By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Zeke Jones was a wide-eyed, 25-year-old, first-time Olympian when the organizing committee gathered all the athletes from every nation outside the Stadium of Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain in preparation for the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Games.
Well, almost all the athletes.
"That was the year of the Dream Team for basketball," Jones said, referring to the American squad that introduced professionals into the Olympics with NBA icons Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin and Duke standout Christian Laettner.
"We stood outside the stadium for three hours before we marched in. The whole USA team was lined up except for the basketball team," Jones said. "When the time came to come out on the track and walk around it, out from a side door comes the Dream Team. They didn't wait three hours because of course, they couldn't. They would have been mobbed."
They were anyway. As soon as the NBA legends appeared, something akin to a mosh pit ensued.
"All the Olympic athletes from the other countries smashed into all the other nations that were lined up in the infield," Jones recalled. "Everyone wanted to get next to the Dream Team and take pictures so you had 10,000 athletes shoving into each other to catch a glimpse of these rock star basketball players. It was an unbelievable moment."
Jones has accrued a litany of Olympic experiences and snapshots in the ensuing 24 years. When Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson talks about creating a climate at ASU where Olympic athletes want to train, Jones and swim coach Bob Bowman are his shining examples.
Jones claimed a silver medal in Barcelona, he was an unofficial coach in the 1996 and 2000 Games, he was an assistant coach in 2004 and he was the head coach of the 2012 US Olympic freestyle team. He will depart for Rio de Janeiro to attend the 2016 Games as a delegate member on Aug. 16.
"You really can't put it into words what the Olympic experience is like," Jones said. "It's so large and loud and electric. The energy, the intensity, the concentration and focus that is required to compete in that event -- there's nothing like it.
"The most recognized symbol in the world is the cross of Jesus Christ, but the second most recognized symbol is the Olympic rings. That tells you the Olympics creates a global excitement like no other event in the world. It's great for the sports, it's great for countries and it also creates a lot of drama and politics."
Jones experienced an early dose of drama when he entered the Barcelona Games as the defending World Champion and Olympic favorite at 52 kilograms. On the day of his weigh-in, a bursa sac burst in his elbow, requiring minor surgery.
Jones insists the injury had no impact on his performance but his coaches believe he would have won gold had he not suffered the setback.
After rolling through pool play, Jones defeated Japan's Mitsuru Sato, 9-5, and South Korea's Kim Sun-hak, 5-4 to reach the gold medal match against North Korea's Ri Hak-son. There wasn't much information available on his opponent because the North Koreans did not wrestle a lot internationally, so Jones was caught off guard by an ankle pick that scored twice. Faced with an early deficit, Jones was forced to take risks and lost 8-1.
He was inconsolable.
"It was horrible," he said. "I didn't win a silver. I lost the gold. I was devastated. I can remember walking back to the locker room and I just sat in the shower and cried my eyes out."
Jones said there is still a part of him that hasn't gotten past losing that match, but age, experience and wisdom have given him a greater perspective on that experience.
"We're Americans so we always want results, but I wouldn't be at Arizona State as a coach and I wouldn't be talking to you if I didn't have that life experience," Jones said. "I have a lot more pride in being a silver medalist now. A lot of people thinking that's a pretty big deal and it was defining moment for me."
It was invaluable when he took the helm of the 2012 team. Team USA was coming off a disappointing finish in 2008, but Jones led the team to a pair of gold medals (Jake Varner at 96 kg and Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg) and a pair of bronze medals (Coleman Scott at 60 kg, Clarissa Chun at 48 kg).
"There is a definite been-there-done-that aspect to the Olympics and the athletes know it so there's a level of trust when you're talking to them," Jones said. "It's not an automatic but when you look at them and tell them 'this is what you're going to experience' they're happy to know you've done it and you can show them the path because you have lived it."
Jones brings that same level of expertise to Sun Devil wrestling, which qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament in his second season at the helm this year.
"Our curve is going in the right direction," he said.
Although he is an Olympic veteran and the trip to Rio is brief, Jones plans to take in everything the Olympic experience has to offer, including one of his favorite venues, the Olympic Village.
"I call it Utopia Paradise," he said, laughing. "They serve like 50,000 meals a day in the Olympic Village and it's the closest thing you can get to perfection. It's nothing but beautiful, athletic people. You walk through the streets and there are vending machines everywhere that are free. It's like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You feel like you can pull food off the trees and then eat the tree.
"They have a discotheque, a barber, you can go get a massage. Everything is festive all day long, and everything is free."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Zeke Jones was a wide-eyed, 25-year-old, first-time Olympian when the organizing committee gathered all the athletes from every nation outside the Stadium of Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain in preparation for the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Summer Games.
Well, almost all the athletes.
"That was the year of the Dream Team for basketball," Jones said, referring to the American squad that introduced professionals into the Olympics with NBA icons Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin and Duke standout Christian Laettner.
"We stood outside the stadium for three hours before we marched in. The whole USA team was lined up except for the basketball team," Jones said. "When the time came to come out on the track and walk around it, out from a side door comes the Dream Team. They didn't wait three hours because of course, they couldn't. They would have been mobbed."
They were anyway. As soon as the NBA legends appeared, something akin to a mosh pit ensued.
"All the Olympic athletes from the other countries smashed into all the other nations that were lined up in the infield," Jones recalled. "Everyone wanted to get next to the Dream Team and take pictures so you had 10,000 athletes shoving into each other to catch a glimpse of these rock star basketball players. It was an unbelievable moment."
Jones has accrued a litany of Olympic experiences and snapshots in the ensuing 24 years. When Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson talks about creating a climate at ASU where Olympic athletes want to train, Jones and swim coach Bob Bowman are his shining examples.
Jones claimed a silver medal in Barcelona, he was an unofficial coach in the 1996 and 2000 Games, he was an assistant coach in 2004 and he was the head coach of the 2012 US Olympic freestyle team. He will depart for Rio de Janeiro to attend the 2016 Games as a delegate member on Aug. 16.
"You really can't put it into words what the Olympic experience is like," Jones said. "It's so large and loud and electric. The energy, the intensity, the concentration and focus that is required to compete in that event -- there's nothing like it.
"The most recognized symbol in the world is the cross of Jesus Christ, but the second most recognized symbol is the Olympic rings. That tells you the Olympics creates a global excitement like no other event in the world. It's great for the sports, it's great for countries and it also creates a lot of drama and politics."
Jones experienced an early dose of drama when he entered the Barcelona Games as the defending World Champion and Olympic favorite at 52 kilograms. On the day of his weigh-in, a bursa sac burst in his elbow, requiring minor surgery.
Jones insists the injury had no impact on his performance but his coaches believe he would have won gold had he not suffered the setback.
After rolling through pool play, Jones defeated Japan's Mitsuru Sato, 9-5, and South Korea's Kim Sun-hak, 5-4 to reach the gold medal match against North Korea's Ri Hak-son. There wasn't much information available on his opponent because the North Koreans did not wrestle a lot internationally, so Jones was caught off guard by an ankle pick that scored twice. Faced with an early deficit, Jones was forced to take risks and lost 8-1.
He was inconsolable.
"It was horrible," he said. "I didn't win a silver. I lost the gold. I was devastated. I can remember walking back to the locker room and I just sat in the shower and cried my eyes out."
Jones said there is still a part of him that hasn't gotten past losing that match, but age, experience and wisdom have given him a greater perspective on that experience.
"We're Americans so we always want results, but I wouldn't be at Arizona State as a coach and I wouldn't be talking to you if I didn't have that life experience," Jones said. "I have a lot more pride in being a silver medalist now. A lot of people thinking that's a pretty big deal and it was defining moment for me."
It was invaluable when he took the helm of the 2012 team. Team USA was coming off a disappointing finish in 2008, but Jones led the team to a pair of gold medals (Jake Varner at 96 kg and Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg) and a pair of bronze medals (Coleman Scott at 60 kg, Clarissa Chun at 48 kg).
"There is a definite been-there-done-that aspect to the Olympics and the athletes know it so there's a level of trust when you're talking to them," Jones said. "It's not an automatic but when you look at them and tell them 'this is what you're going to experience' they're happy to know you've done it and you can show them the path because you have lived it."
Jones brings that same level of expertise to Sun Devil wrestling, which qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament in his second season at the helm this year.
"Our curve is going in the right direction," he said.
Although he is an Olympic veteran and the trip to Rio is brief, Jones plans to take in everything the Olympic experience has to offer, including one of his favorite venues, the Olympic Village.
"I call it Utopia Paradise," he said, laughing. "They serve like 50,000 meals a day in the Olympic Village and it's the closest thing you can get to perfection. It's nothing but beautiful, athletic people. You walk through the streets and there are vending machines everywhere that are free. It's like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You feel like you can pull food off the trees and then eat the tree.
"They have a discotheque, a barber, you can go get a massage. Everything is festive all day long, and everything is free."