US import Haley Jones opens up on the reasons she chose Geelong United, settling into life in Australia
WNBA guard Haley Jones only heard good things from several teammates ahead of her arrival in the WNBL. With Geelong United’s historic first game just days away, Jones opens up about life on-and-off the court.
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Haley Jones isn’t just in Geelong to make up the numbers.
Though the idea of being part of Geelong United’s inaugural WBNL squad, and the fact Geelong felt like an “Australian Santa Cruz” — the coastal town in California where Jones grew up — appealed to the WNBA import when choosing a home, Jones proved direct when it came to on-court expectations surrounding the first-year franchise.
“We’re a team full of competitors so I think our expectation is always to win,” Jones said.
“I don’t think anyone at this level would enter a game going ‘oh, let’s get one under the belt’.
“No, it’s we’re coming out to win, take it every single game, I think we’ve got the talent to do so.
“I think we’re a young team so we’re still learning one another and getting it together because it is a completely new team built from the ground up.
“I don’t think that’s any excuse, I think we’re taking it as a challenge and we’re taking it in our stride.”
With Geelong’s season set to tip off against Townsville on Wednesday night, Jones is no stranger to winning, the 23-year-old enjoying a successful collegiate career at Stanford which included a national championship alongside Ocean Grove export Agnes Emma-Nnopu in 2019, with the Cardinal also making trips to the Sweet Sixteen and Final Four.
Then came the WNBA, where Jones was drafted by Atlanta with pick 6, with the playmaker spending the past two seasons honing her craft for the Dream.
With a desire to experience playing abroad and expanding her skill set through a “different type of basketball”, Jones found plenty of advice from Dream teammates Naz Hillmon and Jordin Canada when it came to choosing the WNBL, with both Hillmon and Canada playing under new Geelong coach Chris Lucas at Melbourne Boomers last season.
“Nothing but good things to say about not just about how the WNBL is run but also the high-level competition,” Jones said.
“Every single team is great, there’s not going to be any easy games, it’s up for grabs every night so just to be able to compete at that level is really exciting.”
A versatile option during her time at Stanford — playing the one through four positions — Jones stepped into the point guard position for the Dream, a role she’ll be more than comfortable doing for United.
“I think this team is really fun, we play with a lot of pace, everybody’s a shooter, everyone can kind of do everything so it’s going to be fun getting to understand everyone’s game and where I can hit them where they like to be,” she said.
‘Excited to explore’
Arriving in Australia early Tuesday morning on October 15, it was straight from the airport and into a fire of a scrimmage for Jones.
But the guard said she “wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Settling into her new home of the next five months off the court, Jones quickly picked up minor differences to life in Australia, especially when it came to her first grocery run.
“I was facetiming my Mom, finding all the new brands and what means what,” she said.
“Like baking carbonate is baking soda, I don’t know.”
One positive change though was the “nicer” drivers in Geelong compared to Atlanta.
But there have been some hiccups along the way too — as she works her way “up and down Pakington Street” and explores the region’s beaches.
“I asked for a coffee to go and they’re like ‘girl, it’s takeaway’,” she said.
“I’ve had some hiccups with my car already, just getting in on the wrong side but I’m figuring it out.”
Jones has already documented some of her early days in Australia to her 117,000 followers on Instagram, while it may soon be a topic of conversation on her podcast ‘Sometimes I Hoop’.
“The podcast gear did make it (to Australia) so I might get some of my teammates on it, some other players in the league, maybe a WNBL edition so I’m excited just to explore,” she said.
With United joining the Geelong Cats as another professional sports team in Geelong, the opportunity to watch the Australian code was another item to tick off the bucket list — doing so her first week for the Cats’ AFLW clash against Brisbane — after a clueless Jones was first introduced to the game by Emma-Nnopu during their time at Stanford.
“She (Agnes) had me go in blind and I was like ‘okay, we’re throwing people in the air, we’re drop kicking, tackling, no pads’, but I guess I’ll figure it out because I want to go to a game and experience that, it looks awesome,” she said.
“Me personally, I’d never play, if someone tackled me…”
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