Tre Jones chooses Duke

Duke Basketball ended its weekend on an extremely high note, picking up its first commitment of the 2018 recruiting class - five-star point guard Tre Jones.

Jones, the younger brother of former Duke point guard and national champion Tyus Jones, announced his decision Sunday to choose the Blue Devils over a host of others, including Arizona, UCLA and the hometown Minnesota Golden Gophers.

"Today, it's not about me. It's about my tomorrow. And my tomorrow will be at Duke University," said Jones.

Jones, who ranks as the nation’s No. 9 overall player in the class, went from being considered as a “good” prospect to an “elite” prospect following the spring and summer evaluation periods. His transformation resulted in a blistering climb up the rankings and the attention of everyone in the gym each time he stepped on the floor.

Devils Illustrated recruiting analyst Clint Jackson is among those who saw Jones elevate his game over the course of his recruitment.

“I have to be honest, when I first watched Tre Jones a couple of years ago at USA Basketball, I wasn't overwhelmed with him,” Jackson said. “I saw a good, solid point guard who played hard, led his team, seemed to be a good penetrate and pass guy, but was underwhelming as a long range shooter. I liked him, but unlike his brother, Tyus, I didn't see a guy who was gifted or special.

“Fast forward to earlier this spring and I was completely seeing a different player. He was controlling the tempo, slashing into the lane, scoring at will, facilitating the offense on the move. He was hitting outside jumpers. He was the best natural point guard that I watched during the three-day event. He was absolutely special, gifted, if you will. He had made a substantial jump with his talent. And like his brother, it just looked easy for him. He was unbelievable all weekend.”

It’s not often you see as drastic of a change in a prospect as we have with Jones, and when you do, it’s clear hard work is part of his makeup. This is certainly the case for Jones.

As expected, Jones has been saddled with comparisons to Tyus throughout his young basketball career. As this past summer progressed, the side-by-side comparisons stopped and onlookers began looking at Tre Jones for his game and his game only.

Even still, it is certainly easy to find similarities to his brother. But, there are also some aspects of Tre’s game that we didn’t see in Tyus, such as a bigger emphasis on defense.

“A true five-star guy who will play in the NBA in a year or two, without a doubt,” Jackson noted. “He is a bit bigger than his brother and while not quite the shooter that Tyus is, he is a more willing defender.”

Just like his brother, Tre Jones is a perfect fit for the Duke system. And his ability to make others around him better will certainly draw interest from other elite prospects in the class.

“Love the fit at Duke,” Jackson said. “He will give Coach K a natural dynamic point guard who makes everyone around him better. Kids love playing with him and he is an absolute winner.”