Tyus Jones
Birthdate: May 10, 1996 (Burnsville, Minn.)
School: Apple Valley (Apple Valley, Minn.) Class: 2015 (PROJECTED) Height: 6'1" Weight: 175 NBA Position: PG |
Scouting Report 1.0 — 07.16.2014 (Joseph Fafinski)
Five years ago, my good buddy Tim suggested my friends and I go see a basketball game half an hour from where we lived in suburban Minneapolis. Being an eternal optimist in the high school basketball department, I happily and dutifully obliged. Tim poetically waxed over a player on Apple Valley's squad whom he deemed the next Chris Paul. That was high praise coming from a fella, whose sports takes were frequently debated hotly at Holy Family Catholic High School lunch tables, like Tim. The next part of the story remains, to this day, blurry. What I do remember was watching a 13-year-old kid run the floor with vision and poise resembling that of a college upperclassmen. Like a hungry fish in a bustling Minnesota lake, I was instantly hooked. That player, who led his team to a state championship last year and was named Minnesota’s best high school baller this past March, was the now incoming Duke freshman Tyus Jones.
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All these years have flown by and the Paul comparisons aren’t exactly far fetched. Like the player he tries most to emulate, Jones isn’t flashy with the basketball and yet is a treat to watch. No deed in Tyus’ old-fashioned arsenal goes unrecognized by his teammates, who often in mixtapes seemed noticeably shocked at his ability to locate them even in the toughest of situations. Unlike so many around the same age, Tyus’ overall knowledge of the game helps separate him from the pack in the prospective 2015 draft class. Simply put, he’s a standout performer. Although we have yet to see him perform collegiately, there’s no doubt in my mind he can succeed in the bigs. Not only did he improve statistically each of his five years at Apple Valley, save for a horrific kidney injury in the winter of 2011, but he also matured as a leader and an overall competitor. CP3 is a lofty ceiling, so a more modest comparison to expect of the 6’1 Jones is Ty Lawson minus the blazing speed.
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Like his idol, Jones is best at distributing the basketball and involving his teammates in the scope of the game. If his ever-improving jumper continues down the right path and he learns the upper-level mechanics of defense, there’s no telling where this kid will end up. Playing under the living legend that is Coach K for just one season might not be enough to fulfill Tyus' thirst, as it looks like he's primed to join the likes of Kyrie Irving and Jabari Parker as one who cashed in on the lure and checks the NBA has to offer after one campaign with the Blue Devils. Tim, who ironically attends Duke University, told me back in 2009 Jones would be an NBA All-Star one day. Being a Minnesota homeboy it might be biased to say so, but I can’t doubt that. The story that began in Apple Valley and will cross through Durham this season is one that you can bet Tyus Jones isn't finished composing.
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