Texas Basketball Star Returns After Battling Leukemia — and Scores Career-Best 20 Points

Andrew Jones is back in the game!

The Texas Longhorns basketball guard made a triumphant return to the court on Tuesday night, rejoining the rotation for the University of Texas at Austin team, after missing the past two seasons while receiving treatment for leukemia.

During Tuesday’s game, Jones returned to the court for his fourth season and didn’t just play, he earned a career-best scoring 20 points in just 29 minutes to help the Longhorns defeat Northern Colorado 69-45.

“Glad you’re back,” the Texas Longhorns tweeted following the game.

Jones was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2018, a month after a wrist injury caused him to miss four games. At the time, he was the Longhorns’ leading scorer.

While receiving treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Jones missed the rest of the season. He continued to undergo treatment during the 2018-19 season but made brief appearances in two games.

His finale treatment was completed in September with Tuesday’s game being his first in 673 days, the Texas Longhorns said in a separate tweet.

Jones, a Midland, Texas native, was granted a medical redshirt for both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, the University of Texas at Austin said. He has been classified as a redshirt sophomore.

In his first three years with the Longhorns, Jones played 45 games, starting in 31, and reached double digits in scoring a whopping 29 times.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Longhorns coach Shaka Smart told Fox News that Jones’ return was “going to be very emotional.”

“A lot has happened, on and off the floor since the diagnosis,” Smart said. “He’s earned the right to go in the game and play significant minutes.”