More than 500 members of the Russell County “chapter” of Big Blue Nation were out in full force a week ago Sunday afternoon as sophomore forward Terrence Jones of the national champion University of Kentucky Wildcats made a stop in Russell Springs to sign autographs for adoring fans.

Jones, who recently announced his plans to forgo his final two seasons at UK and enter the NBA draft, and his entourage met fans at the Russell Springs Pharmacy for just over an hour and a half. Pharmacist Sherie Loy-Helm said the pharmacy, along with Laker Country 104.9 FM, WJRS and ESPN Radio 1060 AM, sponsored the autograph session.

Loy-Helm said she learned of the opportunity to bring Jones to Russell County via a posting on a UK-themed Facebook page. She made the right contacts and worked out a date to bring the 6’ 8” power forward to Russell Springs.

“It was late notice because we just found out Friday he was coming,” she said. “The turnout was wonderful. It is an amazing community. I called people needing help and people donated their time and energy to decorate, and prepare food. Dr. Gibson bought us a sign to put up so it was great.”

Loy-Helm said the event went smoothly as folks began lining up outside the pharmacy early Sunday morning for the session, which began at 1 p.m. By the time Jones began signing autographs the line extended all the way up into the Russell County Hospital parking lot as folks braved the cool spring air to get the national champion’s autograph.

“He was so nice, it is just what I wanted,” Loy-Helm said. “It turned out great and hopefully the community enjoyed it. We’re a new business here so hopefully if people didn’t know we were here, they know we are now. The community has been good to us so we wanted to give back.”

It wasn’t only folks from Russell County that joined in on the fun as autograph seekers from other portions of south-central Kentucky made their way to the pharmacy.

One woman, Krystal Kingsbury of Campbellsville, brought her two-week old son, Reece Williams, and had Jones sign some clothing the newborn was wearing. Another woman, who was expecting, had Jones sign her stomach. Both of those instances were even chronicled on UK message boards and fan sites as well as the Lexington Herald-Leader, ESPN.com and Yahoo.com, among others.

Others were more modest as numerous UK Wildcat and national championship memorabilia was signed by the 2011-12 SEC pre-season player of the year.

Jones, also a member of the UK 1,000 point club, said his time in Russell Springs again showcased why UK has the most passionate fan base in America.

“It was one of the best turnouts yet,” Jones said. “I got so much support and the love I got from everyone out here was amazing. This has been one of the best trips I’ve had.

The soon-to-be NBA first rounder from Portland also had a message for the Big Blue Nation that supported him during his two years at UK.

“I love the BBN for everything they did, supporting me through everything.”