Marquette signee Jones leads ECS to double OT win
There were 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation Tuesday night, and ECS trailed by two. The Eagles had to go the length of the floor. Thomas Kizer inbounded the ball to 6-foot-3 Marquette signee Kameron Jones, who advanced the ball to Kenny Cox.
"We ran out of options with the play we had and I was just trying to get it in the corner," said Jones, who scored a game-high 22 points in a 61-54 double overtime win over Tipton-rosemark. "Thomas made a good read and pointed for me to go forward. I went forward, Thomas threw a nice bounce pass, I looked up and saw there were two seconds left and passed Kenny the ball and just hoped he made the layup."
Cox's shot was blocked, but the referee called goaltending which sent the game into overtime. The Eagles won in double overtime.
And while Jones is known as one of the top scorers in Shelby County averaging over 20 points per game, ECS coach Willie Jenkins said that his playmaking ability is also a big part of what makes his game so effective.
"I think when he gets to college a lot of people are going to see some things that they don't see right now," Jenkins said. "Kam is an elite passer with an elite IQ. He really takes the game and sees certain things that other kids his age don't see."
When Jones signed with Marquette in November, Golden Eagles coach Steve Wojciechowski described him as a "hidden gem" in an interview on the schools' website. The three-star guard is the No. 4 prospect in the state according to the 247Sports composite.
Jones was unranked as recently as this summer, and committed to Marquette a month after he received the offer. He said he was happy to sign early and get the decision out of the way and that he's looking forward to playing for Wojciechowski.
Jones said that he's continuing to improve the physical aspects of his game as he prepares for college.
"Getting stronger, getting faster, just polishing up every facet of the game as well as I can," Jones said.
Jenkins said that ECS has won two of the three games it has played in overtime and that the team practices those situations regularly. He said they got the result they wanted, getting the ball to Jones and letting him make a play.
"We go over these situations a lot," Jenkins said. "That's one of the things we try to focus on, the detail and the discipline of the game. Because you're going to be in games like this. I think we were ready for this situation and we found a way to get it done."
Television
(Subject to change) COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL 4 p.m. — Usc-stanford, FS1 6 p.m. — Wichita St.-memphis, ESPN2
6 p.m. — Rutgers-penn St., BTN
6 p.m. — SE Missouri St.-morehead St., ESPNU
8 p.m. — Portland-byu, CBSSN 8 p.m. — Arizona-arizona St., ESPN
8 p.m. — Ucla-california, ESPNU 8 p.m. — Indiana-iowa, FS1 9 p.m. — Utah-washington St., PAC-12N
9 p.m. — San Francisco-santa Clara, FSSE
10 p.m. — Colorado St.-utah St., FS1
COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
2 p.m. — Michigan-ohio St., BTN
4 p.m. — Iowa-maryland, BTN 5 p.m. — Miami-pittsburgh, ACCN
5:30 p.m. — Georgia-south Carolina, SECN 6 p.m. — Uconn-tennessee, ESPN
6 p.m. — Notre Dame-virginia Tech, FSSE
7 p.m. — NC State-florida St., ACCN
7:30 p.m. — Kentucky-auburn, SECN
8 p.m. — Syracuse-louisville, ESPN2
GOLF
11 a.m. — LPGA: The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, GOLF
2 p.m. — PGA: The Desert Classic, GOLF 6 p.m. — Champions Tour: The Mitsubishi Electric Championship, GOLF
1 a.m. (Fri.) — EPGA: The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, GOLF
PRO BASKETBALL
6:30 p.m. — NBA: Lakersbucks, TNT
9 p.m. — NBA: Pelicans-jazz, TNT
PRO HOCKEY
6 p.m. — NHL: Lightning-blue Jackets, NBCSN
8:30 p.m. — NHL: Canadienscanucks, NBCSN
SAILING
11:30 p.m. — America's Cup: Prada Challenger Series (taped), NBCSN
SOCCER
1:55 p.m. — Premier League: Burnley-liverpool, NBCSN
Radio
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL 6 p.m. — Wichita St.-memphis, WEGR 102.7 & WREC 600
7:45 p.m. — Indiana-iowa, WHBQ 87.7/96.1/560