Height: 6’2
Weight: 185
Year: Freshman
Position: Point Guard
2014-2015 NCAA Statistics:
11.8 PTS 5.6 AST 3.5 REB 1.5 STL 41.7 FG% 37.9 3PT% 88.9 FT%
Draft Projection: Mid-Late 1st Round
NBA Player Comparison: Austin Rivers
Tyus Jones had a great freshman season while leading his Duke team to a National Championship. Not often do you see such a young and inexperienced team beat an experienced team, Wisconsin in this particular case, in the National Championship game, but that is exactly what happened. Tyus was a fantastic leader for Duke throughout the entire season and tournament. That leadership is the greatest aspect of Jones’s game and scouts love that about him.
Jones was a terrific floor general last year averaging over 5.5 assists per game while holding his turnovers under 2 per game. That’s what you want to see from a young point guard. The question marks that lie within Jones’s game revolve around his lack of athleticism and inability to shoot consistency from the field. Duke had a fantastic team this year and while it might not resemble an NBA team quite exactly, it’s one of the closest college teams to it. To say that Jones’s consistency will improve with better talent around him to distract the defense is a bit premature, but I do believe he can get his shooting numbers up. He showed us that he has the ability to go on quick offensive bursts if it is needed just as Andre Miller has done in the NBA for so long.
Tyus Jones shares a good amount of characteristics with Austin Rivers, but Jones, in my opinion, is much better than him. He has a similar shooting stroke and can go on offensive bursts. They both lack the athleticism that is beloved by NBA teams. Rivers is better offensively, but lacks the passing ability of Jones. The one huge factor that separates the two, as I noted before, is Tyus Jones’s leadership and maturity while on the floor. That is what will make him a solid NBA player, whether or not he ends up with a starting gig.
Future Professional Potential: Solid Role Player
