Chris Jones

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North Carolina 93, Louisville 84

Sunday, November 24, 2013 | Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, CT)

Chris Jones — PG, 5-10, 175
Junior, 22 years old (via Northwest Florida State Junior College)

Season (27 mpg): 14.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.3 SPG

Game: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 4-8 three-pointers

*Jones transferred to Louisville from NorthWest Florida State, where he averaged 23 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 4.2 APG en route to winning JUCO national player of the year last season. He’s been tasked with replacing Peyton Siva as Louisville’s starting point guard.

Outlook: Jones is a physical guard with terrific range on his jump shot and a strong handle. He can create off the dribble, and when he’s in rhythm, has great playmaking ability. He digs in defensively, with a physical frame, pesky hands and constant awareness. A tough point guard with an all-around skill set.

All that being said, though, I have several reservations on Jones’ NBA potential.

He’ll be 22 years old at the time of the Draft, and when I watched him, something was just off. He’s an average athlete, has trouble finishing through contact and seems like he has difficulty playing with the framework of organized basketball. In other words, he can make difficult shots, but he doesn’t provide much in terms of rebounding, assists and basketball IQ.

Not sure if he can create for others, or even get his own shot, at the NBA level. But after observing Jones in one game, he comes up short in several areas. I’m apprehensive right now.

STRENGTHS

JUMP SHOT / SPOT-UP

Jones fits well alongside Russ Smith, at least offensively. He torched North Carolina’s zone defense for four 3-pointers, and has a tight handle to pull-up off the dribble. For the season, he’s shooting 40% off the dribble, and is producing 0.9 points per play, ranking in the 63rd percentile nationally.

PICK-AND-ROLL PASSING

Although he averages only 2.6 assists per game, Jones has been terrific setting-up his teammates on the pick and roll. Teammates are scoring a very good 1.14 points per play on Jones’ pick and roll pass outs (16 possessions). His ability to attack the lane and draw defenders really helps in this regard, especially with Montrezl Harrell roaming the baseline. Jones freezes the defense at the moment the screener hits his man, because he can either shoot off the dribble or penetrate the lane. Surrounded by shooters on the outside and with Harrell down low, Jones has quickly made an impact distributing off the pick and roll.

PICK-AND-ROLL SCORING

Jones is also dangerous driving the ball off screens, scoring an efficient 1 point per play. Jones can pull-up for a jumper, use a floater or finish at the rim. He is particularly adept at seeing a crease in the lane and attacking the open space. However, he lacks the ability to explode through the lane, which gives me pause because NBA big men rarely surrender buckets to undersized, below-the-rim point guards.

Hence…

NEEDS TO IMPROVE

STRUGGLES TO FINISH

Due to his diminutive size and poor athleticism, Jones often struggles to finish at the rim. To his credit, he is crafty with the ball when he drives, and is actually shooting 61% around the basket. But his struggles to at the rim were apparent vs. North Carolina.

DEFENDING JUMP SHOTS

Admittedly, because Louisville plays a considerable amount of zone (43% of possessions), several of the converted baskets in the clip below weren’t a result of poor defense by Jones. But that doesn’t absolve him, either; at 5-10, it’s considerably difficult for him to be “a factor” on the defensive end.

Louisville 83, Rutgers 76

Saturday, January 4, 2014 | RAC (Piscataway, NJ)

Chris Jones — PG, 5-10, 175
Junior, 22 years old (via Northwest Florida State Junior College)

Season (26.1 mpg): 12 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.9 APG

Game: 6 points, 3 steals, 2 assists

Outlook: The more I watch Jones, the more I question his NBA potential. He didn’t show much of anything vs. Rutgers.

Jones is a good spot-up shooter, but hasn’t had the all-around impact many expected. He’s a solid pick-and-roll threat and he can score in isolation, but it’s nothing overly impressive at this point. After scoring 18 points vs. Kentucky, Jones has scored 5, 6, 2 and 2 to begin conference play.

His diminutive size and lack of production make me wonder how much upside he has left. He’s a strong guard with good scoring instincts, but I’m not sure I see him at the NBA level.