Every time Jonathan Jones sits down to work, he’s reminded of his friend.
In the Bowling Green, Kentucky, office where he runs his family’s construction business, there’s unsurprisingly a lot of Western Kentucky men’s basketball memorabilia. The Jones family have been longtime supporters of the program.
However, one particular shadow box frame contains jerseys that just mean more to him.
That frame holds the jerseys paying homage to Danny Rumph.
“I have the tribute jerseys from our tribute game at Diddle [Arena] when we played Georgia [in 2005],” Jones said. “We have the gray jersey with the ‘DR’ across the chest and ‘Rumph’ on the back.”
Jones got his first chance to experience a different tribute to his late friend on Thursday night. The Kentucky native sat in the third row of the CCP gym bleachers decked out in his Eberlein Drive gear and sporting a backwards “Girl Dad” hat, taking in his first Danny Rumph Classic.
“It makes me want to cry,” Jones said. “For so many people to do this in his name is awesome. Seeing it over the years, I’ve wanted to get here and I’m happy to be here.”
Jones and Rumph became acquainted while the pair were students at Western Kentucky, eventually leading to Rumph working for Jones’ family business in the summers. The two bonded over their love of cars, and Jones admired Rumph’s hardworking nature.
Rumph showed up like he ran the office, Jones remembered, and he wasn’t the only Hilltopper that worked for Jones either. Former Sun Belt Player of the Year and eventual NBA veteran Courtney Lee also worked alongside the duo in the summer.
Lee and Rumph had a special bond, and Jones saw Rumph’s influence over the future first round pick up close.
“Danny was really crucial in keeping Courtney Lee at Western Kentucky,” Jones recounted. “Danny really, really talked to him. I think Courtney got homesick, and Danny talked him through that. He was just a great dude.”
Rumph and Lee spent a lot of time together, even hanging out one of the final nights before the basketball star returned to Philadelphia in the summer of 2005.
“He had just got a brand new Chrysler 300,” Jones said. “Back then, [if] you had a Chrysler 300, you were the man. He had just rolled up in his new Chrysler 300, and before he left to come home, I was like, ‘Hey man, when you get back, we’re gonna hook it up—stereo system and rims—and get it all hooked up.’”
Years later, Jones felt emotional about these memories while sitting in a gym packed to celebrate the legacy of his friend. As someone who has struggled with heart health as well, he feels the foundation’s mission strikes even closer to home. He has a sense of pride that this event and the cause it supports bears his friend’s name.
A name that still means a lot to the Western Kentucky community.
“You bring up Danny’s name at home, and everybody, even now, they still remember Danny,” Jones said. “[They remember him] as a hard worker, as somebody that was on the rise that I don’t have any doubt that he would have been playing professionally. That was the type of ball player that he was.”
