After breaking the program scoring record as a junior, Goodridge-Grygla's Lewis Jones hits 2,000 points
Feb. 14—GRAND FORKS — At 5-foot-8, Goodridge-Grygla senior Lewis Jones knew outside shooting was going to have to be his strength in basketball.
So on a farm near Gatzke, Minn., about 90 miles northeast of Grand Forks, when the machinery was moved from his shop and the floor was swept, Jones went to work.
"The 3-pointer is definitely the most important thing in my game," Jones said. "Rising up when you shoot, you've got to have that if you're a smaller player. I really worked on that in the summers.
"At a young age, I fell in love with sports. Baseball and football in the yard. When you're on a farm, you have a big yard. I really fell in love with basketball, though, and in about eighth grade I started working my hardest. I definitely played the most either in the Grygla gym or in my shop, especially over COVID."
That hard work is paying off as the milestones continue to tick off the list. In the final regular season game of his junior season, Jones passed the program record for career points. In January, Jones passed the overall school record — boys or girls.
And last week, Jones broke the milestone of 2,000 career points.
"Outside shooting is his speciality," Goodridge-Grygla coach Andrew Sundberg said. "He put a ton of time shooting in. He has made himself into a good shooter. I couldn't say enough good things about him with leadership and setting the tone every day. He's always ready to go. He's a great kid."
Jones played a little varsity basketball at the end of his eighth-grade year and has started on varsity since ninth grade.
This year, Jones is averaging more than 25.0 points per game, with more than 75 made 3-pointers at a clip of 43 percent.
Jones has shot above 40 percent from 3-point range each of the last three seasons.
Jones' senior basketball season started a little rocky. Coming off a 9-man state football appearance, Jones missed practice time in preseason with a nagging football injury for the standout running back.
The Chargers started the season 0-2 with blowout losses to Red Lake (92-56) and Red Lake County (96-61).
The Chargers then won nine straight games. Goodridge-Grygla currently sits at 18-4 with the most recent victory a 79-76 win over the same Red Lake County team that beat the Chargers by 35 in early December.
It's a big jump for a Chargers program that won just seven games when Jones was in eighth grade.
"We're having a great year," Sundberg said. "A lot of that is Lewis and his senior class."
Jones isn't the only big scorer for the Chargers. Blake Rychlock, the quarterback with Jones during the football season, has more than 1,500 career points.
"If teams load up on me, he's going to make them pay," Jones said. "He takes a lot off me and others."
Jones is currently an unsigned basketball prospect, although he's leaning toward an agriculture major and a basketball opportunity at Minnesota-Crookston.
