In Philly, Bobby Jones learning from the best

When most think of mentors, Allen Iverson doesn't top the list.

Excessive tattoos. Guns. Questioning practice. The Philadelphia 76ers star has spent a decade sending ripples through the NBA.

That's an outsider's view, one that Bobby Jones admittedly had before Philadelphia signed him to a two-year contract this season.

To Jones, a former Washington Husky, other stories better reflect Iverson's character. Stories like how Iverson contacted Janice Jackson-Burke, the mother of Kevin Johnson.

Kevin, 23, died Monday after being taken off life support. He was shot in the neck in June 2003 for the Iverson jersey he wore. Iverson, who made hospital visits, offered his condolences to the family and will pay for funeral services.

That gesture isn't something you often read about, but it's one of the lessons Iverson passed down to Jones.

"Being a rookie, you see where I am and the other extreme of where he is," Jones said. "I look and am like, 'Wow, look at how he's handling this situation,' and how people are always expecting him to perform night in and night out. He takes it like any other normal person, though. You'd think it would be different, but it really isn't. That just shows how humble he really is. It's a tough deal being famous and known world-wide."

Jones, a 6-foot-7 forward, is still establishing his own identity.

People in Philadelphia only know him because of the Bobby Jones who helped lead the 76ers to the 1982-83 NBA championship as a teammate of Maurice Cheeks, now the team's coach.

The elder Jones was a defensive specialist, just like his rookie namesake was for the Huskies. It's a skill the organization hopes Jones continues in the NBA. In fact, Cheeks wants his 3-3 team to improve its defense on a three-game road swing beginning tonight against the Sonics (4-4) at KeyArena, possibly activating Jones to have another defender in the rotation.

Jones, who requested 15 tickets, was inactive for the team's first five games and has yet to make his pro debut.

"I'm not afraid to play him because he's a defender, he can get his hands on a lot of balls and turn the game around just on the type of energy he puts out on the floor," Cheeks said.

Can the former Husky remind people of the Bobby Jones who came before him in Philly?

"Maybe in time there will be a similarity," Cheeks said. "When I got to play with Bobby Jones years ago, he was a very seasoned guy, understood what it took to win games and was always put on the top offensive player. It's going to take awhile, but [younger] Bobby Jones is going to be a good one because he understands what he needs to do to play."

Iverson helped mold Jones' mind-set. The link between the two began in Barcelona, where the 76ers held training camp. Philadelphia has four rookies to divvy the traditional NBA "hazing" duties, such as carrying the veterans' luggage, and Cheeks told Jones he had the responsibility of waking Iverson 30 minutes before practice. Jones assumed he only needed to do that once, and didn't wake the 76ers star the next day.

"I got in trouble," Jones said. "He [Iverson] told me to follow him wherever he goes, five feet behind him like a bodyguard. And whatever he wants me to do, I just have to do."

But Jones had some space Tuesday, attending Washington's game against Northern Iowa.

"It's different, I'm not going to lie," said Jones of getting to know Iverson. "Every other day somebody calls me to ask, 'How is it like to play with him? Is he a good person?' because he's a superstar all around the world.

"He's a great person. He's been extremely nice to me even though I'm a rookie."

Notes

• Philadelphia forward Chris Webber missed practice in Seattle on Tuesday to tend to family business in Sacramento. He is expected to join the team in time for tonight's game.

• Sonics center Robert Swift still has not had surgery to repair his torn right ACL. Coach Bob Hill said Swift flew to Los Angeles to receive a third opinion.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com. Times reporter Percy Allen contributed to this report.