The only returning starter from the Blue Devils' national championship game against Wisconsin may have the most active hands on the court, but Matt Jones wants he and his teammates to be still this season.
"‘Be still’ to me can mean a lot of things. For us, it was kind of just embracing our own mantra, our own journey," Jones said. "‘Be still’ is realizing all the hard work that we’ve put in up to this point and will put in up to March. We can hone in on that and rest on that. If we do that, it’s kind of not worrying about ‘Oh, we lost’ or ‘This isn’t going our way.’ If we just continue to trust in the process, trust that we’re hard workers and trust in the coaches, then we will succeed and get to where we need to be."
Jones' journey has more or less followed along those lines. As the quintessential glue guy now getting set to step into a larger role, being still may be more important than ever.
Jones was recruited out of high school for his sharp-shooting skills, which complemented his stalwart defensive abilities. But those talents did not manifest themselves at the college level right away—as a freshman, Jones averaged just 1.8 points in 7.3 minutes per game and shot 3-for-21 from beyond the arc. His shot lacked the expected smooth rotation coming out of his hand, and he took a back seat to Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon and Tyler Thornton as complements to stars Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood.
The DeSoto, Texas, native slowly found his place at the beginning of last season with strong performances against Stanford and Furman. But Jones' ascendance from surprise scorer to consistent role player accelerated once head coach Mike Krzyzewski began using Justise Winslow more at the power forward slot. That tactical shift opened up another perimeter spot, and by the middle of February, Jones was an established starter.
The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 7.4 points per game in his final 19 contests of the year, as the team went 12-1 once he assumed a starting role for good.
Against Gonzaga with a trip to the Final Four on the line, Jones delivered his signature game in a Duke uniform, torching the Bulldogs in the Elite Eight with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown. Thanks to his multiple key plays down the stretch and trademark defense, Duke advanced to Indianapolis with a 66-52 victory.
With Cook and Jones now plying their trades at the professional level, Jones is expected to step up as the leader of a crowded backcourt. Sophomore Grayson Allen is seeking the same consistency that Jones found in his second year in Durham, and Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard and Derryck Thornton will need time to fully adjust to the college level.
Whether Jones keeps his starting role—as he has so far through exhibition play—or eventually cedes a spot to one of the younger guards, there is no question that his demeanor and attitude make him a terrific mentor for a young Blue Devil team. And regardless of whether or not his 37.6 percent long-range clip continues into his junior year, Jones will always have his gritty defense to fall back on.
"Matt Jones is a very, very important guy for our team. He has a level of maturity that is beyond his years," Krzyzewski said. "Anybody who is guarded by Matt Jones is going to have a hard time."
Jones is the only remaining scholarship player in his class after Parker left early for the NBA and Semi Ojeleye transferred to Southern Methodist last December. In each of his three seasons, he has been part of a Duke team with many elite underclassmen. He is accustomed to the changes, and has stressed taking things one year at a time.
As the pieces of the puzzle evolve around him, Jones' focus is on using his experience to guide the newcomers. At the same time, he must carve out a new role for himself and be at ease with it.
“We just have to continue to embrace our moment,” Jones said. “One medium through it all, they’ve all been great guys, very unselfish players. It’s very easy to adapt with them because they’re willing to be team players.”
Jones actually may have to do the most adapting of any of the guards. He is ready to lead a perimeter-oriented backcourt, having tweaked his footwork over the offseason to improve his jump shot. But with a freshman in Thornton as the only true point guard on the team, Jones has shared time with Allen and Kennard in taking the ball up the court.
His versatility is precisely why he is so important to such a young team—a team that has not yet figured out what its strengths and weaknesses are.
“He’s glue in the sense that he can do everything, but he’s so much more than that too,” graduate student and tri-captain Marshall Plumlee said. “He can be our leading scorer, he can be our top defender—he’s a man of many talents."
Jones has never asked for, and has not always been given, the credit he is due for his role as the team’s backbone. When the championship team visited the White House in September, President Barack Obama singled out the contributions of every Blue Devil who played in the title game, except Jones. The ACC viewed him as a backup—despite starting the last 13 games of the season, Jones finished second in the voting for ACC Sixth Man of the Year.
Always one to work diligently out of the spotlight, Jones' time to shine may be on the horizon. With an increased role this season, his steady contributions could quickly gain the attention he has long deserved.
“I just have to bring that toughness,” Jones said. “I feel that I’ve always been a team-first guy, but being a captain, you definitely have to epitomize that."
As a freshman, Jones was anything but consistent. But he stayed the course, found his identity within Duke's system and developed into the rock of an ever-changing program.
"He’s probably the most consistent person on our team in terms of energy, effort and enthusiasm," Plumlee said. "Everyone loves Matt Jones."
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