Jones comes of age

The walls of Dandrick Jones’ bedroom at his mother’s house in Dallas serve as an oversized scrapbook of his basketball career. There are listings of his all-league and all-state honors. There are articles about Kimball High’s state championship team and clippings detailing his 44-point scoring night for Trinidad (Colo.) Junior College.

One of the newer wall ornaments shows Jones’ statistics as a junior last season at the University of Idaho. They aren’t flattering. He shot 34.9 percent, 22.4 percent on 3-pointers, and made just 57.5 percent from the free-throw line. He had a team-high 69 turnovers.

“Last year was the worst year I’ve ever had,” Jones said. “I went home and wrote my stats on the wall. I told people I was going to double that (his 7.6 scoring average). I’m trying to erase that year with a great year.”

Near the midpoint of the season, Jones is on course. He’s averaging 15.8 points per game. His shooting accuracy has improved considerably. He’s doubled his rebounding from 2.9 to 5.8. He dropped 32 points on Idaho State and 23 against Gonzaga. His defense has been a revelation.

After a season of struggling at point guard, Jones has settled in at his more natural position of wing or small forward. But the position change is only part of the story.

The rest involves Jones adapting to unbending coach Leonard Perry’s style. To play for Perry, one must have thick skin, rebound, defend and be tougher than a two-dollar steak.

It didn’t matter that both had starred at Kimball High – Perry a 6-foot center on the 1986 team that lost in the 5A state finals and 2001 graduate Jones a four-year starter. It didn’t matter that Perry and Jones’ father lived within a 3-pointer of each other as youngsters in Dallas.

“I had played point guard other places, but I was more of a scoring point guard,” Jones said. “When I got here, Coach said he likes his point guard to get the other players involved and that really didn’t go with my game.”

Jones slipped out of the starting lineup and his production declined during the Big West season.

“I was just trying to get used to having to play defense for long periods of time and getting used to a coach who wasn’t letting me do what I want all the time,” Jones said.

None of which was a surprise to Jones.

“When I signed, Coach told me he wasn’t going to baby me; that this was going to be the hardest year I’ve had in basketball. He was going to be the hardest coach I’ve had and that he was going to hold me accountable,” Jones said. “I guess I did fight it last year. I was trying to do it my way and not his way, which is part of the reason I stopped starting.”

At least he didn’t stop listening. Perry’s words are finally sinking in.

“He had a rough junior year, as most junior college players do in our program because it takes a while to understand the way we want to play,” Perry said. “He’s been so committed. His numbers are fantastic, but what he’s done defensively is just incredible. He guards every team’s leading scorer, from the 4, 3, 2 and even the 1 at times. It’s a tribute to the way he’s bought in.”

Jones is listed at 6-foot-4, but admits he’s 6-2 without shoes. He relies on his 36-inch vertical jump and his ability to create on drives.

“Dandrick has one of the smartest basketball IQs of any player I’ve been around,” Perry said. “He knows what every guy is supposed to do, every guy’s position. He’s like a basketball encyclopedia with old teams and history.”

If Jones keeps playing at his current pace, his bedroom walls might be in for remodeling.

“I think he’s helped me grow up as a person and a player,” Jones said of Perry. “He’s been pretty hard on me, but I can pretty much take anything as long as I can play basketball. I love it too much.”