David “Deivi” Jones is the gift that keeps on giving

Raise your hand if you thought David Jones would be this good. Before you do so claiming to be a prophet, let me add context. Raise your hand if you thought through 12 games as a Memphis Tiger, David Jones would average 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, shoot 41.9% from 3, and rank 7th in Kenpom’s Player of the Year Standings.

Yeah, didn’t think so. But if David Jones, his friends and family who have known him since David’s days playing for the U15 Dominican Republic National Team, or past coaches more familiar with his game read this article, they likely would have. If you and I were more familiar with his story, we might have too. And that’s the main point I want to drive home.

The play of David Jones shouldn’t shock us. There was always something special about him.

As DePaul basketball writer Chris Pollize wrote, before playing basketball in America, David “Deivi” Jones was a rising star in the Dominican Republic. After his first appearance for his country in the FIBA CENTROBASKET U15 tournament of Latin American countries where he averaged 11.8 points per game, Jones made his mark in the FIBA AMERICAS U16, a tournament of all North and South American countries. Deivi’s 19 points per game were more than current NBA players Jalen Suggs, Scottie Barnes, and James Wiseman.

But Jones wasn’t done.

At the U17 World Cup, which included several future NBA players such as Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley, his 19.7 points per game ranked 3rd among all players. Scouts took notice, and the allure of moving to the States for college basketball was impossible to resist. So, Jones and his family decided it was best for him to come to America and pursue his hoop dreams. But the transition wasn’t easy.

Jones moved to Scott Depot, West Virginia by himself to play basketball at Teays Valley Christian School. Imagine going from a tropical haven in the Dominican Republic to West Virginia with no family and no ability to speak English. The ability he did have was to hoop. And that’s exactly what he did at an elite level for two years in West Virginia. Jones said this about playing high school ball.

“I was getting buckets too easy. You can tell by the fact that I scored 1,000 points in two years.” 

After his 2nd year, Jones was named the best player in the state by MaxPreps.

“On the offensive side of the ball he can just go get a bucket,” said Deivi’s high school coach Travis Tarr. “He’s 6-6, long and extremely strong. Every college coach that we talk to, they know he can get to the basket, he can finish, and he shoots it extremely well out to 23 or 24 feet.”

His impressive play led to several scholarship offers from major college basketball programs such as Houston, Illinois, Clemson, Louisville, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, and St. John’s to name a few. But Jones prioritized one thing: playing time. When DePaul’s former coach Dave Leitao offered Jones a scholarship to play for DePaul, Jones knew the school gave him the best chance to show his skills consistently. Driven by his dream to buy his parents a house, David Jones took his talents to Chicago, Illinois. If only it were that simple though.

Jones still had to complete schooling and graduate high school before joining DePaul and playing his first collegiate basketball game on February 6, 2021. Though his Freshman year where he averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds was nothing special, keep in mind that Jones didn’t play his first game until February and didn’t have a chance to build chemistry with his teammates before the start of the season. With a full offseason and a new coach, Tony Stubblefield (no relation to Bluff City Media’s Kenny Stubblefield, I think) who was also from the Dominican Republic, David Jones was ready to make his mark.

Coach Stubblefield had this to say about Deivi’s potential: “David is a talented player. I love his versatility and he can guard multiple positions, he has a bright upside.” 

DePaul’s new coach had faith in what David Jones could become, and Jones paid it back. After a blazing hot start to the 2021-2022 season averaging 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, he put on a masterful performance against Louisville on the road announcing himself to the country with a then career-high 33 points and 14 rebounds because that’s who he is.

“He’s an alpha out there and always wants the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player,” said DePaul’s Coach Stubblefield.

Jones even became the first player in DePaul’s history to record a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. When the 21-22 season was all said and done, Deivi finished the year with 14.5 points, 7.4 rebounds (team high), 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals. However, he wanted something different.

According to the New York Post’s Zach Braziller, Deivi’s phone lit up like a Christmas tree after Jones entered the transfer portal. But the allure of playing with fellow Dominican Republic national team player, St. John’s big man Joel Soriano, in an uptempo system that fits his game with two pass-first point guards in a city with a strong Latin American community was too much to pass up. Though Jones considered Memphis – perhaps in part because of former Tiger and Dominican Republic national team player Lester Quinones – Jones committed to St. John’s.

Though he still played at a high level averaging 13.2 points, and 6.8 rebounds, his Junior season in the Big Apple didn’t go as expected. For one, St. John’s finished 18-15 overall and 7-13 in the Big East good enough for 8th. Second, Coach Mike Anderson wasn’t the right guy for the job. His offense lacked cohesion and his defense was too chaotic giving up too many easy points. St. John’s fired Coach Anderson on March 10, 2023 and hired former Iona coach Rick Pitino 10 days later. On April 4, David Jones entered the transfer portal for the 2nd time in two years.

As with his first stint in the portal, Jones garnered tons of interest. He was even recruited by Kentucky’s John Calipari. But much like recruiting battles of the past between Penny and the coach up north, Coach Hardaway prevailed landing the dynamic 6’6 wing on June 5.

Perhaps Penny would raise his hand if he read this article. He saw something in David Jones that many top-tier programs, Deivi’s coach at DePaul, his high school coach, and his coaches in the Dominican Republic saw as well.

David Jones has that dog in him.

He plays like every game is his last leaving everything on the court. As a scorer, few match his ability to dominate at all three levels. Leave him open for three? Bad idea. Don’t double him in the post? Stupid. Give him a lane downhill? Automatic two points or a trip to the free throw line. Jones has scored at least 15 points in nine of his first 12 games. This includes a new career-high 36 against Arkansas and a current six-game streak where he’s scored at least 20.

Even with this small sample size, I can confidently say David Jones is as good a pure scorer as anybody to wear Tiger blue. But what makes him a potential All-American are the other aspects of his game.

Rebounding isn’t about some numbers on a stat sheet for Deivi. Every time a ball clanks off the rim or hits the backboard, he attacks the ball like an animal attacks its prey leading Memphis in rebounding. Jones can also guard 1-4 using his impressive instincts and relentless effort to pester anybody who dares score on him. His defensive rating of 97.9 ranks 3rd on the team for players who have played at least 130 minutes thus far. While I would love a playmaking jump from Deivi, his importance to the Tigers is unrivaled.

Now that he’s getting national attention, Jones isn’t a secret anymore. Every Memphis opponent from here on out will focus its game plan on stopping one of the best scorers in America. Sure, most people didn’t see this coming. But even though the country knows about what used to be the Tigers’ best-kept secret, it may not matter.

David Jones is that good, and so is the team around him.