Heading to a T'wolves game? You might recognize the voice introducing the starting lineup.
Jedidiah Jones
By Azhae’la Hanson, Reporter
As a kid, Jedidiah Jones only focused on being on the court, not beside it. Jones expected his stature to take him to his dream of being in the NBA. Today, he is living out his childhood dream, but not in a way he would have expected.
Not on the court, but very close. He started the 2022-23 NBA season as the new Timberwolves public address announcer.
“It’s so surreal,” Jones said.
Jones beat out more than 300 other candidates for the position. He has no prior announcing experience other than working a summer job at a radio station when he attended North High School.
“During high school I was always kind of shy and quiet, I really didn't say much,” Jones said. “And I'm still like that to this day.”
“A good announcer should have good enunciation and good interpretation. Jedidiah has all of these. The first time I heard his voice it was smooth, deep, and filled the room. I immediately knew he had a future using his voice. ”
When Jones entered his eighth-grade year, he noticed that his voice was a lot different than his peers. His teachers would often refer to him as Berry White because of his deep voice. Jones was aware his voice was different, but it wasn’t until hight school, when he met his former radio teacher, that he became aware of what he could do with it.
Former North High radio teacher Dale Olson was shocked when he first heard Jones speak. The first time the two met, Olson joked that Jedidiah had the voice of God.
“A good announcer should have good enunciation, and good interpretation. Jedidiah has all of these,” Olson said. “The first time I heard his voice it was smooth, deep, and filled the room. I immediately knew he had a future using his voice.”
Olson went on to convince Jones to join the radio program, where he hosted on KBEM under the alias “Quiet Storm” until he graduated in 2016.
“People used to call into the station with praise and say ‘who's that kid?’, and it felt good to know that my voice made people happy,” Jones said.
After much praise working as a jazz announcer for KBEM radio, it seemed all of the glory ended when he walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma.. He was now seen as an adult, so the shy kid with a powerful voice didn’t impress like it used to.
“After graduation, I started dealing with the wrong people, people who weren’t encouraging me to do the right things in regards to life, and I began making poor decisions,” Jones said.
He dropped out of college twice and struggled to keep a consistent job.
“I was out of a job for up to like two or three months at one point,” said Jones.
Jones was in a dark place and struggled to get a grasp on life. But one day, Jones met someone else who loved his voice – and loved him.
“The woman who is now my wife was always pushing me,” he said.” She was what I really needed. She was my support system.”
Jones’s wife Ciara Flowers-Jones inspired him to resume his path in the entertainment field. He realized he needed more than just a voice. He took up acting.
He joined a talent agency and played the waiting game. He began volunteering with the KMOJ radio station under a new alias, “Mr. AllState” where he still appears on air when he has time.
However, the name he’s most proud to go by now is his own.
“‘Quiet Storm Jedidiah’ and ‘All-State Jedidiah’ are in the past,” said Jones. “They are a lot different than who I am right now, which is just Jedidiah Jones.”
He discovered the PA opportunity while working his full time position at a Stryker manufacturing company, overhearing the available position on the radio, and after a lengthy application process, was chosen as the final candidate for the Timberwolves.
“I was ecstatic,” Jones said. “Me and my wife were jumping like little kids.”
The man who struggled holding one job now juggles three, still working on the assembly line at Stryker, volunteering at KMOJ, and announcing for the Timberwolves. He is looking forward to sharing his story with younger people who
had dreams of being in professional sports “I want to be an example that you can be anything in sports,” he said. “You don't have to be an NFL player or a NBA player, there's many different ways you
can achieve your dream.”
You can find Jones announcing every home Timberwolves game at the Target Center hyping up the crowd and occasionally, trying to keep his composure, fanning over his favorite NBA players.