Things might not be perfect all the time, but thatвЂ™s just the fact of being a freshman. High IQ, physical upside, competes on defense, used to a style of play where lots of guards get a chance to run the show, always been the underdog.ДЄm I crazy or does this all really fit everything that Shaka Smart has been saying - either literally out loud by by his recruiting scholarship offers - that he wants to see in Marquette basketball? If Jones is ready to go right out of the gate, then it seems like thereвЂ™s a place for him to make an impact for the Golden Eagles. He would come to me and say вЂHey, coach, what do you think about this right here?вЂ™ And IвЂ™d say вЂHey, letвЂ™s do it.вЂ™ Really high IQ.вЂќ So whoever gets (the ball) comes out in the pick-and-roll and things like that. вЂњI play him at the point, but the offense we run is kind of a college offense where multiple people can play the point. But the beauty about Kam is his IQ of the game and his passing ability. Jones has good size and length for the position, physical upside, is a big time difficult shot maker and competes on defense. Trusting the process is the only thing he knows and thatвЂ™s what makes him special.вЂќ

When people said he should play for a different AAU team, they stayed loyal to Team Thad. When people were saying he shouldnвЂ™t go to a private school, they did. His family decided that they werenвЂ™t going to listen to everybodyвЂ™s opinion but listen to God and their hearts. вЂњKam has always been the underdog,вЂќ Evangelical Christian coach Willie Jenkins added. I want to share some quotes with you from back when Jones committed to play for Marquette. After all, if weвЂ™re going by T-RankвЂ™s projections, Jones doesnвЂ™t come in as one of the top 10 expected biggest contributors to the season right now. well, then maybe heвЂ™s spending most of his freshman year sitting around and spelling Morsell and Elliott when they need a breather.ДЄnd that could still be fairly often! Smart keeps talking about how his players need to be able to walk up right and breathe after playing for three minutes, so thereвЂ™s a real chance that a bench role for Jones is still going to turn into a lot of minutes for him as a freshman.ДЇor the time being? I think we have to just go with вЂњgets his feet wet and is a positive contributorвЂќ for an expectation for Jones. If Jones projects more as a shooting guard or an off-guard in SmartвЂ™s system.

As such, if Jones does fit that role, then there are lots of minutes for him to play. I donвЂ™t think we can say that either one have really played point guard at all at the collegiate level, not for any extended length of time. MarquetteвЂ™s closest thing to an experienced returning point guard is Greg Elliott, and the closest thing to an experienced point guard on the roster is Darryl Morsell. If he is, thatвЂ™s good news for JonesвЂ™ opportunity for playing time. Not only do we not know exactly how Smart wants to work and look, but we donвЂ™t really know how freshmen like Jones will adjust to playing hoops at the Big East level.ДЇor Jones in specific, part of this gets figured out by Smart deciding whether or not Jones is a point guard for him. We can take things from open practices and statements that the head coach has made in public, but at the end of the day, weвЂ™re kind of just guessing, especially for freshmen who havenвЂ™t stepped onto a collegiate court yet. The problem with trying to hammer down what we could qualify as a reasonable expectation for Kam Jones is that we donвЂ™t really know what Shaka SmartвЂ™s Marquette basketball looks like yet. ** - denotes top 500 national ranking per WHAT WE SAID:

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