Kansas State men’s basketball’s second player of the transfer portal this offseason was CJ Jones, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound combo guard who played his first two seasons at the University of Illinois-Chicago in the Missouri Valley Conference. Jones may end up being a underrated part of the Wildcats’ portal acquisitions if the junior’s athletic potential can come to fruition.
Jones is originally from East Saint Louis, Illinois, and was a high school teammate of current K-State forward Macaleab Rich. He was a two-star prospect coming out of high school and originally committed to Missouri before switching his commitment and was a top-10 player in Illinois according to 247Sports. Jones has started 50 of 62 games in the last two seasons averaging 30 minutes per game, and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
What the stats say
CJ Jones improved his stats dramatically from his freshman year to his sophom*ore year, he almost doubled his scoring output and shot better on both 2 and 3-point field goals. He started 31 of 33 games this season and ended up being the main facilitator on the team by season’s end. This season he averaged 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, shooting 43.8% from 2, 38.8% from 3, and 60.6% from the free-throw line. He averaged 33 minutes per game this season and had a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Only 24% of Jones’ shot attempts came from 3 even though he shot a good percentage. The majority, 41% of his shots, came at the rim and he shot 49.3%. The remaining 35% of his shots came on 2-point jumpers where he shot 37.4% per Bart Torvik, whose analytical website provides rankings, stats, graphs, and tables on every college basketball including stat breakdowns on each player.
Less than 50% of his shots came on assists from others which means he was having to create his shot more than he should have. Jones was playing his best basketball the last 10 games of the season and he seemed to be more comfortable as the primary ball-handler.
Over his last 10 games, he averaged 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 45.4% from the floor, 36.8% from 3, and 78.2% from the free-throw line. He had multiple games with double-digit points and assists including 16 points and 14 assists against Drake.
What the film shows
The film shows a longer guard who can create his shot and loves to attack the basket. CJ Jones is good at spotting up from the 3-point line as well. He shoots 43% on left-wing 3s, and he has a 59% effective field goal percentage on spot-ups which is in the 86th percentile per Bart Torvik.
Jones got into trouble whenever he would try to shoot off the dribble. He has a quick release on his jump shot and has his hands ready to catch the ball. He is a three-level scorer who has a variety of ways to get his shot off and he prefers to score at the basket or in the mid-range.
He was forced to play more on-ball than he will be asked to do at K-State and the more he played on-ball, the more comfortable he got. He can play positions two through four with his combination of guard skills and size. He is a capable defender with his long length to disrupt guards and does a good job of staying in front of the offensive player.
He is a good facilitator with a 30% assist rate which would’ve been best on K-State last season. He was the pick-and-roll ball handler 35% of the time and averaged 0.80 points per possession which is in the 62nd percentile.
He is looking to attack coming off the pick-and-roll, he can finish through traffic with a varied layup package or hit a mid-range floater. He can finish with either hand, and with him being 6-foot-5, he can finish over smaller guards. You see the ability to finish over smaller players in isolation where he averages 1.00 points per possession, which is in the 74th percentile.
An area where he struggles though is in transition, he averages 0.75 points per possession which is in the 17th percentile and occurs 13% of the time per Bart Torvik. He will get sped up and turn the ball over or he will force a bad shot. He has to improve on better decision-making in transition and it is the part of his game that needs to improve the most.
What Tang says
“We’re fired up to welcome CJ and his family to K-State,” Tang said in a written statement. “He is a big versatile guard with great decision-making abilities who can shoot the ball at a very high, efficient rate. We love his size and measurables (6-foot-5 frame with a 6-foot-7 wingspan) and we think he can be an all-conference player as he continues to develop. We’re excited that CJ and his family have chosen to continue his basketball career at K-State. We know this fan base is ready to embrace and welcome them to this community.”
Fit with K-State
Jones is a great fit with K-State and something K-State was missing last season. He provides length from the guard position that K-State didn’t have and he has the ability to create his own shot. Jones is also an underrated passer for his size while averaging almost five assists per game. He can also play multiple positions and is good at playing on or off the ball. The length will help him on defense and he can be the primary wing defender, much like Cam Carter was last season. He is a good 3-point shooter and that is something that was missing last season.
He needs to get better at finishing at the rim, but is aggressive while driving, especially in the pick-and-roll. Another area of improvement is turnovers, where he had a 20% turnover rate which is the same as Cam Carter had last season. One reason for the high turnover rate is because he was asked to play point guard for the second half of the season and he won’t be asked to do that at K-State.
With a smaller role for the Wildcats, his strengths will be magnified and he can be a plus-role player who shoots well from 3, defends the opponent’s best perimeter player, and can be a secondary ball-handler. CJ Jones is an exciting player who should excel under Tang.
