Perry Jones Has The Makings of a Bust

      Watching Baylor's sophomore forward, there certainly is a whole lot to like. Just take a glance. 6'11" with a tremendous wingspan. Super-athletic, agile, versatile enough to play inside or out. He can play the wing and look as smooth as Tracy McGrady or post-up smaller defenders and put up solid numbers. But, then of course, are the other times, when Jones simply disappears from games; he disappoints just as much as he tantalizes scouts. The potential is clearly defined, but he rarely lives up to it.

        Look at Jones' play entering the showdown rematch with Kansas: his first 20/10 game comes back-to-back with another 20/10 performance. He backs that up with a solid, 15-points (team-high) and 5-rebounds against a tough Texas A&M team on the road. So things are looking up for Jones, elevating his stock to as high as the point where he is in the mix with the likes of Harrison Barnes (UNC) and Andre Drummond (UConn) for the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Scouts were drooling over the potential matchup between Jones and fellow-top ten pick Jayhawk Thomas Robinson.

And Perry Jones came out flat. Difficult to imagine in a game amongst top ten teams, vying for a Big 12 title and a shot at redemption for the Bears who had previously  gotten dominated by KU in Lawrence not so long ago. But when Kansas went on a run (14-3 to end the first half, 14-0 to start the second half), Jones was nowhere to be found. The most talented player of the floor for Baylor accounted for one missed jumper and 1-of-2 from the foul line in the first-half run and 0-for-2 shooting with two fouls during the second-half burst.

        Jones' latest passive performance on the biggest stage of the season capped a 1-for-8 shooting night totaling 5 points and 3 rebounds for the starting forward. Not exactly what we were hoping for from a players that scouts have been calling a "surefire lottery pick" since high school.


By President Corey Ruff - 2 - 8 - 12