SEATTLE – Washington men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar isn’t only referring to his freshmen and transfer Ryan Appleby when he says this is a new Husky team.
He points to some of his returners – Brandon Roy and Bobby Jones in particular – as evidence of that fact too.
Washington’s two senior captains are in different roles this year than they have been in the past. Roy is now Washington’s top offensive option and is handling the ball far more than in the past. Jones is no longer playing out of position as a power forward, and instead is seeing more action on the perimeter.
The result has been an increase in Jones’ scoring, now at a career-high 13.2 points a game (on 60 percent shooting). Jones is still rebounding (4.7 a game) and continues to be Washington’s best defensive player.
For Jones, the change has been a welcome one.
“I’m not naturally (a power forward),” Jones said. “I’ve always been around the perimeter, coming off picks, creating for myself. It’s more fun doing that than just setting picks for other people and trying to post up some 6-11 dude.”
Jones, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Compton, Calif., was Romar’s first recruit when he took over for Bob Bender. Quietly, he’s been a key member of Washington’s rise to prominence. He became a starter midway through his freshman season and has gone from a defensive specialist to an NBA prospect.
“He’s just perpetual motion,” Romar said. “He’s just relentless. He’s constantly trying to gain an edge with his intensity and his work ethic. He’s always playing with a purpose.”
“Bobby’s always been a complete player,” Roy added. “He just had different roles in the past. Every year we’ve needed him to do more and more, and every year, he just does it.”
One thing, though, that Jones has not done yet is beat Gonzaga. Jones will get his final chance when No. 18 Washington (6-0) plays the No. 6 Bulldogs (4-1) at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
Jones will be counted on to slow down Gonzaga scoring whiz Adam Morrison. The 6-foot-8 Morrison had 26 points in last season’s 99-87 Bulldogs victory over Washington.
“It’s a nice rivalry,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of stuff at stake. They beat us the last (seven) years. I know I want to get a win before I leave. …We’re ready for them. I know they aren’t going to take us lightly.”
Jones became a top recruit after helping lead prep powerhouse Long Beach Poly to a 30-4 record. As a freshman at Washington, Jones started the last 15 games and finished second on the team in rebounding. The last two seasons, he’s averaged 11.2 points each year while usually going against bigger defenders. After helping the Huskies to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last season, Jones was selected to play for USA Basketball’s World University Games team at Izmir, Turkey (the U.S. won the gold medal). It was Jones’ first time out of the country, and he was a little surprised when he did some research about where he was going.
“I went on the Internet and typed in ‘Turkey’ to see where it was and I got real surprised when I saw it was right next to Iraq,” Jones said. “But the city we were in was the farthest city away from Iraq, so that made me feel a little better. But I had some uncertainty.”
Jones said it took about 20 hours to get to Turkey. He was there for three weeks, and besides basketball, he went to the beach, saw the sights and met people from all over the world.
“It taught me a lot,” Jones said. “I wasn’t able to do the same things that I can do here, like watch TV whenever I want. But I learned a couple Turkish lines just to get around. Some people thought we were NBA guys. It was an eye-opening experience. It makes me want to go out of the country more often and see what else the world has to show.”
Jones saw limited minutes in seven games, averaging 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds.
“He enjoyed winning that gold medal,” Romar said. “To be with other guys that he hadn’t met from other programs, he indicated he liked that. He would have liked to play more and be a bigger contributor but that’s a wake-up call to show that you’ve got to be able to bring it.”
Jones knows that’s the case if he wants to lead Washington deep into the NCAA tournament, and then continue his career at the next level.
“I’ve always played hard,” Jones said. “As I’ve gotten older, I started to understand the game and learn how to get better at everything. This year is just another chance for me to show what I can do. People have seen that I can play inside, now I want to show I can be on the outside. When you can do it all, people see how valuable you are.”
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