Post by elp525 on Mar 7, 2011 8:00:41 GMT -5
March 6, 2011
No longer burdened by pressure, Mountaineer junior playing his best ball
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - Sunday's announcement of the all-Big East basketball teams pretty much sums up the kind of season Kevin Jones has endured.
A first-team pick on the preseason all-league squad, Jones was relegated to honorable mention status in the postseason list. That he was the only Mountaineer mentioned anywhere - there were 20 players picked to the first, second and third teams and honorable mention, along with six others on the all-rookie squad - is in no way shocking. That's simply the makeup of a team that managed to win 20 games in the country's toughest conference without a real standout player.
Still, as the regular season ends and the postseason begins with the start of the Big East tournament Tuesday in New York, there are definite signs that Jones is beginning to reassert himself:
Saturday's 25-point, 16-rebound performance in a 72-70 win over No. 11 Louisville was Jones' third straight double-double and his fourth in the past five games. He has eight of those this season, but the first four were spread over 25 games.
In the last three games, Jones has made 21-of-41 field goal attempts (51.2 percent) after going 10-for-32 (31.3) the previous three games. He has also made 13 of his last 15 free throws after going through an awful stretch when he missed 10 straight over four games.
In three of Jones' four recent double-doubles, the Mountaineers have beaten a ranked team - No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 16 Connecticut and No. 11 Louisville. In fact, when Jones has had double-doubles this season, WVU is 8-0, but just 12-10 when he does not.
Those are all just numbers, though. Here is the most encouraging aspect of Jones' play of late, and it manifested itself most prominently Saturday against Louisville: He is making the mid-range jump shots that were his calling card last season, but had all but dried up this winter.
The reason? Jones said it's because he has cleared his mind.
"I'm just being more aggressive and playing more worry-free. I wasn't doing that before,'' the 6-foot-9 junior said. "I guess I was putting too much pressure on myself.''
And in a way, that goes back to his spot on that preseason all-league team that was chosen by the coaches and announced in late October.
Jones was coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds on a team that won 31 games and reached the Final Four, but he was by no means the focal point of the team or of opposing scouting reports. Yes, he was the second-leading scorer for the Mountaineers, but that was a squad that included NBA draft picks Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks, along with Wellington Smith. He was a role player and played his role well.
Without those three, however, Jones was not only expected to carry a larger load, but he was to do it with defenses very aware of him. His scoring and rebounding numbers pretty much stayed the same - Jones is averaging 13.1 points and 7.4 rebounds - but that's not what was expected of him.
And perhaps the pressure wore on him.
"It was kind of a burden to live up to that,'' Jones said of the expectations. "And I put so much pressure on myself.''
Lately, though, he has cast aside that pressure and tried to simply play the way he knows how to play. Against Louisville, he got a lot of points around the basket - he had 11 offensive rebounds, made four baskets on tips or follows and twice went to the foul line - but he also made six of those jump shots that were almost automatic last year. Three came along the baseline and the other three from around the foul line.
He's not hitting his 3-pointers at nearly the same rate (25.8 percent as opposed to 40.4 last season), but West Virginia is most effective when he's scoring inside the arc, anyway.
"It was more frustrating and disappointing than anything else,'' Jones said of his struggles with his mid-range shot this season. "But I've been working on my jump shot and my form and I've been able to improve it.''
And as a result, the Mountaineers have improved, as well.
BRIEFLY: Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough was the only unanimous selection to the all-league first team, whose other five members include Connecticut's Kemba Walker, Georgetown's Austin Freeman, Pitt's Ashton Gibbs, Providence's Marshon Brooks and Dwight Hardy of St. John's. The league player of the year will come from that group and will be announced Tuesday in New York, along with the coach of the year, rookie of the year and scholar athlete of the year.
West Virginia's draw in the Big East tournament could have been better. The Mountaineers earned a first-round bye by finishing as the No. 6 seed and will play in the second round at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday's game between Marquette and Providence. But while Marquette has struggled of late, the Golden Eagles appear to be the only league team that is actually playing this week with an NCAA berth on the line. Ten others are considered locks and five have no chance unless they can win five games in five days.
Just for the record, had West Virginia not made that miracle comeback to beat Louisville, the Mountaineers would have been the seventh seed and played at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Villanova-South Florida winner. That draw now goes to Cincinnati.
No longer burdened by pressure, Mountaineer junior playing his best ball
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - Sunday's announcement of the all-Big East basketball teams pretty much sums up the kind of season Kevin Jones has endured.
A first-team pick on the preseason all-league squad, Jones was relegated to honorable mention status in the postseason list. That he was the only Mountaineer mentioned anywhere - there were 20 players picked to the first, second and third teams and honorable mention, along with six others on the all-rookie squad - is in no way shocking. That's simply the makeup of a team that managed to win 20 games in the country's toughest conference without a real standout player.
Still, as the regular season ends and the postseason begins with the start of the Big East tournament Tuesday in New York, there are definite signs that Jones is beginning to reassert himself:
Saturday's 25-point, 16-rebound performance in a 72-70 win over No. 11 Louisville was Jones' third straight double-double and his fourth in the past five games. He has eight of those this season, but the first four were spread over 25 games.
In the last three games, Jones has made 21-of-41 field goal attempts (51.2 percent) after going 10-for-32 (31.3) the previous three games. He has also made 13 of his last 15 free throws after going through an awful stretch when he missed 10 straight over four games.
In three of Jones' four recent double-doubles, the Mountaineers have beaten a ranked team - No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 16 Connecticut and No. 11 Louisville. In fact, when Jones has had double-doubles this season, WVU is 8-0, but just 12-10 when he does not.
Those are all just numbers, though. Here is the most encouraging aspect of Jones' play of late, and it manifested itself most prominently Saturday against Louisville: He is making the mid-range jump shots that were his calling card last season, but had all but dried up this winter.
The reason? Jones said it's because he has cleared his mind.
"I'm just being more aggressive and playing more worry-free. I wasn't doing that before,'' the 6-foot-9 junior said. "I guess I was putting too much pressure on myself.''
And in a way, that goes back to his spot on that preseason all-league team that was chosen by the coaches and announced in late October.
Jones was coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds on a team that won 31 games and reached the Final Four, but he was by no means the focal point of the team or of opposing scouting reports. Yes, he was the second-leading scorer for the Mountaineers, but that was a squad that included NBA draft picks Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks, along with Wellington Smith. He was a role player and played his role well.
Without those three, however, Jones was not only expected to carry a larger load, but he was to do it with defenses very aware of him. His scoring and rebounding numbers pretty much stayed the same - Jones is averaging 13.1 points and 7.4 rebounds - but that's not what was expected of him.
And perhaps the pressure wore on him.
"It was kind of a burden to live up to that,'' Jones said of the expectations. "And I put so much pressure on myself.''
Lately, though, he has cast aside that pressure and tried to simply play the way he knows how to play. Against Louisville, he got a lot of points around the basket - he had 11 offensive rebounds, made four baskets on tips or follows and twice went to the foul line - but he also made six of those jump shots that were almost automatic last year. Three came along the baseline and the other three from around the foul line.
He's not hitting his 3-pointers at nearly the same rate (25.8 percent as opposed to 40.4 last season), but West Virginia is most effective when he's scoring inside the arc, anyway.
"It was more frustrating and disappointing than anything else,'' Jones said of his struggles with his mid-range shot this season. "But I've been working on my jump shot and my form and I've been able to improve it.''
And as a result, the Mountaineers have improved, as well.
BRIEFLY: Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough was the only unanimous selection to the all-league first team, whose other five members include Connecticut's Kemba Walker, Georgetown's Austin Freeman, Pitt's Ashton Gibbs, Providence's Marshon Brooks and Dwight Hardy of St. John's. The league player of the year will come from that group and will be announced Tuesday in New York, along with the coach of the year, rookie of the year and scholar athlete of the year.
West Virginia's draw in the Big East tournament could have been better. The Mountaineers earned a first-round bye by finishing as the No. 6 seed and will play in the second round at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday's game between Marquette and Providence. But while Marquette has struggled of late, the Golden Eagles appear to be the only league team that is actually playing this week with an NCAA berth on the line. Ten others are considered locks and five have no chance unless they can win five games in five days.
Just for the record, had West Virginia not made that miracle comeback to beat Louisville, the Mountaineers would have been the seventh seed and played at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Villanova-South Florida winner. That draw now goes to Cincinnati.
