After bringing in a five-man recruiting class this season, Duke had held just one commitment for any player after the class of 2011. That changed Monday evening, when class of 2013 shooting guard Matt Jones announced on Twitter that he would verbally commit to the Blue Devils.
“After long consideration with my parents and people around me,” Jones wrote, “we felt it was best that I commit to DUKE UNIVERSITY!”
The 6-foot-4 guard from DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Tex. has a well-rounded skill set but is best known for his long-range shooting ability, with range out to 20 feet. Jones, who ranks 21st overall in the class of 2013 according to ESPNU, was also a standout on the Texas AAU circuit, where he got to know Rasheed Sulaimon, currently Duke’s only commit for the class of 2012. Jones visited Duke alongside Sulaimon in November for Countdown to Craziness. Jones chose the Blue Devils over a slew of other schools, including North Carolina. His commitment comes just hours after a report by Evan Daniels of Scout.com which said that the Tar Heels were “making up ground” for Jones.
Jones’ offensive profile should fit nicely into head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s offense, which emphasizes the three-pointer. Jones could also prove pivotal in the recruitment of class of 2013 power forward Julius Randle, who ranks third overall in the ESPNU rankings and plays on the same AAU team as Jones in the Dallas area. The Duke coaching staff continues to work hard on the recruiting trail, with several other candidates from the class of 2013, plus power forward Tony Parker and small forward Shabazz Muhammad considering the Blue Devils in the class of 2012.
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