Texas Longhorns signee Andrew Jones overcame tragedy on the way to success

Aaron Torres highlights the incredible difficulty Texas Longhorns basketball commit Andrew Jones has overcome in a new piece for the Austin American-Statesman -- there's no such thing as a typical McDonald's All-American, but Jones, a four-star guard from Irving MacArthur, has been through a lot more than many his age.

In 2007, when he was in second grade, Jones was in a horrific car crash on the way to a basketball tournament. His father, David Jones, was driving and was paralyzed from the chest down after the vehicle flipped multiple times.

Jones quickly learned to take more responsibility around the house:

"I ain't never seen my dad laid in bed with all these tubes in his mouth and IVs," said Andrew Jones, the Irving MacArthur star who has signed with Texas. "I'm so used to him being a strong man, always working, trying to provide for us. I couldn't handle it."

Jones learned to cook, and helped take care of his dad.

Then, entering high school, Jones was just 5'8. But over his prep career he grew an incredible nine inches, and could start for the 'Horns as a freshman. He was a consensus top-30 recruit nationally, averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as a senior, and was also honor roll student.

But Jones isn't the only basketball star in the family. He initially had to work to get out of the shadow of his older sister Alexis, who was named All-Big 12 at Baylor.

Academics and athletics are an important part of the Jones family. Andrew and his dad still play chess from time to time, although David always wins, and Jones plans to major in business accounting at UT.

He's always been obsessed with numbers, even his recruiting rankings:

"I used to google all the time what people were saying about me," he said. "If somebody did a write-up, I used to go back and read it — all right, what (are) they saying, what did I do good, what do I need to work on — so I wouldn't have any weaknesses."

The 'Horns have picked up a driven, motivated player in Jones. He should be able to make an immediate impact next season.