Season in review: Verdell Jones III.
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Mar 30, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
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PrintThis is the first in a series of looks back at the season that was, or more specifically at the presumably returning players.
Verdell Jones III played in 28 of IU's 31 games and averaged 29 minutes per game. He started 25 games, and while some of his teammates were hitting the wall, Jones seemed to come into his own near the end of the season. Early in the season, Jones was involved in one of the scariest moments I can remember: during IU's win over Cornell (IU's lone win over a NCAA Tournament team, for what it's worth) Jones ran into a legal screen set by a Cornell player and was knocked unconscious and carried off the court on a stretcher. Jones missed the next three games and didn't start the next two, but beginning with the Lipscomb game, Jones was in the starting lineup for good. Jones shot around 44 percent from the field and 32 percent from the line, stats that were consistent overall and in conference games only. Jones, forced into the starting point guard position, was barely in the black for the season, with 3.6 assists per game and 3.5 turnovers per game. In Big Ten play, he had 4.3 assists per game and 3.9 turnovers.
The highlights:
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As I noted above, Jones finished strong. He scored a career high 23 against Wisconsin in the season finale and matched in in the Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State, shooting over 63 percent from the field in each game and 100 percent from three point range.
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Thanks mostly to 10-13 shooting from the line, Jones scored 18 points in his collegiate debut against Northwestern State.
The lowlights:
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The aforementioned head injury.
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In a home loss to Northwestern, IU's first such loss in 40 years, Jones scored 6 points on 3-7 from the field and turned the ball over seven times.
The future: as with all of IU's returning players, it is difficult to say what the future holds. While he was a late recruit, he was far from a desperation recruit. Although Illinois did not offer this Champaign native, Minnesota wanted him badly and believed they had him in the bag until his press conference. It's not clear that his future is at point guard, but his resilience, including playing his best games near the end of the season, seems to be a good sign.
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I'm glad you are doing this review
One of the things that has frustrated me with the MSM is the knee-jerk reaction to this now (thankfully) departed basketball season. Every review has simply noted that (i) this was the wost season ever, but (ii) Coach Crean will have them back at the top of the basketball world here shortly. I hope that is true, but I have not seen anyone really analyze it.
The thing that I want to see is that the team improves over the course of a season. Without looking in depth at the numbers, it seemed to me like the team was at least intermittently more competitive as the conference season wore on, with some exceptions.
I guess I’d like to know whether you think that Jones, individually, improved as the season progressed. Do the numbers bear it out (i.e., did his assist-to-turnover ratio improve over the season)? Did you notice anything with your own eyes that might not be reflected in the numbers that gives you hope that Jones will be able to not just contribute but be a factor in coming seasons, and that Coach Crean is, indeed, turning things around?
Thanks again for tackling this subject.
by hoosierdaddynow on Mar 30, 2009 12:26 PM EDT reply actions
i think
that vjiii will be our leading scorer next year. with rivers and/or hulls handling the point and a few more big bodies, i think we’ll see verdell coming off of screens and taking a lot more open shots resulting higher shooting percentages and highers point totals.
Verdell starting at the 2 next year?
Hey guys, this is my first CQ post or a blog post of any kind really so I’m happy to join up.
Verdell had a really interesting year. At the start of the season you couldn’t help but wonder “who told this kid he could play PG?” But by year’s end you could argue Verdell was the best player on the team, with apologies to Dumes and Pritchard of course. Verdell’s game improved drastically and he showed the fearlessness necessary to drive the lane and create fouls. He became one of our most reliable ball handlers, three point shooters, and offense weapons. Regarding next year it’s interesting to see what his position and role will be.
I met Verdell and got to talk IU basketball with him for awhile. He said next year he’ll most likely be starting in the backcourt with Jeremiah Rivers, in what I can only assume is a 3 guard lineup with Dumes playing a SG/SF. He said Jeremiah will run more of the point and he’ll be open to play the 2 role.
What do you guys think about him going forward?
by coverdalemoye4life on Apr 8, 2009 1:39 PM EDT reply actions
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