Tennessee’s coaching staff is doing everything they can to try and find their point guard of the future in the 2019 recruiting class. And with their top target at the position, four-star Tre Mann, recently throwing a curveball into his own recruitment, the Vols’ coaching staff is making sure they’re prepared in case Mann ends up elsewhere. And they might have just found a hidden gem in the 2019 class at the position.
Tyrell Jones is a 6-foot-2 point guard from Orlando, Florida. He plays for West Oaks Academy, and on Thursday night he picked up an offer from the Vols.
Blessed to receive an offer from university of Tennessee ?? pic.twitter.com/B0v5a5XTTJ
— Tyrell Jones (@TurboRell) July 19, 2018
Jones’ recruitment has started to take off this summer. He got a scholarship offer from Ole Miss earlier on Thursday, and he picked up and offer from Wichita State on Wednesday. He also got offers from Auburn, Xavier, and VCU on July 15th as well. Western Kentucky and Houston also offered Jones on that day.
As of right now, Jones is averaging 27 points per game for Showtime Ballers during summer league play. He’s impressed not only with his scoring, but with his passing and ball handling as well. And he’s starting to catch the attention of some big time basketball programs.
Jones’ highlight film shows off his incredible ball handling talent and his confidence in his game. He carries himself with a swagger that most players don’t have, and he’s not afraid to shoot from anywhere on the court. But he’s not a selfish player by any means; he dishes off to his teammates plenty and can be seen directing traffic on the court as well. He plays with passion and isn’t afraid to drive inside either.
As a junior for West Oaks Academy, Jones averaged 11 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from three according to MaxPreps. He made a school-record 12 three-pointers during a game in late February in a 114-72 win.
Tennessee has been targeting Tre Mann as their primary point guard option in the 2019 class for quite some time, but he recently reopened his recruitment after previously announcing he would make his college decision on July 30th. He had announced a top three of Tennessee, Florida, and Kansas. But now his recruitment is a mystery, and he’s opened himself up to other schools.
With Mann’s recruitment in doubt, Tennessee is looking around for other options. They’ve also been pursuing five-star guard Josiah James, and he recently had the Vols in his top nine schools. But the Vols may be behind blue blood programs for James’ pledge.
The Vols may have found a diamond in the rough in Jones, and his recruitment will be interesting to follow. He’s started to blow up over the last week as he’s continued to tear it up on the summer circuit. Tennessee may continue to pursue him even if Mann does still choose UT.
One Response
Looks & sounds like the kind of player that coach Barnes & his staff could turn into the do-it-all point guard they’ve been looking for since arriving at Tennessee. The only question mark not addressed here might be his defensive skills, but I don’t think Barnes would have offered if he didn’t see exciting capabilities there too. And the thing I like best is that he doesn’t seem to be so full of himself (at least not yet) like many other gifted players of today. Go vols!