Just by chance, I watched 2019 NU big man commit Jared Jones on ESPNU. McEachern (Ga.), the No. 2 team in the country according to USA Today, was playing in the Tournament of Champions (or something like that) in Springfield, Mass., against No. 20 Racho Cucamonga (Calif.) Christian. I caught a replay of the game.
McEachern won easily, 66-55. I saw the second half and they pretty much maintained a double-digit lead throughout the half.
McEachern has five-star 2020 point guard Sharife Cooper, one of the best scoring high school point guards I've ever seen, and he and 2020 backcourt mate Alyn Breed (mid-major offers) dominated the game. Cooper had 27 and Breed 20. They pressed a lot, played a four-out, one-in offense with Jones usually in the high post, and just dribble-drove Rancho Christian to death. They went small-ball vs. Rancho's size.
Rancho has twin towers on the inside in the Mobley brothers: Isaiah is 6-9, a five-star 2019 headed to USC, and Evan is a five-star 2020 7-footer who will likely follow him (their dad is an assistant there, too). Evan had a good game, though not dominant, while Isaiah scored just six points.
My impressions of Jones, NU's 6-9 big who is committed but not signed:
Positives: The guy has a college-ready body right now. He has really big and powerful legs, very developed for a kid his age. His upper body isn't bad, either -- he looks the part of a Big Ten big man -- but his legs are where he gets his power. He would be NU's most physically impressive big right now.
Because of those legs, he is explosive. He's a very quick jumper and was especially impressive on second jumps. In one sequence, he tipped one of Evan Mobley's shots, came down, and got up to contest another shot at the rim very quickly. The kid has some bounce.
He also runs the floor well. When he hit the gas on a break, he can get up the floor quickly. In short, he's very athletic for a kid his size.
Challenges: Jones is a passive player. He barely did anything in the second half I watched. He took one shot (he missed) and I think he partially blocked one shot. That's about it. I don't remember a rebound, and he definitely didn't score. In other words, he was a non-factor.
Now, a lot of that was due to the opponent and the game plan. He was up against a 7-footer, so McEachern wasn't going to pound the ball inside to him. I think they were posting him high to get Evan Mobley away from the rim. McEachern wanted to run and use their guards to dominate the game, and it worked very well -- Cooper (especially) and Breed got to the rim at will. Jones set a few screens here and there, but wasn't really involved in the offense in the half-court set.
Defensively, he didn't do very much, either. Rancho didn't go inside to Mobley that often. Their guards were overmatched l, and they had trouble against pressure and making good entry passes. Jones got dunked on once (and Mobley knocked him to the floor), but overall, he was...okay, I guess. Evan wound up with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but he didn't do much in the second half and his most impressive plays were in the open floor (he's got very good ballhandling and passing skills for a 7-footer).
Jones contested a few shots, had that partial block, and he tipped a pass that wound up getting stolen, leading to a fast break. He got up the floor on the break a few times but never got the ball or a shot; most of the time, he was well behind the play, as Cooper and Breed got a bunch of the steals and got upcourt quickly, with Jones trailing.
Summary: Jones looks like a bit of a project to me. He has the tools -- the body, the athleticism, the explosiveness -- to be a player, but Collins and the staff will really need to work with him to get him ready for Big Ten play. They also need to work on his aggressiveness. It may be a question of will and not skill.
I can see why Rivals initially had Jones rated so high and he attracted those major offers, and then he fell in the rankings. I think the "experts" figured that he would develop more of a killer instinct and take over games, and he never did.
Now, take this all with a grain of salt because it was just one half of one game, and McEachern's game plan wasn't suited for him -- or any big man -- to make much of an impact. But still, you'd expect a 6-9 kid with a body like that who is headed to Big Ten to do something in that game. He just didn't.
It will be interesting to see what Collins & Co. can do with Jones. The talent is there. They need to bring it out of him.
McEachern won easily, 66-55. I saw the second half and they pretty much maintained a double-digit lead throughout the half.
McEachern has five-star 2020 point guard Sharife Cooper, one of the best scoring high school point guards I've ever seen, and he and 2020 backcourt mate Alyn Breed (mid-major offers) dominated the game. Cooper had 27 and Breed 20. They pressed a lot, played a four-out, one-in offense with Jones usually in the high post, and just dribble-drove Rancho Christian to death. They went small-ball vs. Rancho's size.
Rancho has twin towers on the inside in the Mobley brothers: Isaiah is 6-9, a five-star 2019 headed to USC, and Evan is a five-star 2020 7-footer who will likely follow him (their dad is an assistant there, too). Evan had a good game, though not dominant, while Isaiah scored just six points.
My impressions of Jones, NU's 6-9 big who is committed but not signed:
Positives: The guy has a college-ready body right now. He has really big and powerful legs, very developed for a kid his age. His upper body isn't bad, either -- he looks the part of a Big Ten big man -- but his legs are where he gets his power. He would be NU's most physically impressive big right now.
Because of those legs, he is explosive. He's a very quick jumper and was especially impressive on second jumps. In one sequence, he tipped one of Evan Mobley's shots, came down, and got up to contest another shot at the rim very quickly. The kid has some bounce.
He also runs the floor well. When he hit the gas on a break, he can get up the floor quickly. In short, he's very athletic for a kid his size.
Challenges: Jones is a passive player. He barely did anything in the second half I watched. He took one shot (he missed) and I think he partially blocked one shot. That's about it. I don't remember a rebound, and he definitely didn't score. In other words, he was a non-factor.
Now, a lot of that was due to the opponent and the game plan. He was up against a 7-footer, so McEachern wasn't going to pound the ball inside to him. I think they were posting him high to get Evan Mobley away from the rim. McEachern wanted to run and use their guards to dominate the game, and it worked very well -- Cooper (especially) and Breed got to the rim at will. Jones set a few screens here and there, but wasn't really involved in the offense in the half-court set.
Defensively, he didn't do very much, either. Rancho didn't go inside to Mobley that often. Their guards were overmatched l, and they had trouble against pressure and making good entry passes. Jones got dunked on once (and Mobley knocked him to the floor), but overall, he was...okay, I guess. Evan wound up with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but he didn't do much in the second half and his most impressive plays were in the open floor (he's got very good ballhandling and passing skills for a 7-footer).
Jones contested a few shots, had that partial block, and he tipped a pass that wound up getting stolen, leading to a fast break. He got up the floor on the break a few times but never got the ball or a shot; most of the time, he was well behind the play, as Cooper and Breed got a bunch of the steals and got upcourt quickly, with Jones trailing.
Summary: Jones looks like a bit of a project to me. He has the tools -- the body, the athleticism, the explosiveness -- to be a player, but Collins and the staff will really need to work with him to get him ready for Big Ten play. They also need to work on his aggressiveness. It may be a question of will and not skill.
I can see why Rivals initially had Jones rated so high and he attracted those major offers, and then he fell in the rankings. I think the "experts" figured that he would develop more of a killer instinct and take over games, and he never did.
Now, take this all with a grain of salt because it was just one half of one game, and McEachern's game plan wasn't suited for him -- or any big man -- to make much of an impact. But still, you'd expect a 6-9 kid with a body like that who is headed to Big Ten to do something in that game. He just didn't.
It will be interesting to see what Collins & Co. can do with Jones. The talent is there. They need to bring it out of him.
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