Kentucky basketball: 5 Wildcats who didn’t live up to the NBA hype
3. Kentucky basketball NBA busts: Terrence Jones
A member of the 2012 national champions, Terrence Jones looked poised to have a bright future as an NBA Player. Jones made a splash once he arrived at Kentucky, averaging over 15 points a game to win the SEC’s Rookie of the Year award in 2011.
The next season saw Jones play a bit more of a supporting role behind Anthony Davis and the Wildcats’ fabulous freshmen class. That worked out just fine for Jones, who was a key member of the championship squad and joined five of his teammates by declaring for the NBA Draft.
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All six of them got drafted, with the Houston Rockets picking Jones with the 18th pick of the first round. Houston put Jones in the D-League for most of his rookie year and he ended up claiming a starting job in his second season.
The big problem for Jones was that injuries took a serious toll on him, with leg issues costing him time one year and various other maladies costing him time. The Rockets grew tired of waiting for Jones to get healthy, let him go to New Orleans, where he played in just 51 games before getting waived to make room for another Kentucky alum in DeMarcus Cousins.
Since getting cut by the Pelicans, Jones has played only five NBA games, spending a lot of time bouncing around the G-League and overseas. Jones never developed into a starting level player, which was disappointing considering the hype he generated at Kentucky.