TRENDING: Taylor Jones, a former Oregon State forward, is back in Oregon to play for the Texas Longhorns in the Sweet 16

All the components of the dream that Taylor Jones originally created are essentially in motion.

The shirt for the fifth-year senior is orange and white. The 6-foot-4 forward is preparing to leave her mark on the Oregon court. And just in time for the postseason home stretch, she’s finally healed.

Let’s start with that orange. The color is a little bit different. It’s less bright and more scorched than dark. The born and raised Texan committed to the Texas Longhorns out of Dallas Christian High School, not the Oregon State Beavers.

The court is located in Portland’s Moda Center, some 85 miles from the university where Jones completed her first three seasons of studies before deciding to transfer because the new school was no longer “a fit.” And Jones will take that court on Friday night when her top-seeded Texas Longhorns play Gonzaga, the #4 seed, in the Portland 4 Regional Sweet 16 contest.

Regarding her return to Oregon, Jones remarked, “it’s different, coming back with a different team.” It feels strange to be back here for basketball and not be at Oregon State because (I) haven’t really been here much. However, I’m content to be here.

She claims that her current state of health is “the healthiest I’ve been since my sophomore year of high school.” Sitting in a folding chair inside a makeshift Longhorns locker room on Thursday afternoon, she acknowledged that the battle had been tough, but it was enough to make her happy that she was prepared to suit up on Friday.

Vic Schaefer, the Texas coach, stated, “I’ve always said she can be pretty good for us if we could get her healthy.” Also, she has been quite beneficial to us while well.

This season, Jones has made 27 starts, which is her most since she made 32 games as a freshman. She has averaging 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. Her presence has stabilized the inside for a Texas club that has endured the absence of All-America guard Rori Harmon, who played in just 12 games before suffering an ACL tear that terminated her season.

Jones is able to relate to that.

This past summer was the first since Jones’ junior year of high school in Mesquite, Texas, that she didn’t go under the knife or spend her offseason rehabbing a major injury. After averaging 12.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks as a sophomore for the Beavers, she landed as an all-Pac-12 first-team selection. Then she watched her junior season — her final in Corvallis — end after nine games due to shoulder surgery.

Jones even missed a few weeks in December this season, before returning to help key the Longhorns’ run to a place she has never been: the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.

“I think having her on the team just really opens so much up for us,” senior guard Shay Holle said. “She’s such a presence inside, and people really have to focus on her.”

It has been a mutually beneficial parting of ways between Jones and a No. 3 seed Oregon State program that has poked its head up once again in the Sweet 16. The Beavers are set to play second-seeded Notre Dame in Albany, New York, on Friday morning.