Jones’ play should earn him starting spot next year

Verdell Jones’ career day in Madison, Wis., during the weekend was one of few bright spots in an 85-61 loss to Wisconsin in the last game of the regular season.

It also fueled debate around one of the most frequently asked off-court questions of the season: Where does Jones fit with this team going forward?

With Jordan Hulls on his way to campus and Jeremiah Rivers set to gain eligibility next fall, the freshman’s days at point guard appear numbered.

But Jones was never really a true point guard, anyway, and his particular strengths – creating off the dribble and mixing up drives and pull-up jumpers – fit Tom Crean’s offense well.

But is there a place for the lanky, 6-foot-5 guard on the 2009-10 IU men’s basketball team?

Jones’ propensity for turnovers and lack of improvement early, coupled with starry eyes locked on Rivers’ defense and Hulls’ potential, would buy Jones a one-way ticket to the bench, many thought.

His mid-season detour to the injury table thanks to a hard screen in the Cornell game seemed to stunt his progress, gathering support for that particular opinion.

But while he’s proven his future is likely not at the point guard, Jones’ rapid improvement on both ends of the floor should have plenty of heads turning inside and outside the IU program: U-turning.

In his last nine games, Jones is averaging 14.7 points, and his points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game averages have all gone up in Big Ten play.
And while he is still turnover-prone, the freshman’s ability to get into the lane and score effectively is beginning to open up looks for teammates cutting to the basket or roving the perimeter.

The fact is, Jones isn’t a natural point guard. He is still turnover-prone, and as one colleague in the press corps pointed out to me some weeks back, his height and frame are a natural disadvantage in trying to defend smaller, quicker guards, which point guards tend to be.

But that same frame, 6-foot-5 and a generous 176 pounds, is perfect to play the two or the three in Tom Crean’s slashing, drive-and-kick offense. And there is not a player on this team who has improved more over the course of the season than Jones.

Moreover, his ability to score in the lane, specifically his knack for knowing when to pull up and when to drive all the way to the basket, fit that mold as well.

It’s been widely assumed that so many players have had to serve a handful of roles on this team because the Hoosiers are severely understaffed – and they have, because they are.

But Tom Crean’s offense isn’t that rigid to begin with. He doesn’t need five prototypical players at stereotypical positions.

He needs guys who create the way he needs them to create, distribute the way he needs them to distribute and score the way he needs them to score. Don’t be surprised if there are still plenty of perimeter-oriented rotations next year, even with the added height of the incoming recruiting class.

And on that same topic, don’t expect Verdell Jones to sit on any bench for too long, not the way he’s improved.

The wafer-thin forward from Champaign, Ill., should find his way into the starting lineup quite often next year.

And with good reason.

Osterman’s prediction
Wisconsin 76 – IU 59

Final score
Wisconsin 85 – IU 61