Purdue Grad Assistant Lance Jones Receives Special High School Honor
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Lance Jones received a special honor for all his high school accomplishments over the weekend. The former Boilermaker basketball star and current graduate assistant was inducted into the Evanston Township High School Athletics Hall of Fame.
Jones was one of four former student-athletes, two coaches and two teams inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. The Evanston Township star had a strong prep career before flourishing at the college level.
When he was on the floor, Jones helped Evanston Township to 108 victories. He scored 1,306 career points, was an All-State selection and helped his team to a state runner-up finish.
After high school, Jones played at Southern Illinois for four seasons. He scored 1,514 points during his career with the Salukis. He then transferred to Purdue for his final year of eligibility, where he was a key piece of the Boilermakers' run to the National Championship Game.
In his lone season in West Lafayette, Jones averaged 11.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Boilermakers. Purdue finished that season with a 34-5 record, won the Big Ten regular-season title and reached the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
Jones returned to Purdue as a graduate assistant
Following the 2023-24 season at Purdue, Jones played for the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA Summer League and then had a short stop overseas to play professionally. Just two years later, he returned to West Lafayette to begin his pursuit of a coaching career.
Jones joined Matt Painter's staff as a graduate assistant this summer. He's one of two former Boilers to take on that role, along with Sterling Carter.
"Both Lance and Sterling played big parts in our program in the one year they played here," Painter said in a statement in April. "We are excited to bring them back."
Jones was around the program frequently during the 2025-26 season, making several returns to Mackey Arena. He was also in Chicago to watch the Boilers win the 2026 Big Ten Tournament title.
Though he was only in West Lafayette for one season, Jones quickly became a fan favorite because of his playing style and the connection he had with fans. Now that he's back at Purdue, he'll have an opportunity to make an impact on the basketball program from the bench.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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