A fixture around ESPN and now ABC since the early 1990’s, Mark Jones is still going strong at the “World Wide Leader”. Recently the Toronto native signed a multi-year contract extension, which will keep him calling a variety of sports, including the NBA and College Football, for the network. Jones was named as the Sacramento Kings main television play-by-play announcer in 2020 and calls games on NBC Sports California.
Mark Jones is a former basketball player himself. He attended York University and led the school to three Ontario Universities Athletics Association (OUAA) Championships. York won the title in 1981, 1984 and 1985. During his career, Jones was one of the top players in the OUAA, earning conference second-team all-star honors in 1984 and 1985. In 1986, he finished his career with a first-team all-star nod. Jones still ranks in the program’s top five all-time in total assists and steals. He was inducted into York’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
ROAD TO ESPN AND LIFE AT ESPN
Jones’ broadcasting career began at TSN, which is basically Canada’s ESPN. How he got there had everything to do with his own basketball career. His final collegiate game was televised on TSN and he was interviewed after the game by Peter Watts. Jones tells the story during a chat with The Basketball Writers in 2020.
“I asked Mr. Watts, the guy who interviewed me, “Do you have any jobs for students or soon to be grads? Because I’m pretty well versed in sports, and I’ll do anything you need me to do.”
He said, ‘Young Mr. Jones, call me on Monday morning.’ So, Monday morning at nine o’clock. I called Peter Watts.” Jones recalled.
“He arranged an interview with one of the producers who was doing the hiring, and literally a week later, they told me to show up and I had my first job in television, right after stepping off the basketball court. So, a week after finishing my basketball career at York I was working at TSN as an editorial assistant. That meant watching as many as two or three games at once—whether it was an NBA game, a baseball game or a hockey game—and logging all the crucial points in those respective games. I was then making up a highlight package when the night was done, writing a script to each package and giving it to the anchor.”
After rising from editorial assistant to field reporter to hosting a Blue Jays magazine show to the main anchor, Jones wanted more. He put together a tape, hired an agent and got offers from a few places. After getting a contract offer from the NBC affiliate in Chicago, he flew to the Windy City ready to finalize a deal with WMAQ-TV.
“The next morning my agent calls me and says, ‘Mark, we’re not going to sign with Chicago.’ And I thought, ‘Wow, what happened? Did they pull the deal, Lou, what’s going on?’ And he said, ‘No, ESPN and ABC want to talk to you before you sign anything. They’ve seen your tape too.’ Jones started at ESPN in 1990 and is still there, going strong.
AS A BROADCASTER
My early memory of Jones is when he hosted the weekly NBA show, The NBA Today on ESPN. He would end the show by shooting an imaginary basketball and holding the pose of the follow through as the studio lights went down. It always struck me has hokey, I’m not sure why. But I guess it makes sense now realizing that he was a good basketball player in his college days.
I have to admit, Mark Jones isn’t one of my favorite announcers on ESPN/ABC. There is something about his style that just doesn’t register with me. Sometimes I feel like he tries to be too cool, too smooth, too caught up in catchphrases instead of the game.
“He’s hotter than fish grease”, “He’s deep in his bag” and “put some muscle on the hustle” are just some of the phrases he’ll yell out. Maybe I’m old school (that hurts to even say) and would be fine with just a person that calls the game at a high level.
To be fair to Mark Jones, this is where I tell you to remember that this business we’ve chosen is highly subjective.
Jones, though will come up with a one-liner from time to time that makes everyone smile. Usually the reference is pop-culture related. Case in point during a recent Kings/Spurs game, he witnessed a tremendous layup by Kevin Huerter, faking out two Spurs defenders out of their shorts. Upon seeing the play, he blurted out:
“Oh, Huerter put them on a flight like an IG model. Kevin Huerter with a fake of all fakes.”
Even Huerter himself didn’t really get the reference, judging by his Tweet, he may not have understood, but he liked it.
Look, you don’t last as long as he has at ESPN, if he didn’t have talent. I’m not really debating that. I’m simply saying I would rather hear the game called, with the proper amount of excitement, which he provides, without all the extra. In listening back to a few halves of some NBA games from last season, it’s clear that Jones calls a good game. I know that he knows what he’s doing. Again, the word “solid” comes to mind.
DID YOU KNOW?
Mark Jones is the younger brother of Paul Jones, the radio play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
