ANDREW JONES
BIRTHDATE: 12/9/97
POSITION: Combo Guard
HEIGHT: 6'4"
WEIGHT: 190 lbs
SCHOOL/ TEAM: Texas
CLASS: Junior
STRENGTHS
Athleticism - Good athlete who is reliant upon his speed/quickness
Transition game - He is very fast in the open floor; Majority of points came in transition
Defensive potential - Has the quickness to pressure the ball and beat his man to the spot; Gives good effort on ball and keeps his hands active
Shooting - Good pull up jumper from both elbows coming off the screen;
Attacking close outs - Able to attack closeouts effectively with a 1-2 dribble pull up
Size - Has the size and length to defend both guard spots as he gets stronger;
WEAKNESSES
Control/Decision-making - Jones is turnover prone in relation to the amount of assists he generates; Passing when going top speed
Shot selection - He can become reckless with his shot selection
Left hand - Almost never drives left with the intention of getting to the rim.
Off the ball defense - He gets caught by off ball screens due to ball watching
Defensive Awareness - Has a habit of overpursuing and giving up drives/dribble jumpers. He is late to react when his man is the screener and moves into another action and has a bad habit of going under DHOs vs shooters and giving up open looks.
KHAIRI AKILI - OCTOBER 5, 2017
Andrew Jones came into Austin as one of two highly regarded McDonald's All American's (Jarrett Allen was the other) Shaka Smart kept in the state of Texas. While Allen ended up being a 1st round pick in the 2017 draft, Jones had a solid freshman on an underachieving Texas teams that finished 11-22 and 4-14 in conference play. After the season Jones tested the waters for the NBA draft, but ultimately decided to come back for his sophomore season where he'll team with potential top 5 pick Mo Bamba.
Jones is a tough prospect for me to gage. There's a lot to like about what he brings to the table with his size, athleticism and speed, but I don't know what he excels at and what his defined role will be in NBA. His size and frame at 6'4 would be ideal for a point guard.... if Jones were a true point guard. While he does show good court vision and is an adequate passer (3.5 assists per game) I just don't see him as a playmaker. On paper his assists to turnovers (2.5) were decent but the eye test tells a different story. He reminds me of Jaylen Brown coming out of Cal, in the fact you can see the talent and potential but there's more potential than actual skill. Jones is a good athlete, but doesn't have the strength, wingspan and explosiveness that Brown possessed to overcome his lack of skill and polish.
Jones was better playing off the ball and is best used as a scorer off the dribble. He's got a nice handle, good feet, shifty and changes direction well but does not really wow me with his creativity. Some games he looks like a shooter then other games his shot looks shaky at best. He's more comfortable shooting off the dribble than he is as a set shooter. As a freshman, Jones shot 42.5% from the floor and 32.8% from behind the arc while most of his possessions and points came in transition. He has the foot speed, quickness and creativity to be special in transition once he improves finishing through contact. Overall, individually Jones had a good freshman season and showed enough potential to be considered as a 1st round draft pick.
Going into his sophomore season, I'd like to see Jones improve his 3 point shooting, get stronger and become better and more efficient as a pick & roll ball handler. In my opinion if he's going to excel as combo guard in NBA, he'll have to be a either a deadly outside shooter or elite level defender.
RAFAEL BARLOWE - OCTOBER 10, 2017
SUMMARY
Here is a breakdown of Jones' possessions over the 2016-17 season
KHAIRI'S NOTES
Notes:
Good size and length for an NBA point guard
Thin but should fill out
Good athlete, very fast in the open floor
Shows flashes of being a dangerous transition creator/attacker
Can get out of control when at top speed
A bit turnover prone
Will force some tough shots and passes
A solid ballhandler who relies on his first step or an initial crossover move to get a step then lets his speed get him to the rim
Right hand dominant
Show ability to finish in traffic but needs to get stronger and work on his patience near the rim
Could eventually draw a good amount of FTAs for his position
Doesn't have an effective floater
Effective in actions on the right side of the floor or starting at the top of the key and heading to his right
Really struggles to finish on the left side of the floor
Almost never goes to the left baseline
Generally maintains good spacing when off ball
Shifts around the perimeter as the ballhandler moves to open up passing lanes
Keeps hands up and knees bent when spotting up
Average in catch and shoot situations
Doesn't get much lift on his shot and shoots on the way up
Has an inconsistent release point but it trends low
Capable of attacking the closeout with drives to the rim and dribble pull ups (Middle/Right)
Runs his man into the screen in PNR
Shows flashes of good vision hitting the roll man
Doesn't yet collapse the defense and see the crosscourt shooter
Can pass with both hands but doesn't consistently hit the pocket
Very good pull up jumper from both elbows coming off the screen
Gets much better lift on his pull up jumper and has a quick release
Tends to push the shot when contested strongly
Defense
Has the size to eventually defend both guard spots
Good effort on ball and will follow the play even when beat
Quick enough to beat a ballhandler to the spot when defending in space
Keeps his hands active but doesn't have great timing for steals/blocks
Fights through ball screens more often than not but occasionally dies on them or tries to go under which give the ballhandler a run at the rim or open jumper
Susceptible to a ballhandler going away from the screen
Gets caught by off ball screens due to ball watching
When his man sets a screen and moves, he is late to react
Has a habit of overpursuing after getting held up on a screen
Goes under on DHOs on shooters and gives up open looks