A Champion of Character

WVU Tech men's basketball's Andreas Jönsson is a Champion of Character who embodies the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. The honor of being named a team's Champion of Character is received from the head coach's nomination of that player. Coach James Long bestowed that accolade on Jönsson for his 2019-2020 performance as a Golden Bear. 

The senior, who hails from Stockholm, Sweden, enters his final year in Beckley, West Virginia with hopes of continuing his basketball career professionally once he graduates with a psychology degree. But, Tech has one more school year of a Golden Bear who excels at leading his classmates campus-wide. Jönsson will begin his third year as a Resident Assistant (RA), his first term as the Psychology Club's President and will continue to be a leader on the court for his final season wearing No. 4 for the Gold and Blue. 

That's not all he has his hands in, this summer he had the opportunity to work with Tech's Upward Bound program which he found both enjoyable and educational. Jönsson also mentioned his love for service projects such as Tech's MLK Day of Service.

The Journey

Despite no other family member being very involved with sports, Andreas started to fall in love with basketball at the age of seven.  And, the sport he loves isn't even one of the main attractions in Sweden.

But, in the Jönsson household, all interests were encouraged. Passions ranged for the family such as Andreas with basketball, his mother (Marketa) with dancing and his brother (Adam) who is heavily involved in the music industry. He also had a little extra push when it came to the decision to study abroad as his mother earned her master's degree in Miami, Florida and later worked for the United Nations in New York.

Jönsson graduated from Solna Gymnasium in 2017 where he played basketball. Solna Gymnasium is Stockholm's largest sports high school. In addition to consistent basketball training, students are exposed to nutritional physiology, sports psychology and other important areas for athletes.

Andreas credits his dad (Kjell), mom, brother and grandma (Beatrice) for a tremendous amount of support and great impact on his life's decisions and help throughout his career.

The Transition

Jönsson didn't know exactly what to expect when he first made the transition from Sweden to WVU Tech. Everything was new and unfamiliar which he stated reflected academically in his first semester abroad. He quickly bounced back in the classroom after adjusting and has since earned the RSC Scholar-Athlete award where a 3.25 GPA is required for such an accolade. He had an easier time adjusting socially his first year in a new country. Jönsson had the benefit of living with six first-year students who got along and helped each other cope as freshmen.

Athletically, the Golden Bear says he will never forget how he started off his collegiate career on the court. Jönsson sunk his first triple and proceeded to miss nine straight attempts in 36 minutes of playing time. He only shot 1-for-10 but, his team pulled out the 82-80 win over NCAA DII Glenville State College in front of a home crowd. That game motivated the guard and he worked hard towards a 45.2 three-point shooting percentage to finish out his inaugural season. Andreas gives a lot of the credit to his success to former head coach Bob Williams.

The Champion of Character boasts that his decision to attend WVU Tech had much to do with former assistant coach Nic Kjaerholt, “I knew I wanted to play college basketball in the United States and Coach Nic was a very big part in making that happen. He did a great job of assuring me that coming here would be a step in the right direction for my development as a basketball player, individual and student.”  

Beyond the Arc

A long-range shooting guard, the 6'2" Golden Bear led Tech in all three-point categories during the 2019-2020 campaign. Nation-wide (NAIA DII), he finished No. 2 in three-point percentage (52.6 percent), No. 33 for triple's made per game (2.76) and No. 41 for made three's (80).

For his effort during the 2019-2020 season, Andreas earned All-RSC Second Team honors. He finished 80-for-152 (52.6 percent) from long range giving him the top ranking for three-point percentage in the conference. In 29 games he averaged 10.48 points to go with a total of 55 rebounds and 36 assists. The guard also grabbed 22 steals and blocked five opponent attempts on defense.

In the 95 games during his career so far, Jönsson has made 184 from beyond the arc with a three-point percentage of 47.1 and averaging 7.8 points per game. He finished with a career-best 304 points last season, shooting an efficient 50 percent from the field. The Sweden native also helped the Golden Bears earn the title of River States Conference Champions (2x) and earn spots in the NAIA DII National Championship for three consecutive seasons.

Favorites

Favorite Color:  Blue
Favorite TV Show:  Game of Thrones
Favorite Movie:  “I love all the Harry Potter movies.”
Favorite Food:  “Qdoba is my go-to restaurant in Beckley.”
Favorite Hobby:  “I've picked up a few new ones during quarantine including yoga and hiking.”

What is your favorite basketball memory at Tech?

AJ:  There have been a lot of memories over the years. I believe one of the best experiences I’ve had was winning the regular season this year and punching our ticket to the national tournament for the third straight year. With a lot of people graduating from last year’s championship team, and with a new coaching staff coming in, there were not a lot of people that thought we would have the success we did. In the end we proved a lot of people wrong and we were feeling great going into our first-round match-up in the national tournament before COVID-19 put a halt to that. Winning the conference championship on our home court my sophomore year is another fond memory.

What is your favorite class you have taken so far?

AJ:  It’s a toss-up between Abnormal Psychology with Dr. Hall and Behavior Principles with Dr. Lieving. In the latter we got to conduct our own experiments with operant conditioning chambers down in the rat lab, which was really intriguing!

Who is your all-time favorite basketball player and why?

AJ:  I actually don’t have an all-time favorite basketball player. As a shooter however, I enjoy watching great shooters such as Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, J.J Redick and Kyle Korver.

The Future

Jönsson has already established goals for his final year as a Golden Bear, mostly hoping the team gets to participate in a normal season due to COVID-19 concerns. Once the campaign is underway, he hopes to continue the success of last season, helping Tech win another conference championship and make some noise at the national tournament.

The guard is looking forward to building on last season with a lot of returners from the victorious squad of 2019-2020. Jönsson is also excited about the new guys coming in and the tremendous coaching staff who will help the team stick to their winning-ways. Tech will enjoy the full coaching staff back from last season in James Long, Payton Sturm and George Wilmore.

After his senior season, Andreas plans to pursue his dream of playing basketball professionally. When that is all done, he may pursue a master's degree in psychology back home in Sweden, eventually working in that field. 

Past goals have been accomplished and future prospects are in Andreas' grasp thanks to many who have impacted him while at Tech and in life in general. He credits Coaches Long, Sturm, Wilmore and Kjaerholt along with psychology professors Dr. Hall and Dr. Lieving.  Jönsson also mentioned the great support he has recently received from WVU Tech Resident Directors Devin Spinks and Melissa Pistor.

Andreas' family have been life-long fans and helped him to get where he is today.