Coach K on Tre Jones: "He Put on a Hell of a Performance"
Tre Jones had a career-high 31 points in Duke’s 74-63 win over Georgia State. He also had six assists and four steals, becoming the first Blue Devil in history to hit those marks in a single game.
Jones is averaging 17 points, 5.8 assists so far this season, up from 9.4 points and 5.3 assists last year. He also has 1.8 steals. Jones has also increased his shooting percentage to .481 from .414 last year and his three-point rate to .294, up from .262 a year ago.
“He is getting better,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Scoring wise, he works every day.”
Jones has had procedures on his hip during the last two offseasons.
“The last two summers, he’s been out for 4 or 5 months,” Krzyzewski said. “So he can score, obviously. He scored 31 points tonight. I’m not worried about him shooting. A lot of other people are. He’s really good. Look, he put on a hell of a performance tonight.”
Jones hit 4-of-8 on three-pointers and also scored on several drives where he took contact in the paint.
“Some of his stuff in the full court, not only his finishing, but they weren’t fouls like this,” Krzyzewski said, slapping himself lightly on the wrist. “He’s like a running back, for crying out loud. And then he’s still playing on the defensive end. He had a great performance tonight, and look, he’s one of the best players in the country. And he showed it tonight. He really led us.”
