As the NBA responds to coronavirus, scouting has become more challenging. So we asked Tyus Jones for help evaluating his brother Tre Jones.
After the 2018-19 NCAA Men’s Basketball season concluded, the point guard tested the waters to be in the 2019 NBA draft alongside Duke teammates Zion Williamson as well as RJ Barrett and Cameron Reddish. One of the reasons that he opted to return to college, according to his older brother Tyus, who currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, was to try to make another impact in March Madness.
HoopsHype caught up with Tyus when he was in Brooklyn to play the Nets on March 4. He said that Duke was “ready to go on a run” and that he knew his brother “was going to do his thing.”
Now that the season is over, Tre officially averaged 16.2 points with 6.4 assists and 1.3 three-pointers per game while shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. Those marks helped him secure ACC Player of the Year in 2020.
There is one player nationally with 450+ points, 175+ assists, 100+ rebounds, 50+ steals, 10+ blocked shots:
Tre Jones — 471 pts, 185 ast, 123 rebs, 52 stl, 10 blks#DukeMBBStats
— #DukeMBBStats (@DukeMBBStats) March 10, 2020
Tre also averaged 1.8 steals per game, securing his conference’s Defensive Player of the Year Award as well.
“I know he is an NBA player. He has been. I’ve known that for a few years now,” explained Tyus. “Obviously, I’ve seen him from a closer perspective. But I’ve known for a few years that he is an NBA player whenever he decides he is ready for it.”
One of his most impressive accolades: Tre had the second-most assists in his conference during both of his collegiate campaigns thus far.
He also averaged 1.9 assists per game in a transition offense, per Synergy Sports, which ranked Top 10 among all D1 players in 2019-20. Duke also played at the fastest adjusted-tempo of any team ranked Top 50 or better, per KenPom.
“He can continue to be who he is but in the league,” noted Tyus. “He is a tremendous leader. He is a guy who can get to his own shots when he needs it. But he can also run the team as a crazy, on-ball defender. He can take any point guard out of the game and make his night long. I see him continuing to be who he is at the next level because he has done at every level.”
D1 Defensive Efficiency Leaders (min. 275 possessions):
1. Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton: 0.625
2. Tre Jones, Duke: 0.660
3. Luke Knapke, Toledo: 0.661
4. Devon Dotson, Kansas: 0.668
5. Marion Humphrey, San Diego: 0.670
6. Fatts Russell, Rhode Island: 0.673— ๐๐ช๐ฝ๐ฝ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ช๐ป๐ฒ๐ท๐ฒ๐ผ (@mjdemarinis) March 8, 2020
Opponents finished 297 possessions when guarded by Jones but scored just 0.66 points per possession on these opportunities. That ranked in the 96th percentile among all NCAA players, per Synergy Sports.
It was also the second-best mark among all D1 players who had at least 275 finishes, as noted by WhiteAndBlueReview.com.
His adjusted defensive rating (89.7 percent) and his steal percentage (2.8 percent) both ranked Top 5 among underclassmen in his conference who played at least 55 percent of minutes possible for their team this year, per Bart-Torvik.
“We both play the game the right way with a high basketball IQ. We are unselfish. We are leaders,” added Tyus. “He has got me on the defensive end. That is just something that I can’t even begin to claim. Tre is one of the best defenders I have ever seen.”
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