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By: 
Daniel Poneman
October 22nd, 2008
Zilijan "Zee" Jones is not your average west side kid. He grew up with one thing on his mind. The 5 foot 7 guard from North Lawndale
knew he needed basketball since he was a 5th grader growing up on
Chicago's west side, he needed it if he was going to achieve that one
thing that was on his mind. While Zee saw his middle school friends and
teammates start selling drugs and joining gangs, leaving their
childhood hopes and dreams a distant memory, Zee worked, because he had
one thing on his mind. He didn't bank on making the NBA, and he didn't
let the frustration get to him when his cousin John (Mills- pictured below) shot up to
be seven inches taller than him in the seventh grade. No, Zee just worked, because he always had one thing on his mind. To get out. And now his dream is finally coming true.
Zee Jones saw the violence and corruption that terrorized the
street he lived on, and watched as people gang banged their life away
from the window of his home at 1219 S Springfield. He knew that if he
didn't take action, that could end up being him too. So he worked. He
did everything he could do. Basketball was going to take him somewhere
new, somewhere away from all of this. Zee's hard work has now paid off,
as he received his first college scholarship offer this past weekend
from Head Coach Ryan Marks on a visit to St. Edwards University in
Austin, Texas. There are no doubts now that Zee is going to get out,
and now he has a new goal, getting out with two state championship
rings to his name.
"I always wanted to get outta state, go somewhere far," he stated of
his college intentions. "A lot of stuff I saw at a young age, negative
stuff, I turned it into positives and into motivation and now I just
wanna get away. I wanna get away from the neighborhood; from the drugs,
violence... petty violence. Petty, petty violence. Domestic violence. I
just want to get away from it. (Growing up) I always felt safe at
school, or on the court, but I stay in one of the baddest neighborhoods
on the west side. You can see anything happen on Springfield: all kinds
of drug dealin, dog fights, anything. Especially when there was a lot
of vacant lots. I am lucky everyone knows my family and that my dad has
respect, he has lived here since he was three."
 Naturally St. Edwards looks to be the right fit for Zee. The people are laid back in Austin, Texas- a city with a low crime rate- and it is certainly far away. It offers Zee
a top notch education and, well, I'll let him tell you the rest. "On my
visit I toured the school, met with admissions people, saw some of the
guys on the team, watched them practice, and we went out to eat a lot.
I like that it is a small private school. I like the class size a lot.
I learned that St. Edwards is a top 20 business school in the nation.
I've always wanted that to be my major.
"A lot of kids want to go to college just for basketball, but not me,"
he continued. "I want to go to learn and prepare myself. I'm going to
own my own business."
Zilijan is lightning quick with the ball in his hands, and his tight
handle on the rock makes it near impossible for defenders to steal the
ball from him. He is a lock up defender that takes pride in making
stops, and his three point shot is arguably the best on the west side.
He plays with more heart and passion than some entire CPL teams
combined and does all of this in a 5 foot 7 inch frame. Last year as a
junior he started at point guard for North Lawdale, and led them to a class 2A state title, and this year he is expecting another.
"I'm lookin forward to being state champs again," stated an eager Jones. "I'm also looking forward to being hunted. I like that I have a bullseye on my back. It's more motivation for me to stay on my P's and Q's and stay on point. People are gunna be watchin' what I do. I gotta carry myself right because people will be watchin. I gotta win another state title too."
A second straight state title is certainly in reach for coach Thorpe's North Lawndale Phoenix, despite the fact that they are moving up a class to 3A. With
virtually their entire team back from last years team that won state,
and many of the guys back from a team that finished second two seasons
ago experience surely wont be an issue. When looking at their roster it
is clear that talent isn't an issue either. Illinois State Commit Terry
Johnson transferred in from St. Rita this season. He will be a part of
the three guard offense along with Zee and John Taylor, the #6 ranked player in the state. Zee's
cousin John Mills, the #8 ranked player in the state, will be playing
the power forward slot, while 6 foot 10 junior Paul Bunch will be
roaming the lane playing center. Using just the players on the  bench
you could make a top 25 team: Jermaine Winfield, Glen Wallace, Miles Mayfield, Stevie Thorpe, the list goes on and on. Many consider Lawndale to be the second best team in the state, and Lawndale has a grudge to settle with the #1 team.
"I can't wait to play (Whitney Young) this year," Zee excitedly
announced. "That is our rivalry. Last year we won one and lost one, but
we only play one time this year and it is at Young. I can't wait to
beat them."
As I mentioned before, the road to the top was not an easy one for Zee, who credits much of his success to Ms. Lauren Foster's small fry program. He was always driven to be great, but that doesn't mean it came easy to him. Zilijan's story is one of highs and lows, and a lot of great people motivating him every step of the way.
"I went to Mathew A Henson Grammar school on 1326 South Avers," Jones
proudly began telling his story. "It is kind of like a legacy for me to
go there. Most of my family all went there. My dad, all of my uncles,
aunties, older cousins, they all went there... I was motivated to play
basketball by my older cousins. They played with Cappie (Pondexter: WNBA star) at
Marshall for Dorothy Gators, and they won state titles. Watching them
come out of Henson and do all that, it motivated me and made me want to
play ball, they made it look cool. At first I would play just to play,
but then I got serious. I would go to the courts at Henson early, early
before school and just shoot, shoot, shoot. Every day.
 "When I was in 7th and 8th grade I saw a lot of my friends and
teammates start selling drugs and doing all that stuff. My dad always
gave me good advice to keep me away from that. He always told me three
things. One was that what is done in the dark always comes to the
light. Two was that what you do today affects what you can do tomorrow.
Third was to always have respect for myself. He told me I had to be
better than them and that the fast life looks glamorous but you gotta
be patient and wait for the benefits."
Zee Jones is not your average west side kid. Not by a long-shot.
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