Pierce Stopper James Jones

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PACERS FANJAM 
Rookie rocks the fieldhouse 
New Pacer James Jones croons for Conseco crowd that turned out for fan-friendly event.
Indy Star
By Sekou Smith 
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October 13, 2003 
Indiana Pacers rookie James Jones took his shot at singing stardom Sunday afternoon on center court at Conseco Fieldhouse.
His a cappella version of "If I Ever Fall in Love," a chart-topping hit by 1990s R&B quartet Shai, brought the Pacers' FanJam crowd of about 4,000 to its feet.
He also stunned many of his teammates and the coaching staff, most of whom were unaware the quiet rookie forward could carry a tune.
"Yeah, I was surprised," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said and then laughed. "That was soulful."
Jones' transition from college star to NBA rookie remains a work in progress. Like most of his peers, his development is at times a painfully slow process.
"His personality as an entertainer is a little more pronounced than his personality as a basketball player right now," Carlisle said. "But he's done well. He's made mistakes, which we expected, but he's also been a fast learner and he hasn't been afraid. And those are ingredients to becoming a good player in this league."
Jones, a second-round draft pick from Miami, faced a stiff test Saturday night at the fieldhouse trying to defend Paul Pierce in the waning seconds of the Pacers' 91-90 exhibition win over the Boston Celtics.
Pierce missed a 3-pointer with three seconds left that sealed the win for the Pacers.
"I think it's slowly starting to come for me," said Jones, who scored four points in addition to the stop on Pierce. "I find myself starting to feel a bit more comfortable. You have to realize this is a huge step for me. I was playing center last year and I sort of got into a big man's mentality.
"Now, I'm going against Reggie Miller and Ron Artest every day in practice. And obviously I've never been in a situation like that before, so the biggest thing for me right now is developing the kind of mental toughness it takes to get the job done."
He displayed plenty of that mental toughness with the microphone in his hand Sunday. Jones also performed with fellow rookies Carl English and Omar Cook, singing "Lean on Me" and "Happy Birthday" to Jermaine O'Neal, who turns 25 today.
"I was just trying to do my duty," Jones said, grinning. "You've got to get the crowd into it and have fun. I was actually going to sing Michael Jackson, but my CD was in the locker room and I needed the music behind me to get the whole routine right, you know with the dancing and everything."