Tre Jones Tells ESPN He's Headed to NBA
Tre Jones will enter the NBA Draft, the sophomore point guard told ESPN on Saturday.
Jones, a consensus third-team All-American, was the second player ever to win ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 16.2 ppg, 6.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals.
The brother of 2015 Blue Devil Tyus Jones, Tre was expected to leave last season, after his freshman year. He chose to come back, however, to win a national championship. That hope was derailed when the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said earlier in the day that he expected Jones to leave, and clearly, Duke was prepared for him to leave for the draft. Duke has signed five-star point guard Jeremy Roach and five-star combination guard DJ Steward.
Roach and Steward were both selected for the McDonald’s High School All-American game, which, of course, was also cancelled due to the outbreak.
Jordan Goldwire, who was the backup to Jones as well as playing alongside him on the floor when Duke went to a pressure defense this year, is also expected to be back for his senior year.
Most mock drafts have Jones projected as a first-rounder. Bleacher Report has him going to Milwaukee at No. 20. CBSSports.com puts him in Miami with pick 22. SB Nation projects Jones going with the 24 pick to Utah. The Sporting News slots him to Oklahoma City at 25. Tankathon projects him to Boston at No. 26. MyNBADraft.com has him going to Boston at 30.
NBA Draft Net has Jones going in the second round, with the 51 overall pick to Philadelphia. NBA Draft Room also has him going in the second round.
