NIU recruiting update:

Tavon Jones - Transferring from Odessa College (Odessa, TX) - JUCO Sophomore - 6'3" - SG - 3* from Linden HS (Linden, NJ) - has started his collegiate career at Odessa (Odessa, TX) and as a sophomore he started 5 of 35 games averaging 13.8 minutes and 6.5 ppg shooting 47.8% from the field (30% 3PT) and 63.9% FT. I believe, even though he graduated from HS two years ago, he has only played 1 season at Odessa so he may be an incoming sophomore if he signs. In regards to Odessa College, there's literally nothing special about them. They went 14-16 last season and lost their last 5 games. So, if one were to try to look at his pedestrian numbers and draw some conclusion about him being a first year played being buried behind a loaded roster, it doesn't appear he was. Now, he was a 3* recruit coming out of HS so apparently there was something there. He very well could have been injured his first year, which is why he didn't play. Coming out of high school he had a ton of offers that he passed on for one reason or another (Eastern Kentucky, Massachusetts, Quinnipiac, Niagra, Hofstra, Buffalo, Stoney Brook, Seton Hall, St. Peter's, and Saint Joseph's). As of right now, NIU is the only school to make an offer on him as a transfer. After a little digging, it seems people (message board types) were pretty aware that he couldn't qualify academically and would be going to either a prep school or JUCO. One commenter even stated that he expected to see Jones in a few years in a major or mid-major program in a couple of years with a 3 point shot added to his game. Judging from his stats this past year, that didn't happen and it appears he couldn't shoot the 3 in high school either. Doesn't look like he can shoot free throws either. If I were a guessing man, I'd guess this guy goes to the basket. Eugene German but can't shoot. In my opinion, going off of what I've learned about him in a very short information search, adding Jones for next year would be a waste of a roster spot/scholarship. If you're going to take a shot on a guy with bad grades, at least get one that can score.

Obvioulsy, I am not thrilled with this as I've been stumping pretty hard for Adong Makoui. To me, Jones is redundant on the roster and there was a much bigger need for Makoui. Jones was pretty highly regarded in HS but it appears his shot never materialized at the JUCO level like others hoped it would. If I were to speculate, I'd guess he does most of his scoring near the rim. Which is fine, but I don't see him being successful doing that in the MAC without having an outside shot (and teams won't be afraid to foul a 63% free throw shooter).

So, I've got to find something to be positive about. He's really quick and appears to be a plus ball handler. From the few videos I saw (most of them are from when he was in high school), he sees the floor well and sees open teammates. He's a crafty passer and plays hard on the defensive end of the floor and is creative in how he finishes at the basket.

Maybe the gameplan next season will be to play tight D and have a bunch of guys that can shoot the 3 and extend a defense opening up the middle for a guy like Jones. I don't know....I'm grasping at straws.

Honestly, he's not bad (well, he might be). He has potential but I don't know how much of that has run out over the past two years. I just would have been happier with Makoui on the roster.

***UPDATE***

I mistakenly posted Jones' freshman numbers. As a sophomore at OCC, Jones started 24 of 30 games averaging 25 minutes and 13.7 ppg shooting 49.8% from the field (35.6% 3PT - 128 of 179) and 72.3% FT. He also averaged 4.8 rpg and 1.8 apg.

Overall, yes, I like these numbers a lot better than what he posted as a freshman. I still think adding a big man like Makoui as opposed to another guard would have been the better move, but Jones looks like he may have turned the corner with his outside shot, so that is a big improvement over what I previously thought he had done (or not done).