'I'm not human': Texas star Andrew Jones is dunking six months into leukemia battle

Six months after he was diagnosed with leukemia, inspirational rising University of Texas junior guard Andrew Jones is dunking a basketball again.

His social media response to video of a dunk through traffic in a pickup basketball game, fittingly: “I’m not human.”

Andrew Jones’ six-month battle with leukemia

The 20-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia in January, when he lacked the energy to play more than 20 minutes over his first two games back from a fractured right wrist and sought medical advice. He was averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game before suffering the wrist injury in December.

Within days of his diagnosis, Jones checked into the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where getting out of bed and moving was a hurdle two weeks into his treatment. Another week later, he posted video of himself in a mask and gloves taking a few shots on a basketball hoop.

Encouraging updates from the university about Jones’ health status trickled in over the coming months. He was released from the hospital and began receiving outpatient treatment in late February. Last month, he moved back into a dorm room and enrolled in web-based coursework for the summer.

Although no official update has been issued on Jones’ diagnosis, workout videos posted to social media over the past 24 hours offer the most encouraging signs to date that his energy is returning:

Jones was an NBA prospect prior to his diagnosis

Jones participated in the NBA’s draft combine follow his freshman season in 2017, when he averaged 11.4 points per game. As Yahoo’s Jeff Eisenberg noted at the time of the original diagnosis in January, Jones returned to school for his sophomore season to work on his jump shot and shot 46.3 percent from 3-point range prior to his wrist injury. He appeared well on his way to a professional career.

The University of Texas launched a donation website to assist the Jones family with medical expenses. The site has raised more than $200,000 since its launch in January.

– – – – – – –

Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

More from Yahoo Sports:
• Instagram posts gets Ryan Lochte suspended 14 months
• Jimmy G always believed he was better than Tom Brady
• Why social media unfairly branded one Cubs fan a villain
• Tim Tebow’s Cinderella story ends early because of broken hand