Marquette's Kam Jones Had an Emotional Press Conference After Loss to New Mexico

Marquette’s Kam Jones teammate David Joplin after losing to New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Marquette’s Kam Jones teammate David Joplin after losing to New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA tournament. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marquette, the No. 7 seed in the South Region, lost to No. 10 New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday. Senior Kam Jones, who helped the Golden Eagles reach their first Sweet 16 in over a decade last year, had 15 points, five rebounds and five steals in the loss.

Jones helped Marquette make the tournament in each of his four seasons, all under coach Shaka Smart. In November he had the program's first triple-double since Dwyane Wade. After the loss, Jones was visibly emotional as he embraced teammates and coaches before leaving the floor.

Asked to reflect on his time with the program Jones had to fight back tears to answer after the game.

“It’s been a lot of fun wearing this uniform," Jones said. "Being with these guys every day. Spending time with these guys. No other group I’d rather play with. I love these guys to death. I hate to end it this way."

Jones averaged 19.3 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game this season.


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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.


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