CINCINNATI — Herb Jones, a member of the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team that made it to the Final Four in 1992, died on Monday at the age of 51. His death was announced on the UC athletics Twitter account.
Jones was inducted into the UC Athletic Hall of Fame in August. He played two years at UC averaging 17.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists and led the Final Four team in scoring and rebounds.
The 1992 Bearcats were noted for Bob Huggins' full-court defense and their four wins (two in the regular season, one in the conference tournament and one in the NCAA tournament) over Memphis, which was led by star guard Penny Hardaway. Hardaway became an All-Star and one of the NBA's most popular players with the Orlando Magic.
In a statement posted to Twitter, UC men's basketball coach Wes Miller called Jones an "all-time great."
"Our entire program is saddened by the passing of Herb Jones," Miller said. "My team and I were honored to meet Herb over Labor Day weekend.
"He was a true Bearcat that deserves our recognition and respect. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and his former teammates and coaches."
We're saddened by the passing of #Bearcats basketball legend Herb Jones.
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) December 6, 2021
An Honorable Mention All-American and the leading scorer and rebounder on @GoBearcatsMBB's 1992 Final Four team, Jones was inducted into the UC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
📝: https://t.co/shF8ZjWyHO pic.twitter.com/cGR2SNmFpu
My brother … we will miss you. For all of you who only heard about Herb Jones… he was a real one! 👏🏾🙏🏾😇https://t.co/ABs7gyxi4x pic.twitter.com/ctRACTEeq9
— Terry Nelson (@tnel33) December 6, 2021
Lost a great person today. My college teammate and our leader from our Final Four team. Herb Jones was the nicest most humbled person I’ve ever met. All he wanted to do was hoop fish n laugh. At a loss for words right now. This hurts. pic.twitter.com/GUP954cXmU
— nick vanexel (@vanexel31) December 6, 2021
🙏 RIP HERB JONES pic.twitter.com/LZ1XwPjhgK
— Wes Miller (@CoachWesMiller) December 6, 2021
Herb Jones embodied the spirit and heart of what it meant to be a Bearcat. He was our silent leader that played on both ends of the floor. My heart hurts knowing that he is suffering and there’s nothing I can do. Please pray for a peaceful journey for my brother/Teammate🙏🏾🥲 34# pic.twitter.com/ry1RWzjQiG
— Corie Blount (@CorieBlount) December 4, 2021
I never saw Herb Jones play in person, but the respect and reverence that his coaches and teammates had for him was always striking to me. On a program known known for toughness and hard work, Herb epitomized those qualities. RIP to one of UC’s all-time best pic.twitter.com/bUdeGPiSEG
— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) December 6, 2021
