Herb Jones can do a lot of things with a basketball.
Apparently, putting one down and picking up a fishing rod is one of those things.
The New Orleans Pelicans standout and former University of Alabama star stopped by B.A.S.S. headquarters in Birmingham recently, and it didn’t take long to figure out this wasn’t some NBA guy who fishes twice a year and calls himself an angler.
Jones loves to fish. And bass are his favorite target.
He’s been angling since he was old enough to hold a rod, and these days it’s one of his favorite ways to escape the noise and grind of an NBA season. Jones owns some property in the Yellowhammer State with a bass pond on it, and one of his favorite ways to kill a few hours is about as uncomplicated as fishing gets: Grab a rod, start walking and see what bites.
No boat. No 47 rods on the deck. Just walk and cast … and hopefully set the hook.
During his visit to B.A.S.S. headquarters, he posed with the Bassmaster Classic trophy and picked the brains of the anglers on staff for whatever fishing information he could pry loose. He also sat down to talk basketball, bass and his lifelong love of fishing before getting a chance to spend a little time on the water.
And that’s when the NBA star pretty much disappeared.
What was left was a fisherman.
The kind who wants to know what they’re biting. The kind who wants to know where they’re biting. The kind who is perfectly happy standing on the bank making one more cast — followed, of course, by another one.
There may be some crossover between the worlds of professional basketball and bass fishing. Patience matters. Preparation matters. Competition certainly matters. But by the time Jones headed home, the B.A.S.S. team didn’t look at him as a basketball star who likes to fish, but rather a rabid angler who happens to play in the NBA.