Iowa forward Dale Jones gets sixth year of eligibility

Iowa forward Dale Jones has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, meaning he can play two more seasons for the Hawkeyes, men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery announced in a news release Thursday.

Jones (6-foot-7, 227 pounds) suffered a second ACL injury to his right knee in three years last Dec. 1, six games into his junior season. The native of Waterloo averaged 5.5 points while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range.

Jones suffered his first knee injury before his sophomore year at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He transferred to the Hawkeyes after his redshirt sophomore season (2015). The 22-year-old is one of only three upperclassmen on the Iowa roster this season (senior Peter Jok and junior Dom Uhl are the others).

It has been seven months since his second surgery on his right knee, and Jones said this rehab has been going quicker, although he’s not sure if he’ll be cleared for full contact drills when practice begins this fall.

“We’ve been running a lot of tests just to get the strength back. I’m looking at long-term here, I’m not trying to rush anything,” Jones said.

“I’m just enjoying the process, meeting new guys and just having fun.”