Marion plans an unexpected return

Antonio Silver Stars. She has not played competitive basketball since 1995,a year after she helped the University of North Carolina to a 33-2 record and the national championship as a point guard. She then quit basketball to concentrate on track.

Jones says she hopes to play in Europe this winter,then sign with a WNBA team in time for the 2010 season. “Back in May,when I got a call from someone in the NBA asking if I would possibly be interested in the WNBA,my reaction was,‘Yeah,right,’” she said.

Jones,who at the time was eight months’ pregnant with her third child,said she thought about it and talked with her husband,Obadele Thompson. “I thought it would be an interesting journey if I decided to do this. It would give me an opportunity to share my message with young people on a bigger platform.”

A WNBA league official confirmed that Jones had contacted the league. Any decision on whether she will be offered a free-agent contract will be up to teams,a WNBA spokesman said. Jones is not eligible to enter the draft because early in the league’s tenure,she was drafted by the Phoenix franchise.