Zam Jones: How Legos Became Her Secret Game-Time Therapy

The N&O has a great feature on Zam Jones and her Lego hobby.

Zam Jones, the NC State women’s basketball sophomore guard, got totally Lego-obsessed last December thanks to a sneaky TikTok video that sucked her in like a black hole of colorful bricks—now it’s her ultimate zen zone amid the chaos of her ballin’ schedule. She’s hoarded over 100 sets, blowing about $5k on epic beasts like a 3,600-piece grand piano that actually plays (talk about overachieving toys), her beloved Home Alone house (probably booby-trapped for fun), the X-Men Mansion (mutant vibes included), and an Avengers tower—each one a wallet-destroying $300–$500 splurge. She builds on a whim, like mid-flight with the team or right before tip-off to ditch the jitters, cranking out sets every week or two in marathon 4-6 hour sessions, claiming it empties her brain for games (though she’s probably secretly stressing about that one unfinished tower collapsing). Heck, she’s even drilled her dog in Lego evasion tactics to avoid paw-tastrophes, parades her masterpieces on dorm shelves like a mini museum, and is hustling for an NIL deal with Lego after snagging a free Mario Kart set—she’s straight-up addicted to the snap-happy therapy and those “I built that!” glow-ups. Her roommate, Devyn Quigley, is trying to figure it all out.