Ozell Jones

Ozell "Hoppy" Jones III (November 20, 1960 – September 7, 2006) was an American professional basketball player. He was listed at 6ft 11in and weighed 235 lbs. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, his family soon moved to Compton, California, and later to Long Beach, California, so that he could play high school basketball at Long Beach Polytechnic. Jones first played college basketball with the Wichita State University (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. On 24 October 1985, he was waived by the Spurs. He later signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers on March 31, 1986, but played in only three games. After his time in the NBA, he played overseas in Italy (1986–1987) then spent the rest of his professional career playing in the 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 (1994–1995). 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.

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)