Jones’ best yet to come
‘Sky is the limit’ for Valpo’s versatile sophomore wing
It wasn’t easy, but Mason Jones has reached the summit of the mountain.
He wins his one-on-one matchups against his brother Cooper, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound senior who will play football at Indiana. Cooper Jones is Valparaiso’s seemingly immovable center.
“The last two years I’ve been able to beat him pretty good,” Mason Jones said with a laugh. “He’s pretty hard to guard. He’s a big body for sure.”
Mason Jones is a big body too. A 6-7 sophomore, he was a starting defensive end for the football team, but his college future is in basketball. He was listed at 210 pounds on the football roster.
Jones has flashed signs of greatness at times both offensively and defensively for the Vikings (7-2, 1-0).
There are some similarities between Mason’s early season performance and that of another very good player from Valparaiso. That’s Brandon Newman. Newman averaged 10 points and six rebounds in his second season with the Vikings.
Jones is averaging 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He is tied for second on the team with 16 steals, and he leads the team with seven blocks. Newman is a redshirt freshman at Purdue.
Every time Jones hits the floor, there is the potential for a nextlevel breakout game. The truth is he is gradually improving each game.
According to Valparaiso coach Barak Coolman, Jones is just starting to show what he can do.
“The sky is the limit for Mason,” Coolman said. “He has just scratched the surface of where he can be. He definitely has Division I talent. He has slowly come into his own. I think even with another full month of basketball, it could be a different story. I’m excited to see where he could be in February.”
Jones is a wing player who prefers to bang inside. The Vikings have enough size in the starting lineup with Jones, his brother and 6-6 senior Grant Comstock that their preference is to score close to the basket.
Jones said his game is adaptable. He has hit 4 of 10 shots from 3-point range this season.
“I’ll take whatever the other team is giving me,” he said.
Jones still defers to the older players at times because that’s the Vikings’ way. Cooper Jones is the leading scorer at 11.1 points per game, and 6-2 senior guard Colton Jones is averaging 10.4 points.
Coolman expects Mason Jones’ offensive output to increase substantially at some point.
In his past three games, Jones
has scored 16 points, 12 points and 10 points.
“He’s just got to let the game come to him,” Coolman said. “He’s a really good transition player. He can slash and attack and make open jump shots. He’s unselfish. We have multiple guys that can score. He’s willing to defer at
times.”
Valparaiso’s first big test comes against Michigan City (8-1) on Friday. Contrasting styles should make the game interesting. The Wolves use four guards and take more than 20 3-point shots per game. The Vikings average fewer than 10.
It’ll be Valparaiso’s strength inside against Michigan City’s quickness and speed.
“They’re really good,” Coolman said. “They are basically the polar opposite of us.”
Crown Point returns: Crown Point didn’t plan to go 28 days between games. It just worked out that way.
The Bulldogs (4-0) last played Dec. 18, when they defeated Munster 76-61. That was the Mustangs’ season opener. The Bulldogs will play Merrillville on Friday.
COVID-19 protocols grounded Crown Point, which returned to practice Jan. 7, according to coach Clint Swan. The Bulldogs were supposed to play in the Noblesville Holiday Tournament from Dec. 28 to 30 and had games scheduled against McCutcheon on Jan. 2 and Michigan City on Jan. 8. The Michigan City game was moved to Jan. 27, and the McCutcheon game was switched to Feb. 20.
Rankings: In polls from The Associated Press, Crown Point is ranked No. 10, West Side is No. 11 and Chesterton is No. 14 in Class 4A; Hammond is No. 2 in 3A; Lake Station and Andrean are tied at No. 16 in 2A; and Kouts is No. 2 and Washington Township is No. 14 in Class 1A.