Tre Jones won’t be one and done at Duke.
Duke is expected to lose Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and probably Cam Reddish to the NBA Draft, but point guard Tre Jones will bypass the Draft to return for his sophomore year.
This is a mild surprise and certainly great news for Duke to get the solid and stable point to come back for another year.
Jones averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists on 41 percent shooting where he was the third or fourth option on most nights due to the Blue Devils’ star power.
Returning for another year, however, should prove beneficial for Duke, and for Jones to boost his NBA Draft stock. This is a smart decision by Jones to delay his payday that should pay off in the long run.
OFFICIAL: #️⃣3️⃣ in 2019-20 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/L98L6uFdqA
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 8, 2019
Jones could have declared and been a potential late-first round pick, but staying in school one more year can see his stock soar if he’s able to increase his shooting percentage, especially from 3 where he shot 26 percent and improve as a distributor and cut down on turnovers.
He could also benefit by playing a bigger role without the presence of Williamson, Barrett and Reddish dominating the shots. Conversely, Jones won’t have those scorers to distribute the ball to, but he will have a new wave of reinforcements to work with.
Expect Jones to take on a bigger role as a leader on the court but also as a vocal leader, which is a natural progression, considering he plays the point guard position.
Jones had an up and down NCAA Tournament. He had 22 points and eight rebounds in the win vs. Virginia Tech, but in the season-ending loss to Michigan State, he was held to four points.
He clearly didn’t want that to be his last game with Duke so he’ll have at least one more year to improve on what he did as a freshman before turning pro.