Future Terp Jones Doesn’t Think He Has Arrived

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Jeff Jones (in orange) working without the ball in Triple Threat's scrimmage with DeMatha

March 21, 2006 – After having been a force in the nationally acknowledged Philadelphia Catholic League for Monsignor Bonner, and verbally committing to play for the University of Maryland after next season, many high school juniors may become complacent – after all, by meeting those milestones, a young man would have met his immediate goals of doing well in high school, and securing a college scholarship.

Not so, for Jeff Jones. This six foot four inch, 185 pound Wilmington, DE combo guard who grew up to a large degree in Chester, PA is still striving to improve. Observers should anticipate that, as this summer he will be playing with the Triple Threat AAU organization, in addition to working out on his own, and playing periodically with Bonner’s AAU team as well.

Jones indicated during a recent phone interview that presently, he is overall “a better offensive player”, and last season his high school “team needed me to score”, which dovetailed with his strengths. Bonner’s coach, Brian Daly echoed that reality, and went on to say as a result of the young guy’s prowess “Every time we played somebody, they were out to stop him”. This included deploying box and one’s and “shadowing him”.

Despite the attention, Jeff supplied his scoring output to be “23 points, around 4 assists, and around 5 rebounds” a game. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder Daley, a one time Philadelphia high school player of the year at Bonner and a St. Joseph University roundball athlete remarked, “He (Jones) has a world of talent. You’d be hard pressed to find a better shooter than him. Anything over half court is fair game”. That type of range produced shooting percentages of “50% from three-point land, and 50% from the field”

In fact, Daly evoked one of the better shooters in recent ACC memory – North Carolina State great Rodney Monroe – when describing his prodigy. In the eyes of Bonner’s coach, “He (Jones) has that type of shooting range, and physique”.

Jeff is proud of his scoring ability, but also recognizes needed points of improvement in his game. “I need to get stronger” he said, which would enable him to face the defensive focus and pressure he receives playing for Bonner as well as excel in college.

The young man also wants “to be more consistent” defensively. Daly agreed that Jones’ ability to lock up a man “needs improvement”, but that his star guard is not alone in that department since at the high school level “everybody can always improve their defense”. He also thinks Jeff is probably a better defender than exhibited this season, since the Bonner Friars “played a lot of 3-2 zone due to personnel” available, and despite this, Jones still “ended up getting his hands on a lot of balls”.

Daly also posits that even though Jones can handle the ball well, the young guy’s ability to pat the rock with his off (left) hand can improve, in addition to becoming more vocal as a leader. Even though “he has led by example” previously, as a captain next season, Daly feels Jeff will need to communicate more.

This summer, Jones has a very ambitious schedule planned, one that is sure to guarantee his desired improvement. “I just want to work on my game” he said. This includes at least “One hour playing pickup, and one hour working on my game (skill development), per day – the latter occurring with his father, Jeff Jones, Sr. He plans to take advantage of the immense talent pool in greater Philadelphia, by “going to different places”, thereby balling with a wide number of greatly skilled players.

Jeff will also continue to work out with John Hornett. This long time Philly-area trainer has compiled an impressive client list, which includes the likes of professionals Jameer Nelson, Aaron McKie, Speedy Claxton, Rich Brunson, and Marc Jackson, in addition to current college standouts Sean Singletary and Kyle Lowery.

On the AAU side of things, Jones has decided to play on a national stage this spring and summer. After doing work for the New Jersey All-Stars last year, he will travel and compete with Triple Threat, and their coach, Keith Stevens – himself a trainer of top players, including Steve Francis, Chris Wilcox, Lonnie Baxter, Rodney White, Terrance Morris, and Tywon Lawson.

Always desirous to improve players, Stevens already has developed a development plan for Jeff. It includes strength development as Triple Threat’s coach revealed “The biggest thing is to get him stronger”, which in turn will allow him to “be ready to compete at Maryland”.

Performing with that organization’s 17 and under team, Jones will not only play in Mid-Atlantic-based events such as the Charlie Weber tournaments, but will compete all over American, including events in North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. The young guy feels that “Since we will be going to a lot of big time tournaments, I’ll get a lot of exposure”, and in doing that big time competition will be faced. On the local Philly front, Jeff may participate periodically with Bonner’s summer team (as his time allows).

Playing with Triple Threat, observers nationally will see not only Jones’ shooting prowess, but his toughness as well. Both of these were on display recently when the young man dropped 19 and 24 points in a scrimmage with DeMatha Catholic High School and a game versus Mt. Royal of Baltimore, respectively. Stevens opined that “Jeff doesn’t even know the system yet”, and despite that handicap, is starting to make his presence known. According to him, “When Jeff starts to understand how we play and what is expected of him”, the sky is the limit.

“Jeff will play at both the one (point guard) and two (shooting guard)” for Triple Threat, revealed Stevens. Along the way, Jones may have an opportunity to lead his team back from a deficit, and win the game at the buzzer – something he did several times for Bonner this season.

Jones recounted one of the contests in particular, where his toughness and skills saved the day: “We were down by 15. I told my teammates, ‘We’re not going to lose the game’. I started scoring, getting steals, and rebounding. With two minutes left, we were down four. A few seconds later, we were down two. Later on, he (an opponent) got fouled, missed the first one (foul shot), and made the second. The score was 55-53, then I raced down court, and a hit a three. We won the game with that shot”.

When asked about committing to Maryland, Jeff, a 3.0 high school student who sees no problem meeting NCAA qualification standard and loves both English and math, practically gushed. “It is close to home and my family can go to the games” supplied Jones. Additionally, he feels “Maryland’s system is good for combo guards”, and affords playing time despite using “nine guys”. When asked about head Terp, Gary Williams, Jeff responded “He’s a great coach, who expects a lot out of his players”, which Jones believes is a desirable situation.

As to be expected, Jones received a large amount of recruiting attention. He rattled off a college list of "Georgia Tech, Maryland, Villanova, Virginia, Miami, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and a couple more", and indicated all of these schools offered scholarship opportunities.

Off the hardwood, Jeff is like most young guys his age, in the Philadelphia area. He likes cheese steaks, even though he “gets tired of them”. “Anything of chicken” is always a culinary favorite of his though. From an entertainment perspective, Jones enjoys the sounds of Lil-Wayne, and has even been filmed in a Roots video several years ago. When it comes to cinematic offerings, “Training Day, He Got Game, and Scarface, which is a classic” top his list. Of course he enjoys “Just hanging with my friends” as well.

By all indications, Jeff Jones will be a player of note in the ACC. Coupled with his prodigious skill set, he has the backing of coaches like Triple Threat’s Stevens, and Bonner’s Daly, both of whom feel it is their obligation to ensure the young man is prepared for the rigors to be faced at Maryland.

When you add his work ethic, which was epitomized by his comment “You just have to be dedicated to it (hoops). You just have to stay focused”, it’s pretty obvious that Jones will be successful. The legions of Terp fans should be very happy with his decision.

Check back with www.i95Ballerz.com for updates regarding Jones’ progress and development. It will sure to be worth it, as the young guy takes this hoops thing seriously.