Iowa women's basketball recruit Ava Jones, who was injured July 5 when an impaired driver hit her and her family on a sidewalk in Louisville, Kentucky -- a crash that killed her father -- is not expected to play basketball again.
According to The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder told the school's Presidential Committee on Athletics on Thursday in Iowa City that Jones' competitive basketball career might be over because of injuries suffered in the crash.
"She's still somebody that we are going to have as a part of our program because we believe in her," Bluder told the committee, according to the Gazette. "She committed to us, and just because she had something bad happen to her doesn't mean that we turn our back on her. We'll be there for her and her family as much as we can."
Jones' scholarship will still be honored by Iowa, the coach reportedly said.
An Iowa spokesperson told ESPN on Friday that the school could not comment directly about Jones since she is still classified as a recruit.
Jones tore the major ligaments in both knees and suffered head injuries when the driver, Michael Hurley, hit her, her parents and her brother while the family was in Kentucky for an AAU basketball tournament. Jones' father, Trey, died a few days later and her mother, Amy, was seriously hurt. Jones' brother, Creek, was not seriously injured.
In August, a grand jury indicted Hurley and charged him with one count of murder, two counts of first-degree assault, one count of assault in the fourth degree and one count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence. Hurley allegedly told police he had taken the opioid Hydrocodone before driving.
Jones, a 6-foot-2 forward who was ranked 83rd by ESPN HoopGurlz for the Class of 2023, originally committed to Arizona State but decommitted in March after coach Charli Turner Thorne retired. Jones announced her commitment to Iowa on July 3, two days before the crash.
