Former Southeast Missouri State shooting guard Isiah Jones is set to begin his overseas season this week in Turkey. After finishing up his collegiate basketball career at Southeast, Jones signed a contract with the Kyrenia Basketball Club, located in Cyprus, an island off of the coast of Turkey. The skills Jones gained from coach Rick Ray while he was still competing as a Redhawk set him up to be successful while in Europe.

"Coach Ray really emphasized spacing out the floor offensively because European basketball is all about spacing out the floor," Jones said.

Jones averaged 10.4 points per game for Southeast and led the team with 55 3-pointers during his final year at Southeast in 2015-16. He also pulled down 3.1 rebounds per contest and led the Redhawks in assists and steals.

Because he has studied the game since he began playing, Jones knew basketball would be the enjoyable part of being overseas. The language barrier has been one of the biggest challenges for Jones, but it is improving.

"The guys are very good at trying to understand and learn English. I don't think I would ever be able to understand Turkish," Jones said.

Jones' team is made up of two other Americans and nine other players from Cyprus.

"These guys are really hard workers, and that's all you can ask for," Jones said. "Their style is different from mine, but I really think that it will be a good season for us."

The platform Jones has gained because of playing in the league has helped him reach his goal of affecting others for the better.

"My goals on the court are big, I want to play until I can't play anymore. But my goals to have good character and change other people's lives for the better is bigger than basketball to me," Jones said.

Last week, Jones was eating in public and a group of children ran up and asked if he was the famous player on the basketball team. After getting to spend some time with the kids, Jones ended up buying ice cream for the entire group and got to help encourage them.

"It's not about me anymore," Jones said. "It's so much bigger than I am now that I'm on the bigger stage."

Jones 'long-term goals are to play until he can't anymore.

"Whether it's the NBA or I stay over here in Europe, I just want to keep playing," Jones said. "I have grown up with the ball in my hands, I have studied the game and now I get to just enjoy applying everything I've learned over the years."