I don't believe Marion ever quit anything -- EXCEPT competitive basketball after 1997 season. She certainly never quit track. In her collegiate years (1994-97), Marion was one of the country's best collegiate basketball players. While she intended to do both basketball and track (she always loved both sports), basketball came first (at least chronologically), and that affected a lot (probably most) of her collegiate track career. In those days, she would start her track season late (late March or early April) and nowhere near sharp. In 1994, she was part of an NCAA champion team, but had a very good collegiate track season. In 1995, Jones was a soph on the UNC basketball team, which lost in the NCAA West Regional semifinals to Stanford. Thus, her basketball season ended late in the season again. Marion had a poor year sprinting (due to an early injury I think), but placed in the NCAA long jump for the second year in a row. She broke a bone in her foot in August 1995 at the World University Games (basketball), and missed all of 1996 (both sports) because of that. She again played basketball in 1997 (member of ACC champion team for third time), but did not compete collegiately for UNC in track. That was the last time she played basketball competitively and began to focus totally on track & field for the first time in her life. The results were (and have been) pretty much what most close followers thought would happen if she ever concentrated solely on track & field. -- Howard Willman In a message dated 9/25/00 12:05:56 AM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Such a small deal that after ducking the testers and being suspended she immediately then "quit track" to play basketball for 3 years????? A bizarre voluntary career and economic path for a world-class sprinter. Tony Craddock >>
