every time he eats something he writes it down. At a Subway he was ordering all types of weird stuff."
The payoff? He now weighs a somewhat more solid 155 pounds.
Jones began organized basketball as a fifth-grade post player and admits he "wasn't very good. I started working seriously going into eighth grade (by then he was a guard). Toward the end of that season I wasn't starting and that kind of really fueled me going into high school and made me work harder."
As a freshman at Rio Rancho High he made the varsity team, but wound up playing mostly JV. His sophomore year he transferred to crosstown Cleveland, a move he won't discuss publicly. He was forced to play JV there, too, until he became eligible for the varsity as a junior. Good things were ahead, though, because he averaged a spectacular 27 points on the JV squad.
Smith had seen him play as a freshman and thought that he "had a bright future. I was really excited when I found out he was coming here. Then it was a letdown when I knew he had to sit out (one year). As a junior he came out and led us in scoring (21.4 points per game)."
More importantly, his leadership enabled the Storm to win a school-record 22 games (against nine losses) after they had finished 6-20 the previous year. That leadership has developed in high school because Jones is the first to admit that he was pretty shy when he transferred to Cleveland as a sophomore.
"He helped get our guys into a team concept," Smith said. "His leadership has really stepped up. His ability to get the other players involved gets overlooked. He is a very hard worker and goal-oriented. He is mentally tougher this year. But his biggest attribute is coachability."
Last spring he led his AAU team in scoring with close to a 25-point average and was named MVP following tourney championships in El Paso and Phoenix.
"As he went, we went," coach Waters noted. "He has a very high ceiling. He loves basketball."
Ryan Jones, Cleveland
Photo courtesy of Gary Herron/Rio Rancho Observer
Waters also loves his leadership. Following a tough loss he told his players his didn't know if he would return as coach the next year.
He recalled, "Ryan came to me and said, 'Coach, don't worry. We'll play better.' We won seven straight after that and had a good year."
Jones has helped the Storm break their school record again this year with 24 victories so far. The two losses were by a total of five points and they will be one of the favorites to capture the Class 6A state title. He is averaging 22.4 points, 3.6 assists and 4 rebounds. He also is shooting 46 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the free throw line. In less than two years he has scored over 1,000 points.
Twice he has broken school records - 41 points in a single game and eight 3-pointers in another.
Ironically, he had scored just seven points in the first half of the 41-pont effort and his team trailed in the Metro Tourney championship game at the University of New Mexico's famed Pit. His 34-point second-half explosion brought the Storm a title over Cibola (Albuquerque).
"He (coach Smith) told me at halftime to take over the game. I got in the zone, fed off the crowd and it was amazing," he related.
He called the eight threes "one of my better accomplishments. I hit five in a row to start the second half."
His big season puts him in the driver's seat to be named New Mexico's Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year.
Jones, who carries a 3.19 GPA, has another unique distinction - he is the only male basketball player in the state to receive a Division I scholarship and will be heading for UMass-Lowell in the fall.
Smith sees a bright future for his young star in college. He said, "I can see Ryan helping turn a program around. He did that for us. He has that will to win and I think he's going to carry that on in college."
Besides his sharp-shooting and leadership, Jones has added another talent. Over the last two games he has morphed into an entertainer.
Growing up he loved watching the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" on television. One of the characters, Carlton, did a special dance. Recently during pre-game introductions he suddenly broke loose with his own version of "The Carlton."
It was a smash hit.
He described, "I move my arms back and forth, do a little shuffle and snap my fingers, all at the same time. People go crazy."
All that movement may slow down his plan to gain weight, but he is determined to be bigger and stronger by his freshman year in college.
He did admit, however, "I'm going to have to eat healthier next year."
