Basketball star Joson Sanon returns home to Fall River bearing gifts and to play some ball

A rising star from the Scholarship City returned home to play some basketball and also play Santa.

Fall River’s own and freshman college basketball sensation and future NBA draft pick Joson Sanon returned to Massachusetts to take on UMASS in Springfield on Saturday.

While the 9-2 Arizona State Sun Devils were victorious 78-62 against the Minutemen, the biggest winners came on Sunday morning.

Sanon, wearing a custom Vanson Leather jacket made in Fall River, made a surprise appearance at Durfee High School where he played basketball as a freshman.

To their delight, Sanon gifted the Durfee High School boys and girls team members all new sneakers as one of the few nationwide Adidas sponsored college athletes.

The smiles on their faces said it all.

Courtesy of BLK Photography

While Sanon has been a standout on the court, today’s event highlights what many have said who know the hooper, that he is also a 5 star off the court. His comments on Sunday did nothing to change that.

“I try to embody what being from Fall River means and put on for a city full of hard-working people. Now that I spent my first time away from home at Arizona State, I can really feel that BEING from Fall River is a different vibe than being from anywhere else in the world. This city really means something to me and I’m going to show everyone how much I love it here with my plans going forward.”

Derek Malloy, Joson’s Agent, hinted that the youngster has more plans to give back to the city. 

“It’s great to see Joson making an effort as soon as he can to give back to Fall River. We have very big plans in store specifically targeting this community to hopefully reach all of the young lives here with a positive impact.” 

CJ Ward, Joson Sanon’s Manager, noted, “Joson’s commitment to philanthropy & the genuine love he has for his city speaks to the type of kid he is. In the middle of his freshman season, home for 5 days, the first thing he wanted to do was give back to his community & make sure his former high school had what they needed to start their season. As talented as he is on the court, his values off the court are far more impressive.” 

Before Saturday’s tilt, in the last seven games, Sanon had scored a total of 122 points (17.4 ppg) and grabbed 28 rebounds (4.0 rpg). During that span, he was shooting 43-83 (51.8%) from the field and 21-38 (55.3%) from beyond the arc. He is averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game this season. He is tied for 17th nationally among freshman in points per game and is top among Big 12 freshman. Sanon is currently averaging the sixth-most points of any freshmen in program history all while facing a tougher schedule than most teams.

The Sun Devils next game is 4:00 p.m. on New Years Eve at BYU which will be televised by ESPN2.