'14 MN PG Tyus Jones (Duke Signee)

[wigmon]

If Thad can get Jones and Okafor to add to the 2014 class, it will be his best class at Ohio State.

... which is definitely saying something.

Imagine that roster for a minute.

Oden > > Okafor (its not close. Okafor about equal with Sullinger)
Jones > Conley (as a recruit, but Conley was way undervalued. I'll give a slight edge to Jones for his scoring ability)
Cook > KDB
Lighty > > Tate (again, not close, Lighty at the same size was a better athlete and could do everything better)
Hunter = King (not really sure, but we only had Hunter for 2 years and I think King should be at least as good as Hunter his last couple of years)

 

[OH10]

Oden > > Okafor (its not close. Okafor about equal with Sullinger)
Jones > Conley (as a recruit, but Conley was way undervalued. I'll give a slight edge to Jones for his scoring ability)
Cook > KDB
Lighty > > Tate (again, not close, Lighty at the same size was a better athlete and could do everything better)
Hunter = King (not really sure, but we only had Hunter for 2 years and I think King should be at least as good as Hunter his last couple of years)

You have to remember that Oden was out the first 6 weeks of his freshman year and he had major fouls issues. When he was on the Court, he was a beast on both ends. I honestly think Sullinger had a bigger overall impact his freshman year than Oden.

Cook never really had the impact he should have. He had a bit of a selfish streak and he obviously played in the Conley/Oden shadow.

I'd take Conley over Jones, mainly because the former was so poised and in control during that tournament run. It would be hard for any freshman PG to duplicate that.

 

[DZ83CK]

Oden > > Okafor (its not close. Okafor about equal with Sullinger)
Jones > Conley (as a recruit, but Conley was way undervalued. I'll give a slight edge to Jones for his scoring ability)
Cook > KDB
Lighty > > Tate (again, not close, Lighty at the same size was a better athlete and could do everything better)
Hunter = King (not really sure, but we only had Hunter for 2 years and I think King should be at least as good as Hunter his last couple of years)

You mean Dave Bell or VJ King? King is in a different class, 3 inches shorter, and plays SF rather than PF/C, has a completely different game, Bell is committed to OSU in that class and King can't be and isn't committed to OSU in any class, but other than that they have a lot of similarities.

 

[AFK4403]

Oden > > Okafor (its not close. Okafor about equal with Sullinger)
Jones > Conley (as a recruit, but Conley was way undervalued. I'll give a slight edge to Jones for his scoring ability)
Cook > KDB
Lighty > > Tate (again, not close, Lighty at the same size was a better athlete and could do everything better)
Hunter = King (not really sure, but we only had Hunter for 2 years and I think King should be at least as good as Hunter his last couple of years)

Not saying I agree with everything else, but "Cook > KDB" is particularly laughable. I assume you actually meant to reference KBD. You need to watch some of his games if you genuinely believe your statement to be accurate.

Also, though I admittedly did not see much of Hunter as a prospect, King will be one of the best prospects to come out of Ohio in recent years. Completely different skill sets, regardless.

(apologies for the tangent, but that post slighted those guys)

Jones is my favorite '14 prospect outside of KBD. I probably like KBD more than most, but with that exception I value a top PG prospect over other positions. Rare to find the Irving-type that can shoot and score off the dribble but with the ability to create for others and not have to rely on scoring.

 

[wigmon]

Yes, meant Bell, not King and typo on KBD. The point was made that this recruiting class would be better, not which players we would get more out of over their careers. We got an injured Oden for about 20 games and an almost healthy Oden for about 4-5 games, but his limitations due to injuries doesn't change the fact Oden was a once in a decade recruit. Cook was also top 10 at one time before falling in somewhere around 12. He was also a late first round draft choice in the NBA after one year. While he didn't have as productive as a frosh year as many hoped, he was clearly an elite talent. KBD has a good shot at making the NBA some day. I doubt its going to be after one year of college. His skills are not as good as Cooks were at similar points in their careers.

 

[Buckskin86]

Tyus Jones: Gophers still part of wide-open recruiting race
By Bob Sansevere
bsansevere@pioneerpress
Posted: 04/10/2013

Apple Valley's Tyus Jones, the top junior point guard in the nation, already has had several get-to-know-you conversations with new University of Minnesota coach Richard Pitino.

"I've talked to him probably three times since he got the job," Jones said Wednesday, April 10, during an interview at his high school. "I'm starting to build a relationship with him, which is the first thing you have to do."

Jones isn't close to making a decision about where he'll play college basketball, but the Gophers remain one of seven finalists for his elite talent, along with Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State, Kentucky, Kansas and Baylor.

Yeah, I wondered about Baylor, too. Jones said Baylor is in the mix because his cousin, Jared Nuness, is on the basketball staff there. "That's originally how they started recruiting me," Jones said. "This year they struggled a little bit, but they've had successful years. They have a beautiful campus. I've been keeping them on my list."

Jones has not yet decided where he will go on his five NCAA-allowed official visits to campuses, but he has gone to schools on his own.

"We looked at it as a good way to get to all the campuses and then decide where you want to take your officials," Jones said. "Only having five officials makes it tough."

He has visited the Minnesota campus several times, including to see the Gophers play.

During the interview, Jones touched on his commitment to go to a school
in a package deal with 6-foot-10 Jahlil Okafor of Chicago. Okafur and Jones, who became friends while playing at the national level, are the first- and second-ranked juniors in the country. Jones also discussed the Gophers at length.

cont...

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22998707/tyus-jones-gophers-still-part-wide-open-recruiting

 

[Buckskin86]

Tyus Jones Talks New Gophers Coach, Recruiting- video interview

 

[Buckskin86]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PcgcYReC6Y"]Tyus Jones & Reid Travis on Richard Pitino - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH5DLAFJZkU"]Tyus Jones Is The #1 Point Guard In The Class Of 2014! Shows OUT At Peach Jam! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Tyus Jones Cuts to Seven
April 25th, 2013

Tyus Jones, the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2014, has trimmed his list to seven schools, according to Rivals.com.

He has recently had home visits with Duke, Baylor, Ohio State, Michigan State and Kansas.

Kentucky and Minnesota are also on the list.

Here?s what he told Rivals about his visits through Sunday:

On Duke: ?We had a good visit with them. Talked a little about why they feel I would fit in their program and stuff like that.?

On Baylor: ?I also had a good visit with them. They were just pitching to myself and my family why they think I could fit in their program and the perks of going to Baylor and stuff like that.?

On Michigan State: ?It was another good visit.?

On Ohio State: ?We also had a great visit with them. We had a great time with all of the colleges. It was really all the same ? myself and my family have a great relationship with all the coaches. So it was really relaxed and nothing too tense or anything like that.?

http://zagsblog.com/articles/tyus-jones-cuts-to-seven/

 

[OhioState001]

He only said "great" visit for Ohio State

 

[Buckskin86]

Tyus Jones 'blessed' to be part of recruiting process
TYLER MASON |
Published: Monday, May 06, 2013

Plenty of eyes will be on the Minnesota high school basketball league in the next several months. The upcoming senior class is perhaps the most talented in recent memory as it boasts two five-star recruits in Tyus Jones of Apple Valley and Rashad Vaughn of Robbinsdale Cooper, as well as four-star recruit Reid Travis of De La Salle. Scout.com ranks Jones as the No. 2 overall recruit in the nation. He recently took time to chat in a phone interview with FOXSportsNorth.com. Here's what Jones had to say about the hectic recruiting process, among other topics.

FSN: Since we last talked, you helped guide Apple Valley to a state championship. What was that feeling like?

JONES: It was really unbelievable. No words can really describe the feeling. To finally get over that hump and bring back the first basketball title to Apple Valley was a great accomplishment.

FSN: How did you grow as a player during your junior season at Apple Valley?

JONES: I felt like my leadership improved. I was talking more to my teammates, just small stuff like that. I also think our team grew as the season went on. Early in the season when I went down with the back injury, other guys really had to step up. That's exactly what they did. When I came back I just tried to assert myself in a way that would continue us pushing forward and improving the team. We really just got better as a whole.

cont...

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/colle...be-part-of-recruit?blockID=899397&feedID=3793

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QeDC2vBv9Y"]Tyus Jones Is The #1 Point Guard In The Class Of 2014! Shows OUT At Peach Jam! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[BuckTwenty]

Though the odds aren't good for us getting Jalil and Tyus, they could have the same type of mark personally and for this program that Oden and Conley did if they came here. Those two were high lottery picks and led us to the NCAA Championship game.

SR: PG Shannon Scott, SF Sam Thompson, SF LaQuinton Ross (if he stays), C Amir Williams
JR: SG Amedo Della Valle
SO: SG Kam Williams, PF Marc Loving
FR: SF Jae'sean Tate, PF Keita Bates-Diop, C Dave Bell, PG Tyus Jones, C Jalil Okafor

(Plus 1 more scholarship to give on top of this... or 2 if Q leaves early)

On paper, that's one heck of a team... and a haul of a recruiting class we haven't seen since maybe the Thad 5. Super athletic team, good shooters, nice defensively if the young guys can try to match the intensity of what Shannon and Sam do out there.

Just hoping and crossing my fingers we get as much consideration for those two as the traditional blue bloods.

 

[LitlBuck]

Though the odds aren't good for us getting Jalil and Tyus, they could have the same type of mark personally and for this program that Oden and Conley did if they came here. Those two were high lottery picks and led us to the NCAA Championship game.

SR: PG Shannon Scott, SF Sam Thompson, SF LaQuinton Ross (if he stays), C Amir Williams
JR: SG Amedo Della Valle
SO: SG Kam Williams, PF Marc Loving
FR: SF Jae'sean Tate, PF Keita Bates-Diop, C Dave Bell, PG Tyus Jones, C Jalil Okafor

(Plus 1 more scholarship to give on top of this... or 2 if Q leaves early)

On paper, that's one heck of a team... and a haul of a recruiting class we haven't seen since maybe the Thad 5. Super athletic team, good shooters, nice defensively if the young guys can try to match the intensity of what Shannon and Sam do out there.

Just hoping and crossing my fingers we get as much consideration for those two as the traditional blue bloods.

Let us try and keep this type of discussion under the Recruiting Projections/General Discussion thread and leave this to the individual recruit's discussion. Thanks!

 

[Buckskin86]

Jones, who has narrowed his lists of schools to Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State and Minnesota, is candid with college coaches when it comes to his recruiting request.

"Every school knows that me and Jahlil would like to attend the same school," Jones said.

Jones and Okafor first played against one another in third grade in AAU nationals. The two didn't really know each other at that point, but when both players tried out and made the USA Basketball U16 team, their friendship really started to grow.

"I think we'd be a phenomenal duo," said Jones about teaming up with Okafor in college. "He's a beast down low and a phenomenal big man. He has great hands, great feet, very mobile. Myself, I think, that'd be good to play alongside him just because I know I can pass the ball and set him up and be able to get him easy baskets."

Even though Jones and Okafor are separated by 400 miles, the two stay in contact most every day, Jones said. The pair also get to run into one another frequently on weekends since both play on the nationwide Nike EYBL circuit, Jones with Howard Pulley and Okafor with Mac Irvin Fire.

Okafor is being recruited by mostly the same schools as Jones, expect for Okafor has North Carolina and Louisville on his list and Jones has Minnesota, which has its campus only about 20 miles from his home.

"We're letting each other have really their own recruiting process," Jones said. "At the same time, we're still kind of talking with each other on what schools we have in common and where we think we can go together and feel like we'll be successful."

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/cAvrB-...l-okafor-hope-to-play-together-in-college.htm

 

[Buckskin86]

Catching up with Tyus Jones- Star Tribune 5 27 13