Carlik Jones has accomplished something only two other former Louisville men's basketball standouts can say they've done.
The 6-foot-1 guard will play in the 2024 Paris Olympics for South Sudan 's burgeoning hoops program.
Jones, who after three years at Radford transferred to U of L ahead of the 2020-21 season, is of South Sudanese descent through his mother. He was a member of the team that clinched the country's first trip to the Olympics during last year's FIBA World Cup and recently had a performance for the ages during a one-point exhibition loss to Team USA in London.
The 26-year-old Cincinnati native recorded a triple double: 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against a roster loaded with NBA All-Stars.
"@carlikjones is a bona fide NBA player & always has been," wrote Chris Mack , who coached Jones during his lone season with the Cardinals, on X, formerly Twitter, after the game. "... That dude belongs & I sure hope the NBA figures it out."
Having earned a trip to the Olympics, Jones joins Rodney McCray and Jordan Nwora as the only former Louisville players to do so. McCray played for the United States during the 1980 Moscow Olympics; and Nwora represented Nigeria at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Jones spent the 2023-24 season playing in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. He went undrafted out of U of L — after averaging 16.8 points, 4.9 and 4.5 assists — but had stints in the NBA G League for teams in the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls organizations.
With the Bulls, Jones was named Most Valuable Player of the G League's 2022-23 campaign.
South Sudan begins Olympic group play at 5 a.m. Sunday against Puerto Rico.
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Carlik Jones joins rare Louisville basketball company as South Sudan heads to Olympics
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