High school basketball highlights are everywhere these days. Sports fans can look up basketball highlights and watch for hours, but they never know what goes on to provide the world with those videos. Who films them? Who edits them? People like West Ottawa grad Ny Jones mastermind these highlight tapes. Jones has been filming and editing videos for hoopers in West Michigan but has found recent success in the college and NBA realm. 

   Jones, a 20 year old junior at Michigan State, has loved basketball all his life. Before filming, Ny had big dreams of playing high level basketball. There’s just one problem and, unfortunately, it’s a big one. The average height of an NBA player is 6’6”. Jones is only 5’5”. If you know the basketball world, being tall is a big advantage and, unfortunately, Ny wasn’t as lucky as some others. Despite being undersized all his life, it never stopped him from doing what he loves: playing sports. Jones has played basketball almost all his life. He loves playing pickup games at the local Boys and Girls Club, and he played with the West Ottawa team during the summer when he was in high school. 

   Since Ny couldn’t continue his playing career, he decided to change his position in the basketball world. He now films players and works with some really big names, including NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo, former 5-star recruit Emoni Bates, and former Michigan State basketball star Gabe Brown. Jones said “I wanted to get footage of these players to post on my page, Limitless Ballers. At the time when I first started the page, I wasn’t sure what direction I was headed towards, but I ended up buying the camera anyway.” He also films for Basketball Trainer Joshua Dudley, who trains Victor Oladipo and other high school players. Ny has an Instagram page called Limitless Ballers MI. The page has almost 1,500 followers and continues to grow. 

   He spent the summer traveling to various AAU tournaments, pick-up games, and workouts to film. Jones spent a good chunk of his summer in Miami filming for Dudley and Oladipo. “My time in Miami was special. It was the first time I worked with an NBA player. It was different for sure. These guys in the NBA have already made it so you never know what to get out of them in a workout, but Victor Oladipo worked out everyday. Sometimes even twice a day.”

    When comparing NBA players to high school players, Jones said “With high school kids, especially the elite, you see that work ethic more than anything. That’s also because they haven’t made it to the NBA yet. They’re still fighting for college scholarships. As far as filming and working with these guys, it’s really the same, just the lifestyles are different.” 

   Not only does it take a lot of time to film, but Jones has spent countless hours editing all his film, picking and choosing which clips will highlight each player best. Once he finishes all the filming and editing he will post the video to his Instagram page or send it to the player. Then, the player has freedom to do whatever they want with the video. Most people will either send the video to college coaches, scouts, or simply post it on their personal pages. Jones doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He plans on staying in the world of basketball. “I have so much love for the game of basketball. Every aspect of it excites me. Being able to work with so many talented players across the US has been a blessing. My goal is to stay in the game for as long as I can.” Jones is making his way up the ranks in the basketball world, and plans to stay close to his roots.