Gators' Myreon Jones Regaining Footing, Confidence Following Senior Slump
At this point last preseason, one player on the Florida Gators men's basketball squad was earning praise for his shooting prowess as the unchallenged best pure shooter of the offseason period.
Connecting on nearly any shot attempt he took, teammates and coaches felt confident that his ability to score would elevate the squad to new heights on a patchwork roster of transfers following a mass exodus that forced then-head coach Mike White to look toward the portal for immediate answers.
However, the games didn't play out as expected for senior guard Myreon Jones. He shot just 35.5 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three, his worst clip since his freshman season at Penn State.
"I think sometimes when I missed a shot, I think too much about it," Jones said on Sept. 27, reflecting on his scoring lulls. "But, then again, I wasn't taking every shot [with the] same repetition the whole time. Just trying to rush it. I do think a little bit mental it was. I'd miss like two or three and I wouldn't shoot again later."
Going from the player others raved about the most heading into the year to arguably the biggest underachiever on a team characterized by underachievement a season ago, the guard is looking to rebound in a big way this year.
Returning for his fifth season under a new coaching staff with an intended play style better tailored to his skillset, Jones' growth mentally is aiding him to overcome the senior slump he experienced. A major part of that confidence boost comes from the evident trust Todd Golden and others have in his abilities.
"I think that's what coach Golden and the staff this year has told me like, 'if you're open, shoot it every time,' and they have so much confidence ... Ever since we started workouts in the summer, they had so much confidence in me. I think that put more confidence in myself."
When Golden first arrived as the new head coach at Florida, his main goal was to evaluate the talent on the squad before working to maintain the pieces he saw fit for his system. With Jones formerly knocking down shots from deep at a high clip, Golden pitched Jones the idea of returning to UF for his fifth year.
In that conversation, Golden focused on the type of player Jones was at Penn State before he entered the transfer portal following the 2020-21 season, rather than the one he showcased at UF last year.
That caught Jones' attention as Golden showed immediate trust in his ability to elevate his game back to where he once performed, if not better.
"He was saying, 'we know you're still that type of player so if you come back, we're gonna get you back there," Jones said Golden told him in those conversations.
That sold Jones to the delight of the new leaders of the program.
"The great thing for us is that once he realized we wanted him to be here, he definitely wanted to be here," Golden said. "That was really important to me."
"I wanted to hear what he thought happened in terms of how his shooting went down a little bit, why he thought he didn't have as much success as he's capable of," Golden continued in reference to the early discourse between him and Jones. "The numbers don't lie. What he did at Penn State was really impressive. He shot the ball well. I think he averaged 15 or so a game as a sophomore on a top-25 team.
"He's done it before. He's proven the capacity to be a good impact player at the high major level. So I'm counting on him to be able to do that again, to be able to bounce back. I think he's a guy who should have a good bounce-back year and will impact winning for us."
Now, nearly seven months to the day later, No. 0 aligns as a top shooter on the squad that is expected to let it fly in volume this season — according to offensive assistant Kevin Hovde, who is in control of the new offensive system Florida will employ in 2022-23.
It's a system that "fits my game perfectly," he said.
To this point in the preseason, with just under three weeks to tip-off, Jones looks to have regained the footing as a shooter that allowed him to shoot at 40 percent from beyond the arc in his sophomore and junior season with the Nittany Lions. He now looks to carry the offseason success into the regular season as a rotational guard on Florida's current depth chart.
His current teammates have faith in him to do so.
From their limited time together, fellow backcourt occupant and fifth-year senior Kyle Lofton said he believes Jones is on the fast track to proving last season is not indicative of the success he can have in the SEC.
"I like Myreon. I think he's a tough kid, extremely talented," Lofton said. "He probably had a down year, people would say, but I think this year he's ready to show people that he can do it in the SEC too."
The Gators are better when Jones performs at a high level. The coaching staff and his teammates believe he can and will do so consistently this upcoming season.
Now, it's up to Jones to take advantage of his second and final chance in orange and blue. He's ready for the challenge after getting an adjustment year under his belt.
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