The list was long.
Tre Jones’ accolades listed in the Minnesota State Tournament’s media program filled up an entire page:
- McDonald’s All-American
- A top recruit nationally
- Duke commit
- Three straight seasons in the state title game
- Two state championships
The list went on — Jones won so many various “Player of the Year” awards over his career at Apple Valley High School that I couldn’t keep them straight.
However, amidst the acclaim was another line in the program: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds.
As I watched Jones play in the first game of the state tournament on March 21, I kept coming back to that line because it is those numbers that are Tre’s next challenge.
In the first game of the state tournament — against Forest Lake — Jones dominated.
It was particularly two of the final defensive possessions that showed why Jones may be the best player in the history of the state. With his team up 57-54, Jones picked the Forest Lake point guard and promptly converted a layup on the other end. And then he did it again, sealing the game with actions — not words — that said, “I am the best.”
These plays to move his Apple Valley Eagles to the state semifinal were quintessential Jones: zone in on the ball defensively, wait until the handle loosens, attack. He is a defensive ballhawk and his coach, Zach Goring, calls him the best defender he has ever coached — high praise for someone who coached Jones’ older brother Tyus.
After that game, Forest Lake head coach Dan Cremisno lauded Jones for his end-of-game defensive performance. When he spoke to the media, Cremisno said there was little his team could do against a point guard who would “be in the NBA in two years.”
Now, those words — on top of Jones’ physical measurables — really stuck out to me.
One-And-Done?
Literally, that is the highest praise a high school player can receive. Being referred to as a sure-fire one-and-done college player means that player is not just an elite college prospect, it means the expectation is elite pro prospect.
Again, the hesitation here is size.
Jones is a half-inch taller than six feet without shoes — one-quarter-inch taller than his brother was measured at Duke — and is thus not physically imposing anywhere near the degree previous one-and-done prospects have been, even for a point guard. For example, the 2017 NBA Draft saw five freshman point guards be selected in the lottery.
- Markelle Fultz
- Lonzo Ball
- De’Aaron Fox
- Fran Ntilikina*
- Dennis Smith Jr.
*From France, but the age of a freshman.
Jones does not match the physical prowess of any of those players when they were in high school. However, what he may be able to do is match and possibly exceed their mental prowess.
But is that enough?
More Than Khalid El-Amin?
While watching Tre play throughout the tournament, I couldn’t help but think of Khalid El-Amin — the former back-to-back-to-back Minnesota state champion in the late 90s. El-Amin is the state’s only other player that has ever racked up a resume similar to Jones in both individual and team success.
Physically, the 5-foot-10 El-Amin profiled similarly to Jones while dominating Minnesota hoops lore with his performance at Minneapolis North. His legend extended to a national championship with the University of Connecticut in 1999. Unfortunately, El-Amin’s elite status ended there — UConn was the last place he defied the odds.
El-Amin was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2000 and lasted one season because he was deemed not big enough to cut it at that level.
Despite Jones’ dominant play throughout the state tournament, I couldn’t shake the El-Amin parallel. The words of Cremisno continued to ring false in my head. It’s not that Jones “making it” was inconceivable; rather, the concept that it was a foregone conclusion seemed peculiar.
If NBA talent was projected through sustained high school excellence, Jones would be the first overall pick. But a year from now, when Jones becomes eligible to declare for the draft, that is not what will matter. What will matter is his development because Jones’ game has flaws. His offense will need to catch up to that elite D to be put in the one-and-done phylum.
On the Offensive End
Jones’ vision is unparalleled at the high school level. Tre plays with a Ph.D. of basketball IQ while those surrounding him rep GEDs. When penetrating, Jones is hyper-aware of how his movements pull the strings of an opposing defense.
Throughout the tournament — and particularly in the championship where Jones tallied five assists — his ability to drive, draw multiple defenders and drop-off layups to teammates was on full display.
Tre is a pure point guard.
The mid-range is his office in ways akin to Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets. Jones will get to the elbow and take what the defense gives him — a pass, dribble or shot. He creates space not with his size but with his handle.
When clicking, Jones is a point guard cheat code from the top of the key, but penetrate further and he runs into a wall, literally. Once amongst the trees, Jones can struggle to finish.
This was particularly on display in the championship game against the 6-foot-10 Minnesota commit Daniel Oturu of Cretin-Derham Hall. Now, Oturu is a monster; likely the state’s most formidable shot blocker.
To some extent, being slowed by Oturu makes sense for a 6’2″ point guard — but, again, not for an elite NBA prospect. I imagine an 18-year-old De’Aaron Fox — who is taller and longer than Jones — would not have had the same trouble getting off his shot.
A question going forward: How does Jones develop a craft around the basket? There are plenty of guards Jones’ size who have developed an ability to finish around the basket, so it certainly is possible. Isaiah Thomas, flush with an array of moves and high-arching layups, comes to mind.
But stylistically, Jones profiles to have a layup series that is more in line with Kyrie Irving. Irving is a player who relies on his handle — like Jones — to create space, instead of contortion like Thomas.
“Kyrie is his favorite player,” Tre’s brother Tyus Jones told me after an Apple Valley game earlier this season.
Jones’ handle can be improved. To say Jones currently has a handle nowhere near the level of Irving is by no means a knock.
Who does?
Another weakness of Jones’ is shooting the 3. During his senior season, Jones attempted 111 shots from deep and converted a mere 31 — just 27.9 percent.
In the state championship, this was scouted — Cretin-Derham Hall went under all ball screens for Jones.
To Jones’ credit, he punished this action by making 6 of 9 3-point attempts. Still, this is a weakness at the next levels. The shot is slow and the form is not tight.
The good news is shooting– much like handling the basketball — is something that can be further developed by getting in the gym with a discipline. And if Tre has one attribute in spades it is discipline.
At 18 years old, that discipline pours out of his authentic presence. Everything about Jones says, “I’ve been here before.”
The kid carries himself as an adult.
It is amazing.
Maturity Beyond His Years
Anecdotally: at 10:20 pm on Saturday — 15 minutes after Jones had to be peeled off the floor when his team lost the state championship (in his senior year) on a last-second dunk — Tre was at the podium addressing the media.
Yes, his eyes were still red from the tears but he looked into the eyes of reporters and at the slew of cameras around him to honestly and sincerely answer questions about what was undoubtedly the hardest loss of his career.
Ten minutes later, Jones walked out of the media room — after shaking hands with every reporter and security guard. He was then bombarded by a lurking mob of children asking for pictures. Jones put his arm around each and every kid and smiled into each and every Snapchat filter.
Again, Jones is 18 years old.
That’s a pro move right there.
The Apple Valley legend is a player who is easy to fall in love with due to his flash and success, but it is Jones as a person that makes those watching closely believe that Coach K is inheriting a true gem.
Unfortunately, this does not mean the next levels are going to come easily to Jones. For all of his gifts, NBA-level physicality is not one. It is not an insurmountable foil but it is an impending adversity he may not have yet felt in his teenage years.
And therein lies the intrigue — this is all yet to be determined.
Perhaps coach Cremisno will right about Jones being in the NBA in two years. Perhaps Jones’ size and physicality are not an issue. Perhaps the resume of Jones is so long that betting against his continued dominance is silly.
Perhaps.
Those answers are not yet known. Really, it is the next year that will determine who Tre Jones is as an NBA prospect.
For now, the state of Minnesota has to say goodbye to perhaps the most impressive player the state has seen since Khalid El-Amin.
Quite the journey, Tre.
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