Jones, who at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds is serving as Marquette’s backup center these days, played 15 minutes in Saturday’s victory over Cincinnati and scored consecutive three-point baskets during an important Golden Eagles’ run late in the first half.
“He gives us a boost of energy that we definitely need off the bench,” said guard Darius Johnson-Odom. “Even though he hasn’t played a lot, he’s a great kid and his basketball IQ is at a high level and he knows everything that we’re doing whether he’s in or out. For him to make those 2 threes was a great opportunity for us and him.”
Cincinnati was still lingering within two when Jones sank a three-point shot to give Marquette a 35-30 lead with 4 minutes 52 seconds left in the first half. After a Cincinnati turnover, Jones hit another three and the Golden Eagles were up by eight with 4:22 left. A tip-in by Vander Blue then put Marquette ahead, 40-30, with 3:44 left.
After two Cincinnati layups, Blue made a three and Johnson-Odom scored twice on layups and Marquette held a 47-35 halftime lead.
“My teammates always give me a boost of confidence,” said Jones. “I come in every day and work hard in practice. I’m always thinking my name is going to be called. Just to be in a situation where my teammates have confidence in me to make the shot, it gives me even greater confidence to shoot it.”
Jones said that he didn’t dare look over at the bench when he made his threes.
“If I would have looked at the bench I think I would have cracked a big smile because I know they went wild when I hit the first one,” said Jones. “So when I shot the second one, I just tried to stay locked into the game.”
Jones also played well in the loss at Notre Dame on Feb. 4, scoring eight points with three rebounds in 19 minutes. He has played in 22 games and is averaging 9.3 minutes per game.
He recorded season highs of 10 points in the season opener against Mount St. Mary’s and six rebounds against Vanderbilt on Dec. 29.
“Mellow plays no meaningful minutes through the first 24 games and he is still a good enough person that he wants to be coached,” said coach Buzz Williams. “He’s still a smart enough player that whether I sub him at (either forward or center), he knows every single thing that’s going on. He guards whoever and he plays 19 minutes at Notre Dame because Jamil (Wilson) gets two fouls in the first five minutes and he has eight and (three).
“He plays (five) minutes at DePaul with two turnovers and then he comes in (against Cincinnati). We’re down, 16-4, and we call timeout. Seven minutes later Jamil gets his second foul and Mellow goes in. Mellow has not made a three in Big East play and he makes two in that run and Darius is more excited for Mellow than Mellow is for himself. I just think that speaks to who he is.”
No comments:
Post a Comment