Teven Jones: A ‘great fit’ for UVa.
Ed Huckaby had never seen it before. OK, he’s seen teams run a backdoor pick to free up a guy cutting the basket for an alley-oop pass and a slam dunk.
“That was the first time I saw a team run an alley-oop for a point guard,” saw Huckaby, the head coach of the Fishburne Military School postgraduate basketball program, thinking back to a play in an AAU game in which Teven Jones, the starting point guard for the 2011-2012 Caissons, threw one down after getting a backdoor lob pass from a teammate.
That the 6’1″ Jones, who averaged 21 points per game as a senior at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis, N.C., was still unsigned after high school was a bigger surprise than the alley-oop.
The athletic Jones, also a talented wide receiver who had more than 1,000 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns and runs a 4.3 40-yard dash, somehow went without a major-college offer after high school.
He got the attention of University of Virginia assistant Ritchie McKay this summer, and after McKay came a swarm of offers from schools in the ACC and Big East. Last month, Jones decided to go with the program that showed the first interest, committing to UVa.
The focus in the here and now will be on getting ready at Fishburne for the rigors of the ACC that will come after his postgrad year in Waynesboro. Huckaby, a former D1 assistant who was a college point guard, is a hard taskmaster in that respect, “but he’s getting me better,” Jones said.
Huckaby feels Jones will be a “great fit” for Virginia, which will have just one returning point guard, Jontel Evans, on the roster in 2012-2013. Huckaby coached Evans in AAU, and thinks Evans and Jones can be great complements to each other on the floor.
“I can see Jontel and Teven playing in the backcourt at the same time, because they each bring a different dynamic. They’re both extremely quick and athletic,” Huckaby said.
What will set Jones apart is his ability to score. Evans might be the better overall floor leader, but Bennett’s first two teams in Charlottesville have lacked a consistent scoring punch from the backcourt, and Jones, with his sweet jumper and ability to get into the lane and to the free-throw line, should be a welcome addition in those respects.
“Teven is just looking to come in and help contribute and help them win an ACC championship,” Huckaby said. “I’m not looking at Teven to come in and be a savior, but he’ll be a great addition to UVa.”
