STARKVILLE — When he looks around the Mississippi State locker room, freshman guard Shawn Jones Jr. can’t help but notice it.
For once, in this aspect, he’s not alone.
“This is the first time I’ve had more than one person be a ‘Junior’ on my team,” Jones said.
Not only is the Houston native not the lone Bulldog whose name includes the suffix; he’s one of four.
Guards Eric Reed Jr. and Jamel Horton Jr., forward Will McNair Jr. and Jones all bear the name, putting Mississippi State in rare territory in Division I college basketball.
“It’s pretty unique that we have that many “Juniors” on the same team,” Reed said.
Just how unique, exactly?
An analysis of the rosters of all 363 Division I teams turned up 173 players with the “Junior” suffix, meaning that on average, every other D-I school contains one such player.
Twenty-six Division I players carry the “II” suffix, and 41 more have the “III” tag. There are even 14 fourth-generation players with “IV” in their name — as well as VCU’s Arnold Henderson VI, who joins three “Juniors” and Alphonso Billups III on a Rams roster featuring a lot of extra letters.
But Mississippi State and defending national champion Kansas, which boasts six “Juniors” on its 18-player roster, are in their own class.
Six teams — Boston College, TCU, South Florida, Saint Louis, VCU and Norfolk State — have three “Juniors,” but no one else can match Mississippi State’s total of four.
For the young men who carry on that suffix, it means more than a few letters on a jersey.
“It means a lot to me,” Jones said. “I’m just living the legacy my dad started, and I’m just going to keep living it, keep doing right by him. I’ve got his name, so I’ve got to live by it right.”
The Bulldogs who carry their fathers’ names carry many of their characteristics, too.
Shawn Jones Jr. and Sr. both share an attitude as well as a name. Both Eric Reeds are “very, very highly competitive,” the younger Reed shared.
Horton said he and his father both carry a “laid-back demeanor” that has served them well.
“We’re not too loud, not too extra,” Horton said. “We just tend to go with the flow and just let things be what they be.”
Still, there are differences. Horton termed himself “more of a people person” than his father is; Jones said he tends to stay calmer in times of crisis.
“He’s kind of got a short temper, so if you flash out real quick, I can kind of hold myself together a little bit,” he said.
Reed, meanwhile, took a different tack when asked to compare himself and his dad.
“I work harder than he do,” the Southeast Missouri graduate transfer admitted.
All four of the Bulldogs’ “Juniors” have certainly worked hard to get to the Southeastern Conference level for the first time.
Each player is a newcomer on a roster pieced together by new coach Chris Jans, with a heavy emphasis on the transfer portal.
Jans brought McNair with him from New Mexico State, while Horton transferred in from Albany. Jones is one of three true freshmen on the roster.
Together, they form a roster with a rare concentration of “Juniors.”
“I’ve been on a lot of teams, and on most teams I’m probably the only ‘Junior,’ so to have four, that’s extremely rare,” Horton said. “That’s definitely a unique thing about this team.”
For the players in question, it’s also pretty special.
Jones and Horton both acknowledged carrying their fathers’ names invites comparisons to their namesakes, but neither seems to mind.
“It makes me feel good because my father means a lot to me,” Jones said. “Just knowing that I’m compared to him, the person I look up to, is actually good.”
“That’s the coolest dude I know, man,” Horton added. “Anytime I get compared to my dad, I’m honored.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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