Jones proving to be quick study
Makes smooth transition from point guard to shooting guard
Having played point guard since the age of 4, Kenneth Jones grew up trying to model his game after his favorite player, the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo. There was just one little problem.
“I’m a Knicks fan,” the Hillside, New Jersey, native said with a laugh. “So you’re not supposed to like the Celtics. But when your team plays them so many times, you just see them out there on the court, and he’s just a guy that I admired.”
NBA fandom aside, Jones developed into a capable point guard of his own at Loyola Maryland. Last season, he led the Patriot League in assists per game (4.6) and registered seven or more assists a career-high eight times. With Jones, the Greyhounds ranked 51st among all NCAA Division I teams in assists per game (15).
This fall, however, Jones is shifting from point guard to shooting guard. In the team’s first three games, the graduate student ranks second in scoring at 15.7 points per game, leads in assists at 3.3 and is tied for second in steals at 1.7. He had 18 points, four assists and three steals in Sunday’s 75-70 win against Brown before an announced 1,079 at Reitz Arena in Baltimore to help Loyola (1-2) capture its first win of the season.
Jones’ versatility is appreciated by coach Tavaras Hardy.
“It’s been fun to watch his growth, especially the last couple of years,” he said. “He understands that this year, we need him to be aggressive. We need him to score the ball, we need him to shoot with confidence, and that’s the way he’s been attacking practices. So I’m looking forward to him having a great season just playing a different role than he has. I think he’s going to be important for us.”
Jones’ roots at the point guard position seemed predestined. He quipped that even at an early age, he was often the shortest player on his teams. At 6 feet and 187 pounds, he is tied for the third-shortest player among the Greyhounds, trailing only 5-7 senior guard Alex Jackson (Boys’ Latin) and 5-8 freshman guard Deon Perry (Mount Carmel).
Playing point guard fit Jones’ style. “Being the point guard, I liked making the decisions and putting the ball in my teammates’ hands so that they could score,” he said.
Choosing Loyola over Towson, St. Joseph’s, Princeton and Boston University, Jones did not average more than six points and three
assists in his first three seasons. But last winter, he started all 30 games and ranked third on the team in points (8.9) and minutes (33) per game.
Jones attributed his personal success to the play of his teammates.
“When you’ve got guys who can score, it’s easy to find them because they get themselves in the right position,” he explained. “I just had to get them the ball. We also have bigs who play great at the pick-and-roll. So I just had to throw it up to them so that they could score.”
In the offseason, Hardy approached Jones about making a position change for two reasons. One was the addition of Perry, who also played point guard and was a Baltimore Sun All-Metro selection as a senior. The other involved the transfer of shooting guard Cam Spencer, who led last year’s squad in points (18.9) and steals (2.3) and ranked second in rebounds (4.8) and assists (3.2).
“When you lose a guy like Cam Spencer [to Rutgers], you need someone to replace that role,” Hardy said. “He won’t do it exactly like Cam did it, but having him as a veteran to relieve some of that loss that we have with Cam, that should work for us.”
Any trepidation Perry might have had about pushing out last season’s starter was wiped away by Jones’ treatment of him.
“When I came in, it was always a warm welcome,” said Perry, who has averaged 10.3
points and 1.7 assists thus far. “It was a good transition between the two of us. There was nothing personal. It was all about competing.”
Jones said he had no objections to making room for Perry.
“He’s a great passer, he’s a great on-ball defender, he can get his shot whenever he wants,” Jones said. “So he can definitely play.”
Perhaps the biggest adaptation for Jones is resisting his pass-first mentality.
“It’s tough because that hasn’t been the way I played, but I think the guys understand,” he said. “I think I can still look for them to make plays, but they’re constantly telling me to look for my shot. So I appreciate them for that.”
Perry said he continues to lean on Jones for advice on playing point guard at the collegiate level.
“He pushes me in practice every day to be the player I am,” Perry said. “If he sees something that I don’t see on the court, he explains it to me. During the game, he explained a couple things to me. He’s definitely a good leader. He shows me the way on what I need to improve and where he sees the open holes for him and the rest of the team to score.”
Jones, who graduated in January with a bachelor’s in business administration and is pursuing a master’s in marketing, said he is eager to help the Greyhounds capture what would be their first Patriot League championship. He also admitted that he can’t help but think about a certain statistical department.
“Putting up points was never my biggest worry,” he said. “I’ve never really thought about it like that. It would be nice for me to lead the Patriot League in assists as an off-theball guard. Maybe that’s something I can do.”