Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Former Rebel Bryce Dejean-Jones killed after going to wrong apartment

UNLV vs. Dixie State - 2013 Exhibition

Las Vegas Sun

UNLV guard Bryce Dejean-Jones takes the ball up court against Dixie State during the Rebels exhibition game Friday, Nov. 1, 2013 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Updated Sunday, May 29, 2016 | 11:19 a.m.

Bryce Dejean-Jones Dies at 23

UNLV's Khem Birch and Bryce Dejean-Jones celebrate a play in the Rebels' 91-90 overtime loss to Boise State at Taco Bell Arena in Boise on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014. Launch slideshow »

Former UNLV basketball guard and New Orleans Pelicans guard Bryce Dejean-Jones was fatally shot on his daughter's first birthday after kicking down the door of what he mistakenly thought was his girlfriend's apartment in Dallas, a death that rattled the NBA over Memorial Day weekend.

"It is with deep sadness that the Pelicans organization acknowledges the sudden passing of Bryce Dejean-Jones," the Pelicans said Saturday in a statement. "We are devastated at the loss of this young man’s life who had such a promising future ahead of him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bryce’s family during this difficult time.”

Dallas police said Sunday they would not have more information about the shooting until after the holiday and did not answer The Associated Press' question regarding whether the man who shot the 23-year-old Dejean-Jones would face charges. It is legal in Texas for people to use deadly force to protect themselves from intruders.

Dejean-Jones was visiting his girlfriend for his daughter's first birthday and had gone for a walk early Saturday, according to his agent, Scott Nichols. His girlfriend lives on the fourth floor, and Dejean-Jones, who was visiting the complex for the first time, went to the third.

A man living at the apartment was sleeping when he heard his front door kicked open, police Senior Cpl. DeMarquis Black said Saturday in a statement. When Dejean-Jones began kicking at the bedroom door, the man retrieved a handgun and fired. Dejean-Jones collapsed in an outdoor passageway, and he died at a hospital.

Dejean-Jones's father told KCAL-TV that his son was "tenacious."

"He has had so many things that have happened to him along his path," K.C. Jones told the station. "He made up his mind that he wanted to do what he was doing — play pro ball. And whatever it took, he was going to get there. He was going to do it."

In Dejean-Jones' only NBA season, which ended in February because of a broken right wrist, the 6-foot-6 guard started 11 of 14 games and averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Nichols said Dejean-Jones had nearly completed his rehab and was set to begin shooting with his right hand again next week.

"It's shocking this happened," Nichols said. "Wrong place, wrong time, I think."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called it a "tragic loss" and said Dejean-Jones "had a bright future in our league."

Dejean-Jones was signed by the Pelicans last summer after not being selected in the 2015 draft.

"I just lost my best friend/cousin last night enjoy life because you never know if tomorrow is guaranteed," Shabazz Muhammad of the Minnesota Timberwolves wrote on Twitter.

Added Quincy Pondexter, one of Dejean-Jones' teammates with the Pelicans: "This Can't be real life... Rest easy lil bro."

"Crazy how life is man," wrote Brooklyn Nets guard Shane Larkin. "Prayers out to Bryce Dejean Jones and his family."

Dejean-Jones was part of the 2014-15 Iowa State team that went 25-9, captured a Big 12 title and made a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. He also played at USC and UNLV.

He was at UNLV for three seasons after transferring from USC. After redshirting, he started 29 games for the Rebels in the 2012-13 season and averaged 10 points per game. He scored 14.2 points per game the following season, then left for Iowa State for his senior season as a graduate transfer. In the Big 12 Conference tournament, he averaged 10.5 points per game.

Dejean-Jones led UNLV in scoring during his final season as a Rebel, but he was suspended late in the season for one game for conduct detrimental to the team following a loss to rival San Diego State. A week later, when UNLV was eliminated in the Mountain West tournament, he could be heard yelling at teammates.

Former UNLV coach Dave Rice described Dejean-Jones as both competitive and compassionate.

“I loved that kid. I really did. We had a special relationship," Rice, now an assistant coach for UNR, told the Sun. "I love the fact that he brought energy, enthusiasm and passion to whatever he did. He was a competitor. He cared."

Rice said he remembers walking onto the court at the Thomas & Mack Center after a tough loss and seeing Dejean-Jones signing an autograph for a young fan. It was a side of Dejean-Jones that fans rarely saw.

“I was so impressed with him that day,” Rice said. “I know he was a compassionate person. He had a big heart and he cared a lot.

"He was really excited about the future (in the NBA). I was just so happy for him."

Former Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg, now the coach of the NBA's Chicago Bulls, added in a statement that Dejean-Jones was a "passionate and talented player that lived out his dream of playing in the NBA through hard work and perseverance."

Julie Keel, a spokeswoman for Camden Property Trust, the real estate company that owns the apartment complex in Dallas, confirmed that the complex's apartment manager had sent out an email to residents saying that the person who had been shot had been trying to break into "the apartment of an estranged acquaintance" and that this person had "inadvertently" broken into the wrong apartment.

Black said he could not confirm that Dejean-Jones was trying to access an acquaintance's apartment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Sun sports editor Ray Brewer contributed to this story.

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