JaQuoia Jones-Brown Is Exactly Herself, And That’s the Point
12/18/2025 6:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Why Long Beach State’s rising star plays her best by simply being herself.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- JaQuoia Jones-Brown does not separate who she is from what she does. There is no switch flipped when the lights come on, no version of herself reserved only for basketball. The sophomore point guard Long Beach State fans see, smiling, competitive, demanding more from herself than anyone else, is the same person her family knows, the same teammate her locker room relies on, and the same kid who chose a team sport because she wanted to lift others up.
"I am just me," Jones-Brown says, plainly. "On the court or off the court."
Head coach Amy Wright saw that truth quickly.
"When she came in as a freshman, she was still figuring herself out like most young players," Wright says. "But being away from mom and dad and grandma gave her the chance to really step into her own personality. She is selfless, she is caring, she loves the game, and she loves her teammates. That is genuine through and through, and I think that is so important to have in a leader."
Jones-Brown's authenticity has become her superpower at Long Beach State. This season, her presence has become impossible to ignore. She has already earned Big West Player of the Week honors, recorded two double-doubles, and scored in double digits in eight of the team's first nine games. She ranks among the conference's top ten in shooting percentage, rebounding, and free throw percentage. It is a rare combination for any guard, especially a sophomore still adjusting to the weight of leadership.
Her transformation from quiet freshman to centerpiece leader happened quickly but not unexpectedly. Last season she positioned herself as a student of the game's nuances, studying how fifth-year captains Savannah Tucker and Patricia Chung communicated through fatigue, commanded the court, and led without ego. When they graduated, she did not declare herself the next leader. She simply stepped into the void, and her team naturally followed.
Wright sees a direct line between the responsibility Jones-Brown has accepted and the numbers she is putting up.
"We put a lot on her plate," Wright says. "Last year she could kind of piggyback off Sav and play off the ball a little bit. Now she has responsibilities for everything, shooting, handling the ball, passing, defending. She is having to grow a lot for a young player, but she has embraced that."
Basketball became more than recreational for JaQuoia when she was ten years old and her family lived in Florida. She had played since she was just four years old, but it was the right AAU coach, who she still talks to today, who began shaping both her skill and her character. That coach refined her game. Her family refined her competitiveness. She grew up in a household where athletics were a shared language. Her brother plays football, her sister is transitioning to basketball after volleyball, her mother played volleyball and cheered, her grandparents ran track and cheered, and her father played basketball professionally overseas. Sports were not optional. They were foundational.
Still, her earliest and fondest basketball moments come from family cookouts, not tournaments. "You have the uncles who swear they can play basketball, but they cannot play basketball," she says laughing. "They will be like, 'Oh, I can beat you one on one.' I will let them think they can win. They cannot."
Her family's competitive culture was more loving than pressurized. They believed in her before she believed in herself, especially her mom and grandmother, who told her she could achieve her dream to be the first in their family to play Division I basketball.
That path was not always crystal clear. Swimming was just as natural to her. She excelled at breaststroke and freestyle and grew into butterfly, a stroke she once hated. But the choice between the pool and the court revealed something essential about her character. Basketball, being a team sport, offered community and connection. "I am not a selfish person," she says. "With basketball, if I see you down, I get to bring you up. I am going to smile whether we win or lose. I want us to share success together."
Her journey to Long Beach was full of movement. Florida to Georgia. School to school. Four high schools in total. She calls the journey "rough," but she says it without bitterness. She says it with pride. Every transition taught her adaptability. Every new setting became a chance to meet people, build relationships, and turn unfamiliar locker rooms into places where she belonged.
That skill served her well when she learned through her high school coach that Long Beach State was recruiting her. The move to the West Coast expanded her definition of family even further. Now her teammates come from Spain, Australia, and beyond, and she takes genuine interest in their backgrounds. "We all learn about each other," she says. "We accept everybody for who they are. That is being a family."
Off the court, Wright has watched her grow into that space as well.
"Atlanta, Georgia is a long way from Long Beach, California," Wright says. "JaQuoia could own this town if she wanted to. She has that unique, fun-loving personality. She can read a room, which is not very common right now. She has maturity for her age, and it has been fun watching her show her true personality without feeling like she has to be what she feels she is 'supposed' to be."
Leadership brought new challenges. Her biggest growth area has been communication. "I am not a big talker," she admits. "But as a leader, I have to talk, even when I am tired." When she feels herself slipping away from that responsibility, she goes to co-captain Kennan Ka or a coach to say what many athletes her age might be too proud to say: I am not talking enough. They give her actionable cues. Small words. Defensive signals. Simple reminders that leadership is not always a speech. It is consistency.
On that front, Wright is direct with her.
"She knows what to do, how to do it, and when to do it," Wright says. "She just does not always communicate that to her teammates. When she is a great communicator, we are that much better. That is the expectation for her every day."
Her relationship with Wright, a former point guard herself, has become a foundation. The daily good mornings, the short conversations, the technical guidance, they all matter. "If she gives me advice, I am going to take it, process it, and do it," JaQuoia says. "I want her to know I am applying it."
Over time, that relationship has shifted from positional to personal.
"At first I am still the head coach, the authority figure," Wright says. "Once student-athletes get past that and it becomes more of a person-to-person relationship, that is when the fun starts. Now she can say, 'I see this' or 'I want to try this,' and we can have real conversations. The last thing you want as a coach is to take joy away from a game these kids love. With her, it is about holding her to a high standard and still keeping that joy."
Her teammates feel the impact. When JaQuoia gets going, whether by scoring, distributing, or simply elevating the pace, they rise with her. This season, her production reflects that responsibility. Her efficiency has climbed, her rebounding numbers rival those of many post players in the conference, and her dependability at the free throw line has become one of Long Beach State's most reliable strengths. Still, she looks to improve. "I know everyone says I am doing good," she says. "But I feel like I can do better."
Wright points to a non-conference game earlier this season as a clear turning point.
"In our Sacramento State game, she was the reason we were in it," Wright says. "From a scoring perspective, that was the kid we recruited. She was that rebounding, scoring guard she was in high school. Her confidence grew a lot from that. Now the challenge is how to keep doing that when teams adjust, when they double her or press her for 90 feet. That is the next step."
There was an earlier moment when belief clicked into place for Jones-Brown, a game against Hawaii last year during her freshman season. With the clock winding down, she hit the biggest shot of her career to send the game into overtime. "That is when I knew," she says. "I belong here. I can do this. Just be myself and play."
Adversity, Wright says, has revealed even more about who she is.
"Her first instinct is to get in the gym and work, and that is a good instinct," Wright says. "What she has to grow into, and this will be true in basketball and in life, is a communicator. You cannot solve every problem by yourself. Sometimes a thousand shots will not fix it. You have to lean on your teammates and your coaches. Shutting down verbally does not help anything, so we are working on that. That is part of being a leader."
Behind all her growth, her competitiveness, and her consistency is her why: her family. "We did not have a lot growing up. We just had each other," she says. "If I do not give 110 percent every day, I feel like I am failing them." Her parents sacrificed money for AAU tournaments, time off work for travel, and entire weeks to follow her and see her play all over the country. Those sacrifices shape her daily commitment. They also keep her grounded through the grind of a season.
Because of the tight schedule, she will not go home for Christmas. Instead, she will stay in Long Beach, building Legos, watching Lucifer and Criminal Minds, playing GTA and 2K on her PlayStation, and letting her brother beat her in Madden, which she insists is the only place he can beat her.
Ask her what she is most proud of, and she does not mention the scoring streaks, the Player of the Week honor, or the double doubles. "I mainly care about being able to play basketball," she says. "As long as I am able to play basketball and be with my teammates, then I am fine."
She wants her younger siblings, too many to count, she jokes, to understand what she learned early. Nothing is handed to you. You must work for everything. Her father may have connections in the sport, but as she says plainly, "In order for him to put those connections to use, you have to work for it."
When asked about legacy, she pauses. "I just want people to know I was myself," she says. "I gave my best. Just me." Her teammates and family already know this. Her sister does not need jersey numbers to spot her on the court. "She can find me by my facial expressions," JaQuoia says, laughing.
From Wright's perspective, her authenticity is matched by a ceiling that is entirely in Jones-Brown's hands.
"I think she can definitely be an All-Conference, Player of the Year candidate kind of player. She has already shown that by winning Player of the Week and keeping her numbers up," Wright says. "Her ceiling is going to be what JaQuoia wants it to be. The structure is there. It is not like she needs some crazy new move. It is simple things, embracing leadership and responsibility every day. How far she wants to take it is up to her."
Then Wright adds what might be the simplest and clearest endorsement of all.
"We are just lucky to have her," she says. "We are so lucky to have her."
Many student-athletes in today's collegiate landscape feel pressure to shape shift, to present curated versions of themselves depending on who is watching. JaQuoia Jones-Brown has found something more powerful than performance. She leads with joy, competes with intensity, and lives her identity fully and unapologetically in every space she enters.
Just JaQuoia. Always JaQuoia.
And that is more than enough.
"I am just me," Jones-Brown says, plainly. "On the court or off the court."
Head coach Amy Wright saw that truth quickly.
"When she came in as a freshman, she was still figuring herself out like most young players," Wright says. "But being away from mom and dad and grandma gave her the chance to really step into her own personality. She is selfless, she is caring, she loves the game, and she loves her teammates. That is genuine through and through, and I think that is so important to have in a leader."
Jones-Brown's authenticity has become her superpower at Long Beach State. This season, her presence has become impossible to ignore. She has already earned Big West Player of the Week honors, recorded two double-doubles, and scored in double digits in eight of the team's first nine games. She ranks among the conference's top ten in shooting percentage, rebounding, and free throw percentage. It is a rare combination for any guard, especially a sophomore still adjusting to the weight of leadership.
Her transformation from quiet freshman to centerpiece leader happened quickly but not unexpectedly. Last season she positioned herself as a student of the game's nuances, studying how fifth-year captains Savannah Tucker and Patricia Chung communicated through fatigue, commanded the court, and led without ego. When they graduated, she did not declare herself the next leader. She simply stepped into the void, and her team naturally followed.
Wright sees a direct line between the responsibility Jones-Brown has accepted and the numbers she is putting up.
"We put a lot on her plate," Wright says. "Last year she could kind of piggyback off Sav and play off the ball a little bit. Now she has responsibilities for everything, shooting, handling the ball, passing, defending. She is having to grow a lot for a young player, but she has embraced that."
Basketball became more than recreational for JaQuoia when she was ten years old and her family lived in Florida. She had played since she was just four years old, but it was the right AAU coach, who she still talks to today, who began shaping both her skill and her character. That coach refined her game. Her family refined her competitiveness. She grew up in a household where athletics were a shared language. Her brother plays football, her sister is transitioning to basketball after volleyball, her mother played volleyball and cheered, her grandparents ran track and cheered, and her father played basketball professionally overseas. Sports were not optional. They were foundational.
Still, her earliest and fondest basketball moments come from family cookouts, not tournaments. "You have the uncles who swear they can play basketball, but they cannot play basketball," she says laughing. "They will be like, 'Oh, I can beat you one on one.' I will let them think they can win. They cannot."
Her family's competitive culture was more loving than pressurized. They believed in her before she believed in herself, especially her mom and grandmother, who told her she could achieve her dream to be the first in their family to play Division I basketball.
That path was not always crystal clear. Swimming was just as natural to her. She excelled at breaststroke and freestyle and grew into butterfly, a stroke she once hated. But the choice between the pool and the court revealed something essential about her character. Basketball, being a team sport, offered community and connection. "I am not a selfish person," she says. "With basketball, if I see you down, I get to bring you up. I am going to smile whether we win or lose. I want us to share success together."
Her journey to Long Beach was full of movement. Florida to Georgia. School to school. Four high schools in total. She calls the journey "rough," but she says it without bitterness. She says it with pride. Every transition taught her adaptability. Every new setting became a chance to meet people, build relationships, and turn unfamiliar locker rooms into places where she belonged.
That skill served her well when she learned through her high school coach that Long Beach State was recruiting her. The move to the West Coast expanded her definition of family even further. Now her teammates come from Spain, Australia, and beyond, and she takes genuine interest in their backgrounds. "We all learn about each other," she says. "We accept everybody for who they are. That is being a family."
Off the court, Wright has watched her grow into that space as well.
"Atlanta, Georgia is a long way from Long Beach, California," Wright says. "JaQuoia could own this town if she wanted to. She has that unique, fun-loving personality. She can read a room, which is not very common right now. She has maturity for her age, and it has been fun watching her show her true personality without feeling like she has to be what she feels she is 'supposed' to be."
Leadership brought new challenges. Her biggest growth area has been communication. "I am not a big talker," she admits. "But as a leader, I have to talk, even when I am tired." When she feels herself slipping away from that responsibility, she goes to co-captain Kennan Ka or a coach to say what many athletes her age might be too proud to say: I am not talking enough. They give her actionable cues. Small words. Defensive signals. Simple reminders that leadership is not always a speech. It is consistency.
On that front, Wright is direct with her.
"She knows what to do, how to do it, and when to do it," Wright says. "She just does not always communicate that to her teammates. When she is a great communicator, we are that much better. That is the expectation for her every day."
Her relationship with Wright, a former point guard herself, has become a foundation. The daily good mornings, the short conversations, the technical guidance, they all matter. "If she gives me advice, I am going to take it, process it, and do it," JaQuoia says. "I want her to know I am applying it."
Over time, that relationship has shifted from positional to personal.
"At first I am still the head coach, the authority figure," Wright says. "Once student-athletes get past that and it becomes more of a person-to-person relationship, that is when the fun starts. Now she can say, 'I see this' or 'I want to try this,' and we can have real conversations. The last thing you want as a coach is to take joy away from a game these kids love. With her, it is about holding her to a high standard and still keeping that joy."
Her teammates feel the impact. When JaQuoia gets going, whether by scoring, distributing, or simply elevating the pace, they rise with her. This season, her production reflects that responsibility. Her efficiency has climbed, her rebounding numbers rival those of many post players in the conference, and her dependability at the free throw line has become one of Long Beach State's most reliable strengths. Still, she looks to improve. "I know everyone says I am doing good," she says. "But I feel like I can do better."
Wright points to a non-conference game earlier this season as a clear turning point.
"In our Sacramento State game, she was the reason we were in it," Wright says. "From a scoring perspective, that was the kid we recruited. She was that rebounding, scoring guard she was in high school. Her confidence grew a lot from that. Now the challenge is how to keep doing that when teams adjust, when they double her or press her for 90 feet. That is the next step."
There was an earlier moment when belief clicked into place for Jones-Brown, a game against Hawaii last year during her freshman season. With the clock winding down, she hit the biggest shot of her career to send the game into overtime. "That is when I knew," she says. "I belong here. I can do this. Just be myself and play."
Adversity, Wright says, has revealed even more about who she is.
"Her first instinct is to get in the gym and work, and that is a good instinct," Wright says. "What she has to grow into, and this will be true in basketball and in life, is a communicator. You cannot solve every problem by yourself. Sometimes a thousand shots will not fix it. You have to lean on your teammates and your coaches. Shutting down verbally does not help anything, so we are working on that. That is part of being a leader."
Behind all her growth, her competitiveness, and her consistency is her why: her family. "We did not have a lot growing up. We just had each other," she says. "If I do not give 110 percent every day, I feel like I am failing them." Her parents sacrificed money for AAU tournaments, time off work for travel, and entire weeks to follow her and see her play all over the country. Those sacrifices shape her daily commitment. They also keep her grounded through the grind of a season.
Because of the tight schedule, she will not go home for Christmas. Instead, she will stay in Long Beach, building Legos, watching Lucifer and Criminal Minds, playing GTA and 2K on her PlayStation, and letting her brother beat her in Madden, which she insists is the only place he can beat her.
Ask her what she is most proud of, and she does not mention the scoring streaks, the Player of the Week honor, or the double doubles. "I mainly care about being able to play basketball," she says. "As long as I am able to play basketball and be with my teammates, then I am fine."
She wants her younger siblings, too many to count, she jokes, to understand what she learned early. Nothing is handed to you. You must work for everything. Her father may have connections in the sport, but as she says plainly, "In order for him to put those connections to use, you have to work for it."
When asked about legacy, she pauses. "I just want people to know I was myself," she says. "I gave my best. Just me." Her teammates and family already know this. Her sister does not need jersey numbers to spot her on the court. "She can find me by my facial expressions," JaQuoia says, laughing.
From Wright's perspective, her authenticity is matched by a ceiling that is entirely in Jones-Brown's hands.
"I think she can definitely be an All-Conference, Player of the Year candidate kind of player. She has already shown that by winning Player of the Week and keeping her numbers up," Wright says. "Her ceiling is going to be what JaQuoia wants it to be. The structure is there. It is not like she needs some crazy new move. It is simple things, embracing leadership and responsibility every day. How far she wants to take it is up to her."
Then Wright adds what might be the simplest and clearest endorsement of all.
"We are just lucky to have her," she says. "We are so lucky to have her."
Many student-athletes in today's collegiate landscape feel pressure to shape shift, to present curated versions of themselves depending on who is watching. JaQuoia Jones-Brown has found something more powerful than performance. She leads with joy, competes with intensity, and lives her identity fully and unapologetically in every space she enters.
Just JaQuoia. Always JaQuoia.
And that is more than enough.
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