LaBrittney Jones was averaging a double-double leading her team to heights it hadn’t seen before.
BC Winterthur was in the midst of one of the club’s best seasons. It won the Swiss Basketball League Cup in February, beating one of the best clubs in the league — Fribourg — after Jones, a former Arizona Wildcat standout, knocked down two free throws in the last few minutes.
The team was 13-3 and riding a four-game winning streak when the Swiss Basketball League canceled the season last month because of the coronavirus. After the shutdown, Jones was named her league’s Player of the Year, Import Player of the Year and Forward of the Year.
“I honestly did not think my season would be over up until the day before it was canceled,” Jones said. “I found out Germany had canceled their season maybe like two days before I found out about mine. And we had gotten no word on anything and we were still practicing so I thought we would continue.
“It’s still kind of weird to me that the season is over, but it is what it is, I understand the world’s health is more important than a sport.”
Jones was honorable mention All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 defensive team in her senior year, 2016-17. She averaged 15.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. When she graduated in May 2017, Jones was eighth in UA history in career rebounds (688), seventh in rebounds per game (6.0) and third in blocks with 161.
Jones then went overseas, spending the last seasons with BC Winterthur and winning two titles — this season’s SBL Cup and last year’s Patrick Baumann Swiss Cup. She was Eurobasket.com’s All-Swiss SBL first-team forward of the year for the 2018-19 season.
She was averaging 21.3 points, 13. 6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season when her world was upended because of COVID-19.
On March 12, Jones received an email from her coach, Daniel Rasljic, setting up a team meeting later that evening. By the time the meeting rolled around, the season was over.
“I was shocked, but the whole day I kind of figured it was going to happen,” Jones said. “I had seen too many other players in different countries saying their season was over, so I knew it would most likely happen.
LaBrittney Jones
“After the meeting with our team we stayed after and talked about our plans to leave because we had heard about the plan to pretty much stop traveling from Europe to the U.S. the next night. My club was very good about everything, and they got us flights for the next morning. I had to pack up everything that night, which was a little stressful.”
Next up was managing the roller coaster of feelings in a short amount of time — including how her Swiss fiancé, Trent Wyss, fit into the equation. Jones and her fiancé haven’t set a wedding date yet but plan on getting married in the summer.
“It was just a lot of emotions, I was sad the season was over, leaving behind my fiancé, and nervous about the virus all at the same time,” Jones said. “I think that was the hardest part — the sudden leave and leaving him behind. He works and has lived in Switzerland since he was around 7.”
Jones left Europe just in time.
“I thought the airports were going to be crazy and chaotic, but it wasn’t,” Jones said. “The only part that was crazy was when I went to check my bags. So many people booked a flight at the last minute to leave that the line to check bags for my airline was super long. It probably took me an hour and a half to get through the line to drop off my bags. I was a little panicked because I thought I would miss my flight, but the workers insisted that everyone would make the flight and not to worry.”
Jones noticed that some people wore “masks and a bunch of protective gear” at the airport, but many did not. She says now that she left “at the perfect time.”
Jones has been home in Texas for more than two weeks now and is happy to be spending time with her family. She works out using weights and a stationary bike.
She’s also taking time to think about what’s next.
“Maybe it’s basketball, maybe it’s me hanging up my shoes to start a career in the corporate world,” she said.
Jones is currently looking for a private-sector job, which is another challenge.
“I will make the right decision when the time is right,” she said. “Until then, I’m just going to enjoy my time off.”
