Duke Basketball: Coach K mentions vision of a sophomore Tre Jones

By merely bringing up his thoughts on what Tre Jones could look like if he returns to Durham next season, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski teased fans with a future that seems highly unlikely.

Someone ought to report the habitual in-game vandalism of Tre Jones. Ever since November, cameras have clearly captured the Duke basketball freshman destroying signs.

At this point, the point guard has rendered unreadable most every sign that ever pointed to his returning for a sophomore season or beyond. Across the No. 2 Blue Devils’ 21-2 start (9-1 in ACC), the 6-foot-2, 185-pound native of Apple Valley, Minn., has played in a manner that has rendered his name virtually irremovable from mock drafts — most peg him going mid-to-late first round.

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Here’s how Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, during an ACC teleconference with media members on Monday, summed up Jones’ play thus far:

"“What’s happened is that he has put the team first all the time.”"

While serving as the leader of a gang that includes three other freshmen criminals on the hardwood — Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish are all notorious ball thieves and heart-stabbers to opponents — Jones has earned the distinction as the only player in the nation who is averaging at least 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals while committing less than 1.5 turnovers per game.

His steals average is on track to tie Chris Duhon as the second-highest mark by a freshman in program history (Jason Williams’ 2.4 per game during the 1999-00 season ranks first). And Jones’ assist-to-turnover ratio (4.5) is not only on pace to blow away the current record for Duke freshmen — 2.9, set by Tre’s one-and-done older brother, Tyus, in 2015 — but, barring a meltdown, it will also surpass Steve Wojciechowski’s Blue Devil record for a season (3.0), which has stood since 1997.

In ACC play, Jones leads the conference with an astounding 5.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Simply put, the 19-year-old — who has also all but shut down every guard he has faced — has already earned a spot on a short list of the best point guards in Duke history.

And although Jones has only averaged 8.7 points, he has scored in double figures in each of the past three games; floaters and layups high off the glass in traffic are his specialties, and his outside jumper looks more promising lately. This increasing assertiveness to find his shots is to the benefit of the current Duke squad, and it has led Krzyzewski to ponder out loud the scoring threat Jones could become for the Blue Devils if this happens to not be his final college season.

"“I don’t think he was actually looking for shots for a long time…I just think if he were here for three or four years, you would see that he would shoot right away next year,” Coach K said, essentially teasing Duke fans with a scenario that seems highly unlikely. “I’m not saying he’s declared [for the 2019 NBA Draft] or anything like that…”"

Good. Don’t.

Sure, true Duke fans would be happy for Jones if he decides to follow his brother’s one-and-done path, which is also almost certainly the soon-to-be path of Williamson, Barrett, and Reddish, who are all likely to hear their names called within the first 10 picks of the draft (possibly all within the first five or even the first three).

But for as long as possible, Duke fans should have the right to foolishly take enormous comfort from hoping that Jones returns next season.

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On the road against No. 16 Louisville on Tuesday at 9 p.m. (on ESPN), Jones and the rest of his gang of Blue Devils look to further destroy any signs of hope that other ACC teams have of finishing first in the regular season (following Virginia’s win at UNC on Monday night, Duke sits alone atop the standings — a spot the program hasn’t finished in by itself since 2006).

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