Matt Jones
- Year: Junior
- Height: 6-foot-5
- Position: Guard
- Last year's stats: 21.7 MPG, 6.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG
Game breakdown: After a sub-par freshman season shooting the ball, Jones returned to Durham last season with a much-improved shooting stroke. The DeSoto, Texas, native knocked down 37.6 percent of his treys last season—more than a 20 percent improvement from his first year in Durham, when he nailed just three—and looked more comfortable attacking the basket.
Jones' game has never been predicated on flash, but rather consistent scoring and stellar defense. At 6-foot-5, he has the length to defend the taller guards in the ACC, but can also move his feet to stay with the quickest the conference has to offer. That combination of defensive tenacity and his even-keel demeanor helped earn him the nod as a captain on this year's team, and Jones will likely reprise his role as a starter in the Blue Devil backcourt when the season gets underway, provided he can recover from a groin injury suffered in Duke's exhibition opener Oct. 30.
Role on the team: Jones' newfound 3-point stroke forced opposing defenses to stay close to him on the wing last season, which made life easier for Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow. But that trio is now off in the NBA, meaning Jones' offensive production must take another step up in 2015-16. Don't expect Jones to have the ball in his hands too much—he plays well off the ball, finding the open spot on the floor to spot up for a perimeter shot—but the Blue Devils will count on him to pick up a good chunk of the scoring load lost from last season. Jones may also see more time bringing the ball up the floor for head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who cannot play freshman point guard Derryck Thornton for all 40 minutes and thus will need Jones, Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard to become de facto point guards at times.
NBA Comparison: A defensive stalwart who shoots around 36 percent from downtown? Sounds an awful like Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics. Bradley currently ranks second on the Celtics in scoring at 12.4 points per game, but his true value lies on the defensive end of the court. The sixth-year pro established himself as a great on-ball defender while playing at Texas for Rick Barnes. Jones is about three inches taller than Bradley, but his ability to take pressure off of his team's floor general while applying it on the other end draws great parallels with Bradley's game.
Projected Statline: 33.0 MPG, 9.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG
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