Tag: Mason Jones

Rockets sign Arkansas guard Mason Jones to two-way contract

Two-way contracts will not have a 45-day limit in the 2020-21 NBA season. A 6-foot-5 guard, Mason led the SEC in scoring last year.

The Houston Rockets are signing undrafted free agent Mason Jones to a two-way contract, as first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Jones played his college basketball at Arkansas, where he led the SEC in scoring last season. In all, Jones averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game for the Razorbacks.

Here’s a summary of the 22-year-old from Rookie Wire, which listed Jones as the No. 29 overall prospect for the 2020 draft:

Mason Jones scored 6.0 points per game in transition, per Synergy Sports, No. 1 overall among high-major players. He shot 74.8% at the rim, via Bart Torvik, the best among high-major players 6-foot-5 or shorter. He drew 8.1 fouls per 40 minutes, which was the most in the nation.

Criticized for his lack of athleticism, Jones has radically transformed his body in order to become more prepared for the NBA. Earlier this year, he told HoopsHype:

“Once I get on a mission, nothing really can stop me. I’m still on a mission. There are just a lot of things going on in this world right now that we can’t control. But I’m doing all the right things and the little things to stay prepared and stay motivated. My body is definitely still changing. I know that people say I’m strong right now, but I’m going to get stronger, only going to get faster, only going to get better. That’s the thing about me.”

He has a lot of the same skills that have led to dominance by James Harden and Luka Doncic. While he is still far from either of those players, he draws contact and fouls at a rate much higher rate than any other prospect and can be trusted to make something happen with the ball in his hands at the end of the game.

Jones also shot 14-for-24 (58.3%) from 3-point range during the month of March before the season abruptly ended.

Based on the unique circumstances of the 2020-21 NBA season, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no longer a 45-day limit for two-way players. Instead, those players — such as Jones, with the Rockets — can be active for up to 50 games (of 72, total). Moreover, travel days and practices will not be counted toward active days.

Jones joins fellow rookie Kenyon Martin Jr. as newcomers to Houston.

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2020 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0: Final update ranking Top 100 prospects

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

Originally scheduled for June, the ongoing pandemic pushed the big night back by five months. While this may cause some teams to overthink their decisions, it gave analysts plenty of time to study all of the top prospects eligible in this class.

This year, players had to participate in a mostly virtual pre-draft process. On the bright side, this meant that teams had the opportunity to interview more candidates than ever before.

However, the number of in-person visits were incredibly limited due to the restrictive parameters set by the league. Similarly, the NBA draft combine was conducted without the typical scrimmages where players can separate themselves from the others with impressive on-court performances.

Overall, the players that stood out in this pre-draft process had a different path to recognition than any other year. College basketball players did not have the opportunity to showcase themselves during March Madness. The nation’s top seniors did not get to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

As such, executives will rely mostly on the existing game footage as well as the intel they gathered during their conversations with the prospects. We also depended on similar strategies, getting access to one-on-one interviews with more than three dozen prospects and exchanging our thoughts with various scouts across the league.

This helped us put together our final big board, looking at the Top 100 players ranked on their potential to make a difference for teams in the NBA.

Relevant statistics were pulled from Synergy Sports Tech, Bart-Torvik, KenPom, Open Look Analytics and RealGM. Note that the age listed for each player references how old they will be on the night of the draft.

2020 NBA aggregate mock draft 8.0: Draft day ranges for top prospects

The 2020 NBA draft is fairly unpredictable and prospects have wider ranges in where they could get selected when it is all said and done. 

The 2020 NBA draft is fairly unpredictable and prospects have wider ranges in where they could get selected when it is all said and done.

We looked at mock drafts from NBADraft.net, ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, The Ringer, Stadium, SI.com, USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire, USA Today and Yahoo to give us a more clear understanding of consensus rankings and projections.

This also provided context for realistic high-end and low-end predictions for the players most often included in mock drafts.

Please note that the range included for each player is not based on our own reporting or intel and it only reflects the data pulled from the various mock drafts.

The full list of our latest aggregate mock draft rankings can be found here. HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report.

2020 NBA aggregate mock draft 8.0: Draft day ranges for top prospects

The 2020 NBA draft is fairly unpredictable and prospects have wider ranges in where they could get selected when it is all said and done. 

The 2020 NBA draft is fairly unpredictable and prospects have wider ranges in where they could get selected when it is all said and done.

We looked at mock drafts from NBADraft.net, ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, The Ringer, Stadium, SI.com, USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire, USA Today and Yahoo to give us a more clear understanding of consensus rankings and projections.

This also provided context for realistic high-end and low-end predictions for the players most often included in mock drafts.

Please note that the range included for each player is not based on our own reporting or intel and it only reflects the data pulled from the various mock drafts.

The full list of our latest aggregate mock draft rankings can be found here. HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report.

Two-division Cage Warriors champion Mason Jones signs with UFC

Two-division Cage Warriors champion Mason Jones has announced he has signed a four-fight deal with the UFC.

The UFC’s Welsh contingent just got a little bigger with the addition of two-division Cage Warriors champion [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag].

Lightweight and welterweight champion Jones (10-0) took to Instagram to share the news that earlier in the month he had put pen to paper on a four-fight deal with the UFC.

“Friday October 9th I signed a 4 fight contract with UFC, the biggest and best MMA organization in the world,” he wrote. “The moment when my dream became a reality. Big thanks to my coaching team and Graham Boylan for everything.”

Jones, who has fought all bar one of his 10 career fights under the Cage Warriors banner, defeated Northern Ireland’s Joe McColgan to capture the promotion’s vacant lightweight title at Cage Warriors 113 in March, then became a two-division champion with the addition of the vacant welterweight title with victory over Adam Proctor at Cage Warriors 116 in September. Both victories came via TKO inside the first round.

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After his win against Proctor, Jones sent a message to the UFC’s higher-ups in his post-fight interview as he vowed to make an impact in the promotion’s lightweight division.

“I asked Graham (Boylan, Cage Warriors president) and I asked Ian (Dean, Cage Warriors matchmaker) to dig up the biggest monster they could find and, unfortunately, it’s not enough,” he said. “So I’ve got a challenge for Dana White, for Sean Shelby, for anyone in the UFC looking. I’ll be ready to go in a week, in two weeks, in four. Find the biggest, deadliest lightweight monster you can find – because I’m a lightweight guy – and I’ll go out there and dismantle them. Dig me up the biggest monster you can find, and I’ll put them away in two.”

The UFC contract came just 13 days later, and now Jones will get the chance to back up his promise as he joins the UFC’s stacked lightweight division. He also joins fellow Welsh fighters Jack Shore, Jack Marshman, John Phillips, and Cory McKenna on the UFC roster.

Nets 2020 NBA mock draft radar: Arkansas wing Mason Jones

The Brooklyn Nets are set to have the No. 19 and 55 picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.

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The Brooklyn Nets have quite the busy offseason ahead of them now that they’re run inside the Disney bubble is at an end.

There’s the matter of the team’s next permanent head coach. In the middle of that, Brooklyn has to make whatever fortifications necessary have the right cast around Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — whether that means re-signing players or bringing on new ones via trade or free agency.

All the while, the Nets have to continue to prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft — assuming they intend to use either or both of their picks.

The Nets have Philadelphia’s first-round pick, which Brooklyn acquired when they sent the No. 27 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft — which wound up being Mfiondu Kabengele — to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nets’ second-round pick belongs to the Boston Celtics, but they have the Denver Nuggets’ second-round selection.

Right now, Brooklyn has the No. 19 and No. 55 picks.

Here’s a look at one player Brooklyn could take at No. 55:

Mason Jones | Arkansas | Wing

STATS: 22 PPG | 35.1 3-PT% | 5.5 SPG

The 2019-20 All-SEC selection got to the line a lot in his sophomore campaign (9.1 free-throw attempts per game) — more than double the trips he got as a freshman (4.2) — and his 7.5 makes per night accounted for a good chunk of his scoring.

He certainly found other ways to score, posting 45.3/35.1 averages on the year.

But, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic notes Jones needs to have the ball in his hands to be productive. Hard to imagine someone like that fitting in with the Nets when they already have Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert.

With Mason not bringing much on the defensive end, it’s no surprise he slipped so far. But given he’s athletic and can shoot, he might be worth taking a flier on at no. 55.

Nets 2020 NBA mock draft radar:

UNC guard Cole Anthony
Vanderbilt wing Aaron Nesmith
Alabama guard Kira Lewis
TCU guard Desmond Bane
Hapoel Tel Aviv guard Yam Madar
LSU guard Skylar Mays
Kansas guard Devon Dotson
New Zealand Breakers guard RJ Hampton
Texas Tech guard Jahmi’us Ramsey
Duke guard Tre Jones
Maryland forward Jalen Smith
Florida State wing Patrick Williams
Arizona wing Josh Green
Villanova wing Saddiq Bey
Colorado wing Tyler Bey
Florida State wing Devin Vassell
Seton Hall guard Myles Powell
Washington forward Jaden McDaniels
Ohio State center Kaleb Wesson
Oklahoma wing Kristian Doolittle
Pesaro forward Paul Eboua
Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey
Olympiacos center Aleksej Pokusevski
Western Kentucky center Charles Bassey
Arizona guard Nico Mannion
ASVEL wing Theo Maledon

RELATED: Cameroon prospect hopes Nets take him in 2020 NBA draft

Lightweight king Mason Jones targets ‘champ champ’ status at Cage Warriors 116

Lightweight champion Mason Jones will take on Adam Proctor for the vacant welterweight title at Cage Warriors 116.

Cage Warriors lightweight champion [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag] will chase “champ champ” status when he returns to action on September 26.

The promotion confirmed Monday that “The Dragon,” who captured the promotion’s lightweight title last time out with a first-round knockout of Joe McColgan at Cage Warriors 113 in March, will move up a weight class to challenge for the vacant 170-pound title against top welterweight contender [autotag]Adam Proctor[/autotag] at Cage Warriors 116.

Undefeated Jones (9-0) will get the chance to add his name to a shortlist of fighters who have captured Cage Warriors gold in two weight classes, with Dan Hardy and Conor McGregor achieving the feat before heading on to compete at the sport’s highest level in the UFC.

“Adding the welterweight title to my lightweight belt is going to cement my legacy as a Cage Warriors legend,” said Jones, via press release.

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“Being the first Welsh fighter and only the second since McGregor to win two titles is something that I have no doubt will catapult me to the UFC, especially on a night which is set to make history as one of the biggest ever for European MMA.”

Jones faces a stiff test of his welterweight credentials, however. Proctor (12-1) hasn’t lost since 2016 and is riding a seven-fight win streak heading into Manchester next month. “The Love Doctor” will be hoping to prescribe a first career defeat for Jones, who says he plans on making it as short a night as possible when the pair face off for the vacant title.

“Proctor is an extremely dangerous opponent with a lot to offer,” the lightweight champion admitted. “Overall, I know I’m going to be the better fighter everywhere and will be looking to get him out of there early.”

Cage Warriors 114, 115 and 116 will take place on successive nights from September 24-26 at the BEC Arena in Manchester. All three shows will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.

Mason Jones: Much Love. I just want to …

Mason Jones: Much Love. I just want to say thank you to all the Razorback fans out there that cheered for me and my teammates this year…. I want to personally thank y’all for allowing a kid from Desoto, Tx to live out his dream. Y’all fans came through in so many games I couldn’t thank y’all enough… this Arkansas journey ends, but the Journey continues.. Coach Musselman, Coach Williams, Coach Moser, Coach Crutchfield, Coach Ruta and the rest of the staff… Thank y’all for teaching me how to be a player on and off the court.. the stuff I learned this year was unreal… All God.

How do you think your perimeter defense …

How do you think your perimeter defense will translate to the next level? Mason Jones: I feel like I can really guard one through four. I can do a lot. I can guard a point guard, I can guard a shooting guard and I can guard a small forward; it’s just about the match-ups. I had to play a lot of four because our team was small and Coach just wanted us to go small, so I was doing everything I could do for our team. As you can tell if you watched us play, we switched everything one through five. When I go to the next level, that is really going to carry on because I was able to guard so many positions. So dealing with my IQ and the way I’m going to keep getting faster on my foot speed and everything that is going to happen this summer while training will help me as it translates to the next level.