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Detroit Pistons 2020 Draft profile: Duke’s Tre Jones

By Ari Eizen

CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 08: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils during pregame introductions during a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on February 08, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Duke won 98-96 in OT. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 08: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils during pregame introductions during a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on February 08, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Duke won 98-96 in OT. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /
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Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Tre Jones’ strengths

Jones is a floor general. He has always been a point guard and the way he controls and examines the whole court shows. Whether it is in transition or in the half-court on offense, he knows he can find the spot that will put his teammates in the best situation to score.

His court vision is one of the best in college basketball, which in turn helped Duke have the second-highest scoring offense in all of Division I basketball.

Over his two years at Duke, Jones had an impressive 2.88:1 assist to turnover ratio which shows that Jones would not turn the ball over much and would help the team.

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Additionally, Jones has a pass-first mentality, so he likes to use his quickness to break down the defense and find the open man when driving to the basket.

While Jones was on a crowded team during his freshman year, he had more space to operate with this year which led to his scoring each game increasing from 9.4 to 16.2 points per game.

On top of his offensive skills, Jones has the ability to be something special on defense. Not only did he win the ACC player of the year, but he also took home the defensive player of the year award as well.

Jones is a ball-hawk and can shut down almost any guard he goes up against. He is one of the best perimeter guards in college basketball and could be the best defensive guard in the whole draft this year.

Most fans and scouts tend to look at all the tangible skills that a player has, whether it’s their size or their ability to shoot the ball, but one of Jones’ best traits is an intangible one. His leadership is something that can help turn the tide for a team.

While he wasn’t the most skilled player on last year’s Duke team or even this year, his leadership made him the glue for both the teams and turned him into an indispensable player during his tenure as a Blue Devil.