‘It’s honestly a compliment’

A teenage shooting star took an insult shouted from the stands and turned it into an emblem of her success. When Willow Springs High School senior Chloe Jones broke the all-time scoring record for Bears basketball, she posed for photos holding a sign that said, “WHITE CHOCOLATE 2K!”

 

“White Chocolate,” is a phrase that has popped up during a lot of moments of triumph for Jones this season as she breaks records, collects trophies, and signs autographs. According to Jones, the phrase comes from a tense moment in a tournament game early in the season when she was wearing her hair in corn-row braids. Tensions were high, and she became aware of a commotion in the stands. Several adults were on their feet calling for a man to be ejected. 

 

“I watched that guy get walked out,” Jones recalled. “No one knew what was going on. We won the game, won the tournament. I asked afterwards what happened, and my mom said, ‘he was calling you White Chocolate.’ I started laughing.  I said, ‘you’re telling me that’s the best he could come up with?’ It’s honestly a compliment.”

 

Since early in the season, Jones has taken the insult and folded into her story of blazing success. It has appeared on many milestone posterboards this season and alongside photos and interviews online. 

 

“I think everybody finds it funny. It just kind of stuck,” she said. 

 

As of this writing, Jones is the all-time highest scorer for Bears basketball, for both boys and girls. After winning the Seymour Championship game, where she was named tournament MVP, she has scored 2,065 points. 

 

She broke the Lady Bears scoring record previously held by Sabrina (Smith) Lee, at 1,769 points. The boys’ all-time scoring record was 2,014, held by current Athletic Director Robert James. 

And there are seven more games in the season. 

 

Jones says her confidence comes from the support she has received from her team, her family, and the community. 

 

“It’s hard to lose confidence when everyone is constantly behind me and supporting me in everything I do,” Jones said.

 

Head Lady Bears Coach David Cox says Jones is, “just an amazing player. She is going to own the girls’ basketball record book when she finishes her career…Her will to win drives her constantly to keep pushing forward.”

 

Her unshakeable confidence has been present since she was little girl, Cox said. 

 

“When she was just a little girl she told me one day she would be playing in the WNBA, and I would be buying her uniform,” Cox said.

 

Jones told Howell County News she doesn’t know if the WNBA is in her future, but basketball certainly is. She is committed to play at Evangel and hopes to coach basketball and teach math in adulthood.  

 

As her Bears basketball career draws to an end, Jones says she is thinking of her teammates, calling them her “day-ones,” and “ride-or-dies.”

 

“I’m trying to soak it all up. I’ve played with this same group of girls since second-or-third grade,” she said. 

 

To the young fans asking for autographs, Jones said, “Just enjoying it. It goes by so fast. I blinked, and now it’s been four years. Enjoy the running at practice and the long bus rides. You’re gonna miss it.”