Bill Jones has always had a strong presence on the Windsor Express bench. He recently let his guard down and shared his struggles with mental illness with a group of 120 high school basketball players. "That's my story. That's my life." said Jones following a dinner held during the 37th edition of the Freed's Tip Off Classic.
He opened up his speech by sharing his first experience with the debilitating illness while on his way to class in his freshman year at Iowa. "I had this feeling of being overwhelmed. Dread. Being doomed." Jones described. "I didn't know what it was. I ended up going to class and being able to overcome."
Jones fought with anxiety through a playing career at Iowa, the NBA with the New Jersey Nets and in Europe where he was an all-star and MVP. He got through a lot of episodes thinking "happy thoughts".
He couldn't hide from anxiety as head coach of the Express. Jones would feel anxious before games. He took a nap before the team bus would go over the eight mile Confederation Bridge for games in PEI.
A health scare was the final straw for Jones. He sought help and is now managing his mental health. "It had to take all these episodes for me to finally realize I can't do it on my own. I need to be able to see other means and other methods to be able to cope."
Jones told the group he is not ashamed of his battle anymore. "If you guys can take anything from this message just don't be ashamed. Stand up. Talk to your mother. Talk to your father. Talk to your brother. Talk to your coach. Talk to your teacher and tell them you need help to be able to get through the struggles that you have. We all have struggles."
Jones was embraced warmly by the players following the dinner. He is preparing for a combine this month and the beginning of training camp after Christmas. The Express open their season in the new Basketball Super League January 12th vs the Montreal Toundra.
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