There are times when Trey McKinney Jones is sprinting across the basketball court and leaping effortlessly for a dunk or layup that he looks like a world-class track athlete. You could almost picture the 6-5 University of Miami guard in a USA Olympic track suit, and there’s good reason.

Until two years ago, he was on the path to track and field glory, which, by the way, runs in the family. His aunt, Esther Jones, won an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter relay at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and was a national champion sprinter for Louisiana State.

McKinney Jones won the Wisconsin state high school triple-jump title two years in a row and also was the state runner-up in the long jump in 2008. He was offered track scholarships by the University of Minnesota and Marquette. But his first love was basketball, where he also has family roots. Jones’ uncle, Mark Jones, played in the NBA for the Orlando Magic and remains a big influence in his life.

“I was a pretty good wide receiver, too, but I always loved basketball the most,” said McKinney Jones, a junior who transferred to UM from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. “I do miss track a little bit, and I wonder sometimes where I’d be right now if I kept jumping. I wanted to reach 50 feet, and my senior year I jumped 48.”

His background as a jumper helps him in basketball.

“Most right-handed guys can only jump off their left foot, but in triple jump, I had to jump off my right, so now I am equally comfortable jumping off either side and that gives me an advantage,” he said. “It helps my balance.”

McKinney Jones was not recruited by many Division I basketball programs out of high school. He said a big reason is that he spent springs and summers competing in track and missed the AAU basketball circuit, where the majority of recruiting takes place.

His father put basketball highlight tapes together and sent them all over the country. UMKC offered him a scholarship, so that’s where he landed. After two seasons, he wanted a bigger challenge. His uncle, Mark, played for former Hurricanes assistant Jorge Fernandez at the University of Central Florida, so he put in a call on his nephew’s behalf. Also, an assistant coach at UMKC knew former UM assistant Michael Schwartz, so he made a call, as well.

McKinney Jones signed with the Hurricanes and sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules. He worried when former coach Frank Haith and his staff left last spring that new coach Jim Larranaga wouldn’t have him in his plans. Wrong. McKinney Jones has started11 of 16 games, and will be in the lineup again Sunday at home against North Carolina State.

“Coach L had no film on me, so I was skeptical about how I’d fit in,” he said. “But he told me the past was erased, we were starting from scratch, and everyone had to earn their spot. I think the coaching change worked in my favor because Coach L has a lot of confidence in me.”

In fact, Larranaga would like McKinney Jones to take even more shots.

“He has terrific athletic ability,” Larranaga said. “He can run, jump, he’s strong, fast, quick, got all the ingredients to be a great player. But I know his personality, and he’s a bit conservative. He doesn’t try too much, so he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, but not testing all his boundaries.”

McKinney Jones, who averages 7.7 points, sheepishly agreed.

“I’m too unselfish, pass up a lot of shots,” he said. “I need to take more risks.”