Freshman says attitude changed with Hardaway
Antwann Jones is different. He's not the typical height for a point guard, standing at 6-foot-6. He's not the typical size for a true freshman, weighing a muscular 210 pounds. And he claims to not be the same person from his immature days arguing with coaches on the sideline while playing AAU basketball.
He no longer has the same expectations that go along with being a top-rated shooting guard in the country at one point, either, but the freshman is all right with that.
"I had to humble myself," Jones admitted. "I had a really big ego, but now I've just come back to reality. I've realized that you can't cheat the work and expect results. I have to put my head down and keep grinding."
On Thursday, when the Memphis men's basketball team held its unofficial media day, Jones spoke with local reporters for the first time since he committed to the Tigers out of the blue one weekend last April.
He had signed with Texas A&M four months earlier and suddenly became the highest-rated prospect in coach Penny Hardaway's 2018 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports.
Hardaway called Jones' arrival "a blessing" Thursday, but his late availability also served as a reminder of what he lost during the recruiting process.
Not long ago, Jones was considered a five-star prospect. But that distinction was gone by the time he got here. He's now a four-star and the No. 21 shooting guard in the country, according to 247Sports.
As a junior in high school, Jones was dismissed from the Oak Ridge basketball team in Florida for rules violations but returned to the team the following year.
"I don't want to put the blame on oth-
er people for my own mistakes," Jones said. "I got hurt twice, and I had some attitude problems, but that's over with. I'm a completely new person since I've been at Memphis."
It's a lesson Jones wishes he would have learned before he got caught up bragging about his recruiting ranking. In retrospect, he said, it kept him from achieving his ultimate goal in high school, which was to become a McDonald's All-American.
"It hurt," Jones said. "I knew that in order to reach any goals that I had in the future I needed to change who I am completely. Because, obviously, I wasn't doing something right."
Texas A&M ultimately granted Jones a release from his letter of intent so he could play for Memphis. Part of the reason Jones changed his mind was the feeling that Hardaway, after the narrative on him had already changed, would give him a fair chance to prove he's the player many people thought he would become.
Hardaway said Tuesday that if there's anyone on the team who reminds him of himself, it's Jones. The Tampa native is one of five players Hardaway is experimenting with at point guard.
"He doesn't let me take plays off," Jones said. "Even if it's the smallest mistake, he makes me do things over and over again. He's really hard on me, but I love him for that."
Jones often imagines himself in Hardaway's shoes as well, watching his coach's NBA highlights online and studying his demeanor.
Even months later, the freshman sometimes pinches himself at the opportunity to play for a coach he has grown to admire like Hardaway.
"It's still not real to me sometimes," Jones said. "But when I see him, I know it means it's time to go to work."