The Virginia men's basketball team made a strong run last year, unbearably losing on a rimmed-out 3-pointer to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Fast forward to this season and the question of how this year's team would look. It was obvious that starters Jason Cain and co-captain J.R. Reynolds would not be back after graduation. There also was a scare throughout Charlottesville when then-junior Sean Singletary declared for the NBA draft. Luckily for Cavs fans, Sean decided to return for his senior season, and experienced big men senior Ryan Pettinella and junior Laurynas Mikalauskas skillfully took over the position vacated by Cain. But who was going to take the starting position left by Reynolds?
Enter freshman guard Jeff Jones. Among a strong cast of new team members, Jones is the only freshman in the starting lineup. As a recruit -- and even when pre-season practices were underway -- he had no idea he would be starting. Jones knows coach Dave Leitao's mantra of 'If they work hard, everybody will get a chance.'
"Every single day, I was going to work hard," Jones said.
Through his diligence in practice and physical abilities, Jones has had the opportunity to start for the Cavaliers.
Jones was a strong high school basketball player out of Drexel Hill, Pa. at Monsignor Bonner. He was a prolific scorer for his team, averaging 22.7 points a game as a senior, 21.9 as a junior and 19.1 as a sophomore. He became the all-time career leading scorer in the Philadelphia Catholic League with 1,923 career points, huge numbers for any high schooler, much less playing in such a prestigious atmosphere. His performance brought many accolades in 2007, including the Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year, MVP of the Southern Division of the Philadelphia Catholic League, first-team All-City, first-team AP class AAAA All-State, and the Delaware County Times Player of the Year. As a junior in 2006, Jones was the AP AAA State Player of the Year, as well as an All-State selection. He has also played for various all-star teams in his career.
As a senior, Jones was ranked on Rivals.com as the 81st recruit in the nation, but more importantly, the 17th shooting guard recruit. During his senior year, Jones commented on the recruiting process.
"I want to surround myself with a good coach and good players and a good program with good people that I'd hang out with," he said.
It looks like Jones has found just that: a good fit. But why Virginia?
"It's four hours from home, so my family can come to games," Jones said. "The atmosphere, the arena, the academics -- they have the full-package here."
Leitao also played a role in Jones' decision.
"It was mainly the coaches and the players; it was a good group of guys," Jones said. "Coach Leitao really cares for his guys. His desire is to get his players to play to the best of their abilities, and that is something I want to do."
In his first seven games this season, in the starting spot vacated by superstar and fan-favorite J.R. Reynolds, Jones has held his own. He has averaged 7 points per game and 2.7 rebounds. His size, 6-foot-4, 193 pounds, is impressive for a shooting guard, especially as a freshman. This makes him an excellent on-the-ball defender, and he can box his oft-smaller opponent out for a rebound. It also allows him to create his own shot; he is shooting 42.5 percent from the field this year, as well as 38.5 percent from 3-point land.
"As a freshman, you're going to see adversity somewhere down the road, and you're going to have ups and downs," Jones said. "You just have to take on the challenge, and know how to find a way to climb that mountain instead of just backing off."
As only a freshman, Jones has a lot of potential to improve from his already lofty status as a player, a fact that other team members have noticed.
"He's a good player and he knows where to be on the court," Singletary said. "With time we'll get a better feel for each other, but right now I think we're doing a pretty good job"
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