Aldine High boys’ basketball coach Ronnie Jones warns: Don’t let the early season numbers fool you when it comes to his Mustangs.

“We’re only 5-11, but our record is really deceiving when you factor in the competition we’ve played and how close most of our games have been,” Jones told Texas Scorecard. “We’ve been right there in just about every game we’ve played. We’ve just got to learn how to finish and close out all these good efforts we’ve been working hard to put out.”

Indeed, roughly half of the Mustangs losses have come by eight points or less, including three by a cumulative total of just nine points.

“There’s no question we have the talent here,” Jones added. “It would really be nice to have a little more depth.”

The trio of guards Jordan Jones, Laterrius Winters and Xavier Keys control the perimeter for the Mustangs and 6-foot-5, 175-pound junior center Isaiah Hester mans the middle.

The coach’s son, Jordan Jones, leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game, while the veteran coach describes Hester as a “great shot-blocker” with a lot of upside.

“We spend a lot of time working with him on the fundamentals, but the sky could be the limit for him,” he said.

Jones describes the Mustangs’ style as uptempo and controlled chaos.

“Defensively we press the whole game, and that leads to a lot of offensive opportunities for us,” he said. “If we can just get some of our bench guys going, we could really be on our way.”

In the end, Jones said he’s hopeful the team’s tough early schedule will go a long way toward having them where they want to be as the season plays out.  

“Making the playoffs will be a huge accomplishment for our program,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep focused on doing the things we need to do.”

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