Derrick Jones (Philadelphia/Archbishop Carroll) had the type of week most kids can only dream about last week.
The 6-foot-6 rising junior swingman was already a top national prospect -- ranked No. 16 in the ESPN 60 -- and held scholarship offers from the likes of Syracuse, Villanova, Maryland, Seton Hall, Temple and St. Joseph’s even before the start of the annual July live evaluation period.
Then, in the span of just a few hours, things really escalated quickly.
It was actually hours before the open period was set to tip off last Wednesday that Jones picked up an offer from Bill Self and Kansas. Later that night, after John Calipari sat courtside to see him at the Reebok Breakout Classic, Jones added an offer from a Kentucky program he grew up rooting for.
Now, not even a week after being offered by two of the most prestigious programs in all of college basketball, Jones still appears to be taking everything in stride.
“I was excited to get those two offers, but it’s just two more offers on the table,” Jones said. “I’ve got to keep working hard.”
What separates Jones isn’t just his long 6-6 frame or even his explosive athleticism, but rather that he combines those physical tools with a work ethic to build his skills. That’s the main reason why We-R-1 travel team head coach Terrell Myers believes Jones is still only scratching the surface of his potential.
“A lot of people don’t know he has the ability to dribble the ball,” Myers said. “When I first saw him, he was a 6-foot-3 point guard in the eighth grade. But the thing is that he’s just so athletic that people can’t see the other parts of his game. He shoots, handles and passes, he’s extremely unselfish, almost to a fault, and he loves to play the game and is starting to love working on his game, too.”
Three days a week, that work includes as many as six hours on the court. Jones and many of his teammates begin working on skill development in the morning, come back mid-day to play one-on-one and two-on-two and return later at night to get their shots up.
“I think I’m improving every day,” Jones said. “Just keep working in the gym and getting better and better.”
But Jones doesn’t limit that improvement solely to the offensive end of the floor. In fact, if you ask him what his best assets are, the first thing he’ll mention is his ability on the defensive end.
While the surge in Jones’ recruitment may be a combination of his natural talent and hard work, it’s also something you could see coming in recent months.
When the grassroots season began in April, he led his We-R-1 squad to a pair of championships at the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Jam Fests, standing out as the top individual prospect in both events.
He had his first exposure to USA Basketball later this spring in what he describes as a “major learning experience,” and shortly thereafter he had a starring performance at the NBPA Top 100 Camp.
Ironically, last Wednesday night when Calipari decided he had seen enough to offer the 2015 swingman, Jones wasn’t even playing his best basketball. He was 4-for-5 from the field, but that efficiency was a consequence of him not forcing the issue. He was moving without the ball, making the extra pass and taking advantage of easy opportunities to score, but he was hardly dominating like he’s capable of.
Ultimately, Jones is, as Myers describes him, a “young junior” both in terms of his age and his game. And while he may now hold offers from two of the most storied programs in college basketball, this is a prospect who is just getting his first taste of the national stage and only starting to discover how good he might be someday.