INDIANAPOLIS—Since he put on a Duke uniform, Tyus Jones has never been lacking in confidence. He's had his big moments this season, hitting a dagger 3-pointer to close out a road win at Virginia and taking over down the stretch to force overtime against North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But the freshman's bold actions began several months before he set foot on Duke's campus as a student.
March 21, 2014, was a dark day for Blue Devil fans. On that afternoon, the brief college careers of Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood came to an abrupt end as No. 14 seed Mercer shocked third-seeded Duke in the Round of 64 in Raleigh.
In the aftermath of that loss, Jones sent Mike Krzyzewski a text message, and made his future head coach a promise.
"I just told him 'This won't happen next year,'" Jones said. "Coming in I just wanted to be his point guard, be someone who can help this team. Quinn was obviously going to be the leader of this team, being a senior, [but I wanted] just to take a different type of leadership role and contribute."
The Apple Valley, Minn., native has done more than contribute this season, averaging 11.5 points and 5.7 assists per game and starting all 38 contests for Krzyzewski. In the process, Jones helped Duke achieve another one of his goals by reaching the Final Four—a goal that he documented on Twitter 366 days ago.
"I knew the Final Four would be here in Indianapolis, so that was just something that was a goal of mine and a dream of mine, something that myself and the team would be working hard to get to," Jones said. "It wasn't a prediction or anything crazy."
Jones has stayed away from posting things on Twitter during the NCAA tournament—his last one reads "Time to go dancing" and was sent out on March 15, Selection Sunday—but he said Sunday he has noticed a steady stream of support coming in since the end of Saturday's second semifinal, when Wisconsin ruined Kentucky's bid for a 40-0 season.
There is not a lot of love lost between Minnesota—Jones' home state—and the Badger State, so though most of the country may be rooting for Wisconsin come 9:18 p.m. Monday night, Jones said he believes he and the Blue Devils will have the support of the people from the Land of 10,000 Lakes behind them.
"I've been getting a lot of tweets from people in Minnesota telling me how everyone in Minnesota's cheering for me and 'Don't let Wisconsin win,' things like that," Jones said. "I think a good majority of people in Minnesota will be rooting for Duke—hopefully they are."
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