Community keeper Community keeper Community keeper

Bobby Jones made quite a name for himself when he played basketball at the UW—and not just because he was Coach Lorenzo Romar’s first recruit. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Compton was a staunch defender on the court and a mentor to his teammates off it. He went on to play two years in the NBA followed by a 12-year pro career in Italy.

And now that he has back been home in his hometown in Southern California for the past five years, he is making a name for himself through his community-outreach organization Growing Up Compton and his nonprofit dedicated to wellness called Grow. Unwind. Connect. In this role, he mentors school children and teaches yoga in Compton, Seattle and other locations.

His community roots run deep. A few weeks ago, on a mid-December Sunday, Jones, ’06, hosted his second annual Toy Giveaway in Compton. But he gave away much more than children’s playthings. Working with 30 vendors, Jones and his team gave away 600 toys as well as free haircuts, food and health screenings.

“I want to be of service,” the 41-year-old father of a college-age daughter explains. “Playing in the NBA was great. But I am loving being a mentor. [One of my] contributions to the [Husky basketball] program was to mentor my teammates. I want to do what I can to build good men.”

After his 12 years playing pro ball in Italy ended at the age of 37, Jones was not exactly thrilled about returning to the U.S. He loved the more relaxed way of life in Europe and he struggled with depression and anxiety when his hoops career was over because he felt he lost his identity. He knew he needed something to turn things around.

That was yoga. While back in Southern California, he tried yoga at a Venice Beach studio “and I fell in love with it,” he says. Yoga, he explains, gave him the discipline and routine he missed when he no longer was a professional athlete. He liked yoga so much that he decided he wanted to become a yoga teacher and share it with his community. So he created Grow. Unwind. Connect.

He is thriving in this role, and because Compton isn’t the only community he feels connected to. He is quick to say Seattle feels like his second home; he has come back to the Pacific Northwest several times to put on clinics and events at Seattle Children’s and the Odessa Brown Clinic in Seattle’s Central District.

Jones, who earned his B.A. in writing from the UW, has already published a children’s book. And the small forward who was always known as a dogged defender for three Husky teams that made the NCAA tournament from 2004 to 2006, is just as fired up to provide representation to his communities. “I’m from Compton,” he says, “I played in the NBA, and I look like the kids from this area. It means so much for them to see someone who looks like them teaching yoga and mentoring them.”

He has been so successful that he now works with 21 Compton K-8 schools. And he is looking to add more teachers to join his team. “It took three to four years to build this after planting the seeds three of four years ago,” he explains. His ultimate goal: open his own yoga studio in Compton. Why yoga? “It’s for breath, movement and thinking,” he says. ”Yoga is not just for kids. They don’t fully understand it. But they enjoy it.”

He also wants to expand offerings in Seattle, and to explore offering programs at the UW and to work with professional teams. “I love being a mentor. And I want to share my story.”

See also: Bobby Jones refuses to stop