Clint's Notebook: Tre Jones
Being the brother of an NBA first round draft pick, national champion and former Duke freshman sensation certainly has its positives. And it certainly has its negatives as well. Tre Jones has been Tyus Jones' little brother for 17 years now. He's always going to be compared to him. And the younger Jones has grown accustomed to it by now. He's heard all of the questions, seen all of the articles and watched pundits, like myself, compare and contrast his game against his older brother's for years.
Both are natural point guards who can score. Both are excellent prospects and aside from some sudden shift of the planets, both will be McDonald’s All-American’s.
And now that Tre has committed to Duke, they'll both play their collegiate basketball in the same arena, under the same hall of fame coach, Mike Krzyzewski.
ATTRIBUTES
He's a guy that nobody will ever call a combo-guard. He has the instincts, the mindset and the instinctive feel for the game that a point guard has. One of the best things about the rising senior is that he isn't a guy who is being forced into a leader role, who would rather be looking to score. He's a leader who feels and sees the game as a natural floor general, but he also has the ability to score and score big when needed. There is a difference.
Ball-handling. Like his brother, Tre has the ball on a string. He's comfortable handling the ball and keeps his head up through traffic and tight spaces. He uses his advanced handle to break down defenses, penetrate while being closely guarded and he shields the ball from defensive pressure and ancillary defenders in the lane. Jones has the potential to be among the best half dozen ball-handlers that we've seen in a Duke uniform since the 1990's.
Court vision. Tre keeps his head up at all times and sees the court exceptionally well. He also has that knack for seeing the evolution of a play where he puts the ball where the offensive player is moving, where only he can retrieve it. He envisions motion and sees things that only the special guys can.
Defense. With all due respect to his terrific older brother, I think I'd be kidding myself if I ever referred to him as a good defender. But Tre is a good one. In fact, his defensive buy-in is far superior to his brother's efforts on that side of the basketball. He exerts more effort, slides his feet and plays the passing angle with purpose. He's also a little bit more physical at times and avoids foul trouble.
Leadership. Guys love playing with Jones. He sets them up with his great court vision and develops a good chemistry with his running mates. He's a natural quarterback out there on the hardwood who commands the respect of the defense, his teammates and his coaches.
THE SURGE
We can't talk about Tre Jones without being fully transparent about his surge. The first time we watched him over the course of two days, our lasting impact was that he was a very good player. He led his team, he made some good passes, he got into the lane at times and he was loved by his running mates. But we didn't walk away with the words “special” or “gifted” in mind. We couldn't help but to think that while good, Tre wasn't Tyus.
Fast forward to this spring on the Nike EYBL circuit and we were absolutely blown away with the huge jump that his game had taken. We saw a guy who made a monumental surge in his game. He was quicker. He was more confident. He was executing plays and pulling off buckets and assists that were on another level. Tre's "gifted" stage had arrived. In our mind, he went from a top 30-35 looking prospect to a top 10 prospect.
Tre's gifts had arrived. He was no longer the less talented brother of Tyus Jones, he was now on par with his esteemed older sibling. He was making it look easy. The game had slowed down for him and he was now doing many of the things we were looking for him to do. He had graduated to the elite category for us and moved to the front of the pack among the nation's elite.