2013-2014 Duke Basketball Squad Profiles - Matt Jones - SCACCHoops.com

2013-2014 Duke Basketball Squad Profiles - Matt Jones

by Duke Sports Blog

Posted: 10/7/2013 7:07:29 PM


Every established coach has one particular type of player his program craves.  Bill Self at Kansas likes to mold forwards who truly bring “power” to the fourth position and always has a star in the making on the bench. From Nick Collison and Wayne Simien, to Markief Morrison and Thomas Robinson, and now they have Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor.  Jay Wright’s system at Villanova cannot function without that gutsy lead guard.  Sean Miller has turned an Arizona program once renowned for steady point guard play into a power forward’s lair and never seems to have enough. The same can be said for Scott Drew at Baylor.

These trends, even if they are just a big coincidence, get noticed if a coach sticks around long enough and everyone knows Mike Krzyzewski’s type.

He likes that 6’2 to 6’4” guard that takes shooting religiously. From Johnny Dawkins – the three point line was new during his time but his mid range jumper was good enough to make him Duke’s all time leading scorer for almost two decades – to Trajan Langdon, JJ Reddick, Daniel Ewing, Jon Scheyer, just to name a few. And now Duke has Matt Jones.

Widely considered one of the best shooters in the 2013 recruiting class, the 6-foot-4  Jones is from DeSoto, Texas and enjoys comparisons to Ray Allen.

“A lot of people like to compare me to Ray Allen or J.J. Redick,” Jones told to ESPN. “I just feel blessed and grateful to be compared to great shooters like that. Ray Allen is one of the greatest of all-time, so that’s an honor to be mentioned with him.” 

Not many people realize this but, Ray Allen, as we know him today, is just a hybrid of the player he used to be. Long before he was known as the NBA all time leader in three pointers, Allen used to be a fearless penetrator who battled Allen Iverson for Big East supremacy. It was only as his athletic ability dwindled that he drifted further to the three-point line, in the NBA.

As a student-athlete Allen was more of an all round scorer. Of his 1449 field goals attempts only 520 were three pointers, of which he made 44% by the way.  These made him UConn’s first two-time All American player.  He was named Big East Player of the year in 1996, and also College Player of the Year. Plus, he was drafted sixth in arguably the best NBA Draft class in the last two decades.

Those are some mighty big shoes to fill.

Comparing Jones to JJ Reddick may be more appropriate, at this time, in that they both came to Duke labeled as a shooter.

Jones told Amile Jefferson during his Duke Freshman intro  that his game is scoring the ball and his goals for the summer is working on ball handling, being vocal, plus he wants to avoid playing timid as a freshman.

Thankfully Duke does not travel to College Park next season but they still have to go to the Dean Dome and Syracuse’s reception will be legendary when they host Duke in their first ACC season. That’s enough to intimidate a hardened senior much less a freshman.

Though intimidating crowds, away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, will be something all Duke basketball players will have to get used to.

Although Jones is a McDonald’s All American and ranked No.22 by ESPN in his recruiting class, experts view him as a four-year player.  This season it is hard to imagine him getting major playing time because there are a few established players ahead of him.

Rasheed Sulaimon has probably cemented himself as the starter at shooting guard based on an outstanding freshman season. Andre Dawkins, a player whom Jones seems a carbon copy of, is back for a fifth year after taking last season off for personal reasons.

Rodney Hood, a 6-foot-8 redshirt sophomore, is eligible to play this season and is considered more of a wing player than a forward, though due to a shortage of inside players, the Mississippi State transfer could see some playing time at power forward, like Kim English in Frank Haith’s first season at Missouri where they went 30-4 and won the Big 12 tournament.

Duke has an abundance of small forwards in the form of Jabari Parker, Alex Murphy, Semi Ojeleye and Hood.  Playing time is indeed not looking great for Jones but he just happens to play for a coach who plays to his roster rather than incorporate the same tired system (here is looking at you Bo Ryan) from season to season. Hence don’t be surprised if at times you see four guards on the court, including Jones, as anything is possible with Coach Krzyzewski.

Imagine Quinn Cook having a choice of Dawkins and Jones in a catch and shoot situation! The former has a sweet stroke and the latter has a hair trigger release.

By Rowan Shiell

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