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APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (KMSP) - Minnesota Timberwolves fans love cheering for hometown hero Tyus Jones, the former first round draft pick who grew up in Apple Valley. Monday at Westview Elementary, instead of dishing out assists Jones scored big time for his old grade school. He started by sharing some old lessons learned.
"I'm sure a lot of your teachers have already told you guys this and probably say this multiple times a day, but one thing that really sticks is treating people how you want to be treated,” said Jones.
Jones shared his memories of the school and even his former teachers joined in.
“When they would be out at recess, I would always say we didn’t need a supervisor, every kid did the right thing and if somebody was making a bad choice and not including somebody Tyus would say, ‘hey let them play, come on, join in,’” said Patsy Ryan, a Westview social worker.
Jones, however, had one more surprise: a brand new computer lab. One of the walls now bears the phrase "Write your own story” - words that Jones has lived by since his youth.
"Write your own story means you write your life how you want it to go,” said Jones. “For me, I wanted to become a professional basketball player. So writing my own story, I made sure I worked hard every single day, making sure I was getting good grades in school, making sure I was able to play basketball and so forth.”
As a special thank you, Westview Elementary gave Jones a special gift. This year, staff replaced the outdoor nets on the basketball hoops. They gave Jones the old ones, saying he and his brothers wore them out.