How building Legos have helped NC State's Zam Jones remain calm in pressure-packed year

Each time NC State women’s basketball loads onto a charter plane bound for its next away game, freshman guard Zam Jones has to prepare her seat for her in-flight hobby: constructing Lego sets. 

The tray table comes down in front of her to act as her work station, while the empty seats in the same row act like a storage location. The pieces she’s not using at the time sit there, safe from any jostling the plane might cause more than 30,000 feet above the country. 

Jones then follows the instructions in the booklet that accompanies the respective set she’s working on, usually finishing the project before the plane touches down in the city the Wolfpack are playing in next. 

It wasn’t a hobby that Jones did as a child growing up, but she picked it up after she was bored over the summer after watching Tik Tok videos of Legos. Soon enough, it became an escape for Jones, who has emerged as NC State’s sixth-woman. It’s a key role for the young player, one that comes with immense pressure on a team that has national championship aspirations. 

But the small plastic pieces that are used to make something larger have become the ultimate escape to keep Jones level throughout the season. 

“People say it’s stressful, but for me, it’s calming my mind,” said Jones, who has graduated from purchasing them at Target to making the Lego app a frequently-used area of her phone. “Seeing the outcome after I do the Lego, it calms my mind and helps my anxiety not get as high.”

Jones, a former McDonald’s All-American in high school, is set to begin her first journey through the NCAA Tournament this weekend as the second-seeded Wolfpack will host No. 15 seed Vermont on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m., ESPN). 

The 5-foot-7 crafty point guard is averaging 7.0 points with 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17.3 minutes a game off the bench for the Wolfpack. Jones was key in the Pack’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech on March 7 with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a clutch 3-pointer in the waning minutes. Her ability to fill the stat sheet helped the Wolfpack avoid the upset in a 1-point win over the Yellow Jackets. 

Jones, NC State’s shortest player, doesn’t play like that on the floor. She oozes confidence when she’s out there, and positive outcomes tend to follow. 

“She’s small, but she doesn’t play like she’s small,” senior guard Saniya Rivers said. “She works so hard. She doesn’t let her size be a factor. … She’s so capable of a lot.”

While Jones is more than capable of holding her own at the collegiate level, her getaway to Legos is what has allowed her to stay even-keeled during the Wolfpack’s 22 wins over the last 25 games. She has built more than 25 different sets since picking up the hobby, including the “Home Alone” house and Pack Man — her two favorites. 

Jones, who lives with fellow freshmen Devyn Quigley, Lorena Awou and Tilda Trygger on campus, puts her finished work on display in their living room. She built a bookshelf to house the various creations, and her teammates have caught on to her new hobby. 

As long as it continues to help keep her ready to go for the games, they have no issues with it. 

“Our apartment is filled with Legos,” Trygger said with a laugh. “I think it’s amazing. It’s beautiful what she can do with Legos. If that calms her down, I think that’s amazing.”

Even though the Wolfpack’s first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is at Reynolds Coliseum, Jones plans to build another Lego in the hours leading up to her March Madness debut on Saturday. 

The routine has been fruitful for the first-year guard throughout the entire season, and she hopes it can continue to utilize her calming hobby to its full potential — helping the Wolfpack to another deep run through the event. 

“I’m happy with the way I started by freshman year,” Jones said. “I’m just ready to finish it out with a Final Four appearance and going to the national championship.”

If the Pack reaches the final weekend in Tampa, Jones’ Lego collection will only continue to swell in size. It might be time for another bookshelf — both for more plastic pieces and a trophy NC State hopes to claim in early April.