Florida Gators Basketball 2022-23 Player Profile: Guard Myreon Jones
There's an uncharacteristic buzz surrounding Florida basketball in the summer months.
Seeing drastic turnover occur from top to bottom — with head coach Mike White, his assistants and four starters departing from Gainesville — the University of Florida brought in San Francisco head coach Todd Golden to take over at the helm.
While a mass exodus usually indicates that significant time is needed to rebuild, all the right pieces have fallen into the right places. The changing of the guard at the top of the program can serve as the pivotal turning point needed to surge back from the distressing state of mediocrity experienced as of late.
In an effort to reconstruct the program to its former status of consistency and excellence achieved under Billy Donovan, Golden made it a focus to draw in talented transfers to fill the bevy of holes the roster presented.
Adding on to the promising members retained from 2021-22, the Gators have compiled a more-than-capable unit to take the floor next season.
The mixture of new and familiar faces slates them to reconcile the program sooner rather than later under the new leadership.
In anticipation of Golden's first season in charge, AllGators plans to profile the 12 scholarship players occupying spots on the roster as they look to accomplish that mission in the upcoming season. We will start by examining the backcourt and work into the frontcourt over the next few weeks.
After covering newcomers Kyle Lofton, Trey Bonham and Denzel Aberdeen, we arrive at the first of six (eight including the walk-ons) returning players from a season ago in guard Myreon Jones.
Player History
Despite being one of the returnees on the Gators roster from a season ago, Jones — like many others — made his way to Gainesville through the transfer portal.
Initially recruited to Penn State from high school in Suwanee (Ga.) in 2018, Jones spent three years with the Nittany Lions. He chose Happy Valley over another offer from Memphis, considered the favorite for his services at one point.
Taking one season to ease his way into the lineup, playing in 30 games off the bench as a freshman, Jones carved out a role for himself by the time his sophomore season rolled around. From that point, he started in all but two of his 50 appearances as a sophomore and junior.
Accounting for 10.4 points on 39.5% shooting from the field and 37.6% from three during his time at Penn State, Jones made his mark as a dynamic shooter in an off-ball guard role.
When he entered the transfer portal following the 2020-21 season, the then-Florida staff believed he could provide a spark to the dormant long-range shooting attack. That was a wish that looked to be coming to fruition in the preseason as teammates and coaches spoke highly of the seniors shooting presence on the practice court.
However, as the season rolled around, Jones struggled to find his footing in orange and blue. The year was characterized by his streakiness.
He shot at his lowest clip since his freshman year with the Gators, producing just 8.5 points per game on 35.5% from the floor and 32% from three.
He bounced in and out of the starting lineup as a result.
However, toward the end of the season, Jones began to flash the skillset he was brought to Gainesville for.
Exploding for 23-point and 18-point outings on over 60% from the field in the final 13 contests, he provided enough promise to Golden to keep him around this upcoming season.
2022-23 Season Role/Projection
In year five of his collegiate career, Jones gets another fresh start with a new coaching staff to reconcile his underwhelming senior season.
With that comes considerable responsibility.
Sitting in a talented backcourt, Jones — the veteran-most player alongside Lofton — will be asked to aid the progression of those beneath him on the depth chart to kickstart the Golden era.
As a result, he will likely earn the starting nod to start the season at shooting guard over other qualified starting pieces in Belmont transfer Will Richard and Niels Lane. However, remaining as the starter will depend on his increased consistency on both ends of the floor, but mainly offensively.
Lane (who saw some starting time with Florida last year) and Richard will be on his heels.
Jones should find a niche in Kevin Hovde's high-movement, Princeton-style halfcourt offensive scheme. Not to mention Golden's desire to push the ball down the floor looking for easy buckets in transition (whether at the rim or kicking out for a triple in the early shot clock.)
An influx of opportunities will be created from off-ball screens for the two-guard to excel.
His efficiency and steadiness in shooting the ball will be the significant factor that dictates the legacy he leaves behind at the University of Florida.
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