Tyus Jones says playing for his “hometown team,” the Minnesota Timberwolves, would only add to his dream of playing in the NBA.
After being poked and prodded in the ultimate pre-draft evaluation that is the NBA Combine, Jones will meet with Timberwolves head coach/president Flip Saunders on Friday, the Star Tribune reports.
“It went by quick, but it has been a long journey,” Jones said Thursday. “It has been a lot of hours in the gym, a lot of shots put up, a lot of sprints ran and a lot of hard work put into it. To finally be right here, I’m blessed.”
Jones, who led Apple Valley to a championship and did the same as a freshman at Duke, is projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick, so the Wolves, who will pick in the top four of the draft, would likely have to trade the 31st and 36th overall picks to move back into the first round to get Jones.
Mid-major guard calls out Jones
Jones isn’t the top point guard in the draft, but that didn’t stop Murray State’s Cameron Payne from naming Jones when asked if there is a player he thinks is unjustly being rated higher. Why?
“Just because he played on a great team. He got a lot of exposure through that team. He didn’t have to carry his team like I did,” Payne explained, per the Lexington Herald-Leader.
FYI: Tyus Jones measures at Chicago combine: 6-0 1/4 w/out shoes, 6-2 with, 184.6 lbs, 6.5 percent body fat, 8-1 reach, 6-5 wingspan
— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) May 13, 2015
Jones didn’t attack Payne’s ability, but he did confidently express that he thinks he’s the best pure point guard in the draft.
“There are a lot of great point guards in this draft. It’s heavy at that position,” Jones said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “I’m not necessarily an attacking point guard, a driving point guard, but I do feel I’m the best pure point guard as far as running a team.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_rqkPFoOfo
"Go get it!" @tyusjones06 @Duke_MBB #NBACombine https://t.co/iK5Qf1Dz1A
— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) May 14, 2015
The @Duke_MBB champ @tyusjones06 explodes off the start line in his 3/4 sprint #NBACombine https://t.co/ECrgew7AMn
— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) May 14, 2015
