Tre Jones on Playing at PNC Arena: "The Fans Can Only Do So Much"
Duke has lost four of its last five trips to NC State. Although most of the players on the Blue Devils roster weren’t around for the last trip, a 96-85 loss in January 2018, sophomore point guard Tre Jones knows that PNC Arena will be a tough place to play.
“I’ve heard it’s a great atmosphere over there,” he said. “We’ve just got to come out the gates ready to play with the intensity that we know we can play with—just play our game. Really, the fans can only do so much in the game.”
Jones faces the challenge of matching up with State point guard Markell Johnson.
“Just trying to make it difficult the entire night,” he said, “knowing he’s a key player for them, just trying to make it as difficult as I can on him the entire night, the whole team just trying to lock down on their key guys and make it as difficult as we can.”
Communication will be key playing in hostile territory, and Jones said freshman big man Vernon Carey Jr. has made strides in that area.
“He’s come a long way with his talk,” he said. “Javin [DeLaurier and] Jack [White] have helped him a lot with that as far as Jav playing the same position, but Jack being down there as well a little bit and how much he talks. Coaches are always on (Carey) about talking. He’s in the back of our defense, so he can see everything for the most part and so they’re just trying to be on him hard about that with him talking. But, he’s come a long way, for sure, and he’s continuing to want to improve every aspect of his game.”
