As any young child, Jaren Jones grew up wanting to soak in every moment. From watching anime to kicking a soccer ball, he would spend countless hours finding ways to entertain himself. It was almost second nature to him. However, despite coming from a family of basketball, the rugged sport never caught his interest.

That was until one afternoon at his cousins' house in Scarborough, Ont. A mini-hoop was installed in their driveway and Jones finally decided to give the sport a chance. 

The hours passed as the young group entertained themselves with the bumpy orange circle in their hands.  

Shoot. Rebound. Layup. 

Shoot. Rebound. Layup.

The cycle continued for what seemed like an eternity as laughs were shared and smiles were had. Yet, as the sun slowly started to fade away and the streetlights flickered on, Jones realized the time was ticking down on their fun for the day. At that moment, he picked up the ball, looked up at the glistening new rim and went up for a layup. 

One step. Two steps. Finish.

"That was like the smoothest thing I have ever seen you do," his cousin enthused as he came down from the hoop. 

Jones, gleaming, immediately thought to himself: "Maybe this is the sport I should be playing."

Little did he know, that one layup would embark him on a journey he never expected — changing the trajectory of his life forever.  

Jones' sporting career started with soccer as he and his brother, Jahmal, were both multi-sport athletes. However, the difficulty of practicing his craft made him eventually turn away from the world's most popular sport. 

"In basketball, I can go to an open gym right now, put shots up and it'll be more fun," said the fourth-year guard. "It's just more natural. Of course, soccer is forever [in my heart], but basketball is more fun to me. It's more of a challenge. I like challenges."  

Coming from a small family of four, Jones would always go support his brother's high school basketball team. In that environment, he noticed the competitiveness and high intensity of the back-and-forth game — further piquing his interest. 

"As a kid, you don't know what's going on behind the scenes. I'm just seeing two teams go at it with a big crowd," said Jones. 

Jahmal would go on to play for the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's basketball program, years before it was his younger brother's turn to join the blue and gold. 

After putting soccer aside, Jones devoted his full attention to basketball. Once he entered high school, he found himself in a familiar environment at Mississauga Secondary School as he began to play the sport at a higher level. 

In his senior year, Jones left his family home and moved to Toronto to pursue basketball at a new high school — Central Tech. He moved in with Jean-Victor Mukama and Juwon Grannum, two TMU basketball players at the time that he knew from his brother's run with the university. 

Jones had to sleep on the couch as there was not an available bedroom. Nonetheless, he made it work — a result of his dedication to the basketball court.

"I had to make a lot of sacrifices," said Jones. "It taught me how to become a man. I couldn't just rely on my parents and Central Tech was a serious school. I had to be on my P's and Q's at all times." 

He eventually led his new school to a third-place finish in the National Preparatory Association (NPA) as his recruitment process was underway. 

When the time came to declare for a university, the decision was simple for Jones. He was already familiar and comfortable with the facilities of the Mattamy Athletic Centre because of his brother. 

Whenever he thought about himself putting on the blue and gold jersey he felt at ease.

"I feel like I've been here for so long. I've known people here for so long. Anywhere else would have been a bit weird for me," said Jones.
 
Midst his first season, he quickly realized the amount of talent in the team's lineup. In their home opener against the Toronto Varsity Blues, they routed their crosstown rival 103-51 and limited them to only 16 points in the first half. 

Although Jones did not feature in the game due to a foot injury, he recognized the level of play within Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and knew he was in the right place. 

"It wasn't even a contest. [Toronto] was not only struggling to score, but they were struggling to put up shots. That's how crazy it was," said Jones. 

Over his five years at TMU, Jones endured a lot of change as he grew into an adult. However, he also experienced three coaches within his five years — as the Bold went from Roy Rana to Borko Popic to current head coach David DeAveiro. 

"It's difficult. It's never really happened to be honest. It's weird that happened to me here out of all places," said Jones. "But, you got to look at it as a blessing too. You get to learn from the different coaches." 

For Jones, each coach had a different style and he took pieces from each of them to develop as a player. Rana showed him the ropes and taught him early. Popic brought unique ways of looking at the game through analytics. Meanwhile, DeAveiro instilled a winning mentality from his prior successes. 

"The coaches that I have been coached by all have a certain prestige and that's cool to see. It's been fun to learn from all three along the way, but I think three coaches in five years is definitely strange," he added. 

As the years go by, the familiarity with Jones' last name has dwindled. Few people remain from the times of his brother. However, when his career first began the comparisons off of the court were made evident — positively pressuring him to be the best person he could be away from basketball. 

"It made me stay on my s— every day," said Jones. 

Yet, that pressure was never at the forefront of his mind concerning basketball.

"I'm Jaren Jones," he added. "It's my life."

Although he still has a year of eligibility left, his future is undecided. Jones came into the squad five years ago as one of the youngest and will be leaving as one of the oldest — regardless if it is this year or next.

"Time just keeps going. It doesn't wait for anybody," he added.

Nevertheless, when TMU was defeated at the hands of the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 2023 Wilson Cup playoffs, his path with the Bold reached a screeching halt. Yet, the Mississauga, Ont., product can always relive the layup in his cousin's driveway as it was the moment that drastically altered his course.