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Jones played college basketball at Connecticut, As a freshman he joined Jim Calhoun’s UConn program for the 1995-96 season after arriving as a national Top 40 scholastic recruit and the New England and Connecticut State Player of the Year from Trinity Catholic in Stamford.

He played 34 games in 1995-96, did not start, logged 491 minutes at 14.4 minutes per game, and averaged 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists while shooting 40.1 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from three, and 62.9 percent from the foul line.

His freshman totals were 189 points, 65 rebounds, 31 assists, 22 steals, and 36 turnovers, and UConn went 32-3 on the court, later adjusted to 30-2, finished 17-1 in the Big East 6, won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles, and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen under Calhoun.

One of his early notable moments came in the 64-61 overtime win over Virginia on December 23, 1996, when he made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left to push UConn in front for good.

As a sophomore in 1996-97 he moved into a major role and started all 31 games he played, averaging 33.2 minutes, 13.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 42.0 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three, and 68.9 percent at the line.

His 1996-97 totals were 402 points, 144 rebounds, 55 assists, 47 steals, and four blocks, with 148 made field goals and 55 made threes, and that became the best scoring season of his college career.

That UConn team went 18-15 overall and 7-11 in the Big East 6, finished sixth in the conference, and advanced to the NIT, where it placed third, with Jones sharing a backcourt-heavy rotation that included Richard Hamilton and Ricky Moore.

As a junior in 1997-98 he played 35 games and made two starts, averaging 14.3 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists while shooting 42.4 percent from the field, 23.3 percent from three, and 61.0 percent from the line.

His junior totals were 153 points, 93 rebounds, 27 assists, 26 steals, and five blocks, and UConn finished 32-5 overall and 15-3 in the Big East, won the conference regular-season title, won the Big East tournament, and reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

Jones was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team that season, and his biggest conference tournament moment came in the 1998 championship game against Syracuse when he scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in UConn’s 69-64 comeback win.

As a senior in 1998-99 he wore No. 3, served as a co-captain, and became a key sixth man on a championship roster that featured Khalid El-Amin, Richard Hamilton, Kevin Freeman, Ricky Moore, Jake Voskuhl, Antric Klaiber, Albert Mouring, E.J. Harrison, and Souleymane Wane.

He played 32 games and made three starts in 1998-99, averaging 10.1 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists while shooting 51.6 percent from the field, 11.1 percent from three, and 62.1 percent from the line.

His senior totals were 113 points, 52 rebounds, 24 assists, and 27 steals, and UConn went 34-2 overall and 16-2 in the Big East, won the regular-season title, won the Big East tournament, and then won the NCAA championship.

In the 1999 Big East semifinal against Syracuse he helped UConn’s 71-50 win with seven rebounds, and in the Big East title game against St. John’s he was the joint-top scorer for UConn as the Huskies completed another conference championship run.

In the 1999 NCAA championship game against Duke he scored three points and had two rebounds off the bench, and UConn’s reserves combined for 17 points in the 77-74 win that delivered the program’s first national title.

Across four seasons from 1995-96 through 1998-99, Jones played 132 games and started 36, logged 2,341 minutes for 17.7 minutes per game, and finished with career averages of 6.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from three, and 64.8 percent at the line.

His career totals at Connecticut were 857 points, 354 rebounds, 137 assists, and 122 steals, and when his career ended he had played in the second-most games in school history at the time, while also helping form the winningest four-year class in program history with 114 victories.