MANSFIELD — The air inside Mansfield Senior’s auxiliary gym is oppressively hot and heavy as Jon Avery rearranges a series of plastic orange practice cones.
The workout is still in its infancy but you’d never know it by looking at Avery, a 2005 Senior High graduate who led the Tygers to an unlikely Final Four appearance during his senior season. Perspiration is already racing down his forehead and gathering at the neck of his baggy white tee shirt emblazoned with the College of Charleston Classic logo.
It’s the hottest day of the year so far — the mercury reaching 89 sultry degrees outside— and there is no relief to be found on the court. If LeBron James were here, he might be suffering from leg cramps in the suffocating conditions as he famously did during the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the recently completed NBA Finals.
The 6-foot-7 Avery directs the gathering of established college stars and emerging prospects like an oversized traffic cop. He offers a quick explanation of the next drill — there’s no time to be wasted — then jumps in line to take his turn. Avery is not only the lead instructor in this player development co-op, he’s a seasoned pro still trying to refine his game while building a foundation for the future.
“Once my playing days are over, this is what I want to do. Coaching is in my DNA,” Avery says between drills. “But that is still down the road. I’ve got a lot of basketball left in me.”
The 27-year-old Avery has spent the past three years playing internationally, most recently in Lebanon, where he led his team in scoring (20.22 avg.), rebounding (8.0), assists (4.28) and blocked shots (0.72) last season. Before that, he spent a year in Mexico and in Chile.
He will likely need his passport again later this year — “I’m not sure where I’ll play, but we’re working on it,” he says — but for now Avery is content working with kids of all ages and talent levels from his hometown.
“Giving back has always been in my family,” he says. “When I pray, I pray that I’m able to help others. It’s a blessing to be able to give back to the community.”
The Mansfield basketball community couldn’t ask for a better ambassador. Avery’s hoops resume speaks for itself.
After graduating from Senior High, Avery spent a season at Harmony Prep in Cincinnati, where he drew the attention of Division I IUPUI and then head coach Ron Hunter. Avery would become one of the most productive players in IUPUI history, scoring 1,014 career points and grabbing 544 rebounds. He was just the eighth player in program history to score 1,000 points and swipe 500 boards and graduated as the school’s career leader in field goal shooting percentage, connecting on 64.1 percent of his shots.
“He has been to where most of us are trying to get to,” says Lexington product Rasheed Brooks, a longtime Avery pupil who committed to the University of Mississippi of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on Monday. “He is a pro. He doesn’t have to do this, but he’s here every day pushing us.”
Well, not quite every day.
“We’re usually in the gym four days a week,” Avery says. “I’m getting older. I need some time off.”
In addition to Brooks, Avery’s regulars include recent Marietta College graduate and Senior High staffer Jacob Owens, Winthrop standout and 2013 Senior High graduate Keon Johnson, rising senior Naradain James (Brooks’ younger brother) and recent graduates Robert Jones and Jameel Butts. The 6-6 Jones started the 2013-14 season at Mansfield Senior before leaving for Colorado, where his mother lives, early in the season to undergo surgery to repair a faulty heart valve. He signed with Northeastern (Colo.) Junior College on Sunday. Butts, Avery’s younger half brother, is headed for NAIA Cincinnati Christian University.
“Jon is a role model, and not just for me,” Butts says. “For any of us who are going off to college, he is teaching us what it’s going to be like.”
Jones agrees.
“I’ve been working with Jon for a long time now and it has definitely given me an advantage,” he says. “How often do you get to chance to go against pros or guys who are going to play in the SEC?”
Avery’s workouts aren’t for the faint of heart. He wasn’t the only one sweating profusely Wednesday afternoon.
“We get after it,” the 6-5 James says, “but we have fun, too.”
If James is to follow in his brother’s footsteps — “seeing him sign with a big-time Division I program is an inspiration to me,” he says — he will have Avery to thank.
“I get to learn from the best,” James says. “This is a great opportunity.”
The real reward for Avery doesn’t come from training blue-chip prospects. As his workout with Brooks, Jones and Co. wound down, a couple of elementary school-aged players arrived at Senior High.
Avery gathered up his practice cones and headed for the opposite end of the gym to put the new arrivals through their paces.
“I usually spend at least three or fours hours a day in the gym,” Avery says. “There is nothing I would rather do.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
