We are profiling each member of the 2011-12 Creighton men’s basketball team. Join us weekdays from now until the men’s exhibition opener against Rockhurst for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
See all of our 2011-12 Creighton men’s basketball profiles
Jones has a lot of goals heading into 2011-12 (Marshall/WBR)
It is November, but part of Josh Jones probably wants it to be late January now.
Last season, as a sophomore, Jones entered the Bluejays’ home game against Bradley averaging 1.9 points per game. He scored 14 points against the Braves, beginning the stretch of Creighton’s final 20 games of the season during which he averaged nearly 7.8 points per game.
This late-season surge as a sophomore was eerily similar to Jones’ ending of his freshman campaign. After scoring 20 points total in Creighton’s first 20 games in 2009-10, Jones notched 90 points in the team’s final 14 contests (6.4 ppg).
Jones, a redshirt junior, knows why the start of each of the past two seasons didn’t go according to his plans.
“I feel like in the previous years different situations played into why I started off the way I did. Last season it was a new coaching staff, with Coach Mac [Greg McDermott] and his new offense. Early in the season I was trying to get a feel for things. The year before, it was just actually getting to play college basketball for the first time.
So with those experiences under my belt, my approach to preparing for this season is a lot different. I am doing whatever I can to get off to a good start.”
Jones is one of the most athletic and naturally talented players on Creighton’s roster. Finding consistency on offense and an intense focus on defense could pay huge dividends for the Omaha Central product. He told WBR he’s learned a lot from Coach McDermott and his staff about what it takes to make those improvements.
“Coach Mac has taught me a lot of self-discipline. I have learned a lot about discipline, about how to discipline myself to be the best player I can be,” Jones said. “That means staying in the gym. Being tough, both mentally and physically. All the little things that help you become a better player.”
Jones can be a terrific defender. He helped limit BYU’s Jimmer Fredette to a season-low 13 points last December. And he recorded 25 steals in just 556 minutes of play, giving him one of the highest ratios of steals per minute on the team. Jones is working on that aspect of his game, too, because he knows his defense gives him just as much ability to contribute to this year’s team as his offense. Ultimately, though, Jones wants to help the team win in any capacity.
“Our ultimate goal is making the NCAA Tournament, and we want to win the Valley regular season and tournament championships,” Jones said. “We are just taking each step right now, one at a time, practice by practice and game by game. We aren’t trying to eat the whole piece of pie.”