Women’s basketball graduate Eryn Jones realized she couldn’t imagine life without the sport during her senior season at Portland State. Now, just months after the Viking point guard hung up her Portland State jersey for the last time, Jones took up an offer to play basketball in Germany’s professional women’s circuit. Jones has not yet made her final decision between the two cities in Germany that made offers: Marburg or Chemnitz.
Women’s basketball graduate Eryn Jones realized she couldn’t imagine life without the sport during her senior season at Portland State. Now, just months after the Viking point guard hung up her Portland State jersey for the last time, Jones took up an offer to play basketball in Germany’s professional women’s circuit. Jones has not yet made her final decision between the two cities in Germany that made offers: Marburg or Chemnitz.
Jones is grateful for her chance to continue her basketball career and for the experience and knowledge she gained on the court as a Viking. “I didn’t always want to play after college,” Jones said. The last two years, though, she began to believe she would be lost without basketball.
The point guard was best known for her three-point shot. In her career with Portland State, Jones garnered the first ever Big Sky Conference MVP in 2010 when she helped her team to the NCAA tournament.
In her last season with Portland State, Jones surpassed the coveted 1,000 point club and left the South Park Blocks with her name on 10 of the top-10 categories for the Vikings.
Although the senior sustained injuries throughout her final season that limited some of her performances compared to her junior year, Jones still dominated from behind the arc with 76 three-point baskets in her senior season. Her 76 treys were nearly triple the next leading three-point shooter.
“I’m very proud of Eryn and happy that all of her hard work has helped her continue playing at the professional level,” head coach Sherri Murrell said. “She proved she was one of the best point guards in our conference, and her hunger to continue to get better will shine in her next journey.”
Jones is excited to live in a new country and experience it to its fullest. She said being an out-of-state student athlete has already helped her prepare for the transition to living away from home. “When you’re playing basketball, you don’t get to go home the whole year,” Jones said. “I feel like in a way going to Germany is kind of like going away to another college.”
While Jones may have completed her time at Portland State, the point guard will take her talents abroad for a minimum of one season beginning this fall. In the 2012 season, Marburg finished fourth and Chemnitz finished 11th.
The stats don’t matter too much to Jones, though. “I’m just excited to live in a different country. We don’t have practice every day, so I’ll be able to travel and see the sites, and then also I won’t have school. It’s great now because basketball will be my job,” Jones said. ■
