Meet Clarence Jones.

Jones is the engine behind making quality suits for many of the participants in the NBA and NFL drafts.

Owner of Memphis, Tennessee-based  CJ Custom Clothiers, Jones has been in the clothing business since ’94.

Jones’ signature service warrants repeat customers.  

Dallas Cowboys’ Randy Gregory sported a suit designed by C.J. Custom Clothiers’ Clarence Jones during the 2015 NFL Draft. Photo Credit: C.J. Custom Clothiers.

Some of his high profile clients have included NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, comedian Steve Harvey, Wake Forest men’s basketball coach Danny Manning, retired NBA champ Gary Payton, NBA legend Tim Hardaway, comedian D.L. Hughley and Denver Nuggets forward Mason Plumlee.

Jones credits fashion icon Barbara Bates for giving him his first start when he made custom shirts for Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and the late Bernie Mac while they were on tour for the iconic Original Kings of Comedy.

“I didn’t do that kind of work, so it was easy for me to send him down that road and I connected some dots,” Barbara Bates told me by phone.

“What happened was Barbara Bates was actually the person who was making clothes for Steve Harvey when he was at the Apollo and I told her that I made suits,” Clarence Jones told me on Scoop B Radio.

“She told me that she would give me an opportunity to make shirts for some of her people so Steve’s Manager, the great Juan Hull who is from Dallas, Texas gave me some opportunities to work with him.”

Added Jones:

“He’s the one who introduced me to Steve Harvey and Steve in turn put me in contact with Cedric The Entertainer and Cedric’s manager Eric Rhone hooked me up with D.L. Hughley.”

D.L. Hughley counts Jones as a friend and still utilizes his services. “He guides clients from wearing gaudy stuff even though they want to,” Hughley told me.

“He’s a throwback and believes the customer is always right—we’ve lost that in business today.”

For more on Clarence Jones and his CJ Custom Clothiers, visit www.cjcustomclothiers.com.

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The post Scoop B: From D.L. Hughley to NBA Stars, Clarence Jones Outfits Your Favorite Celebs appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Former Louisville Cardinals head coach, Rick Pitino. Photo Credit: SI.com

This fall, sports agent Christian Dawkins, along with Adidas executive Jim Gatto and Adidas consultant Merl Code were charged in their roles of allegedly funneling money to families of two University of Louisville basketball recruits.

Additionally, former Auburn assistant basketball coach Chuck Person, Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson, Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans and University of South California assistant coach Tony Bland were also charged in connection to the alleged scheme.

An investigation into this case was inevitable. College student athletes are not being paid and should be and universities are making millions off of their labor.

Here’s the billion dollar question in this particular case : What really happened?

Enter tailor, Clarence Jones.C.J.

Jones, a clothier to the stars and owner of Memphis-based, C.J. Custom Clothiers is connected to some of the characters involved. Jones, has designed shirts for Shaq, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and suits for Gary Payton, Mason Plumlee and more.

A huge portion of Jones’ clientele are Division 1 athletes in the football and basketball world that are in transit to the next level in the NFL and NBA. The bespoke tailor also works with coaches like Duke assistant coach, Jeff Capel and Wake Forest head coach, Danny Manning.

Add the aforementioned Lamont Evans and Christian Dawkins, headliners in the FBI corruption investigation between NCAA coaches, player reps and the Adidas athletic company to that list.

Appearing recently on the Chicago-based The D & Davis Show, Jones tells hosts, Demonze Spruiel and Kenneth Davis that he does not believe Evans and Dawkins are bad guys. Due to his familiarity with some of these key characters, Jones pokes holes in some basic facts given in the investigation reports.

As per Regal Radio’s Kyle Means:

“A lot of stuff put on [Evans] happened at South Carolina, not Oklahoma State,” Jones told The D & Davis Show.

According to Jones, the investigation is going to be a crazy process in trying to figure out who is lying and telling the truth. While on the show, Jones refutes media reports that indicate Dawkins got Evans his job at Oklahoma St.

Jones also delves into the saga surronding embattled former Louisville men’s basketball coach, Rick Pitino who was placed on an unpaid employment leave from the university and lost $9 million from his place of employment and Adidas, the school’s sponsored apparel company. 

“Some things I just don’t see,” Jones told The D & Davis Show. “There’s a lot of ways you can get someone $100,000 better than that.”

The NCAA has not been Louisville’s friend.

In fact, it stripped them of 123 wins, four NCAA tournament appearances and its 2013 men’s basketball national championship after an investigation found that a former Cardinals basketball staffer hired an escort and strippers to entertain recruits.

This was all under Pitino’s watch.

Just last week, per the Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel, the University of Louisville pleaded its case before the NCAA’s Infractions Appeals Committee in Atlanta, arguing that it should not be stripped. 

Also Wednesday, Louisville filed a counter-lawsuit against former men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, who was fired in October after he was implicated in a federal investigation into college basketball recruiting. Pitino sued the school’s athletic association in November, alleging breach of contract and asking for more than $35 million in pay remaining on his contract.

That’s a lot going into the Christmas holiday week. While you’re tying your bows and wrapping presents, give The D & Davis Show’s interview a listen below. It is quite enlightening. 

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The post Insider on FBI, Rick Pitino, Louisville investigation: “There’s a lot of ways you can get someone $100,000 better than that” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.