NBA Draft Insider

College: Baylor
Birthday: 09/24/1991
NBA Position: PF
Class: Sophomore
Ht: 6-11
Wt: 220
Hometown: Duncanville, TX
High School: Duncanville High School

Ceiling: Lamar Odom

Basement: 

NBA Comparison: Anthony Randolph

Strengths

• Athletic
• Long
• Mobile Big
• Good Ball-Handler
• Mid-Range Shooter
• Guard Skills

Weaknesses:

• Strength
• Low Motor, Passive
• Inconsistent

Analysis:

05/06/2012

Baylor sophomore Perry Jones III is headed to the NBA and has yet to officially hire an agent.

Easily the biggest enigma in the 2012 Draft Class, Jones has been a mixed bag among scouts. That shouldn’t be a major shock especially after the raving success of Kevin Garnett, but the misfires on Julian Wright, Brandon Wright, and Anthony Davis. Point Forwards of Jones elite level of athleticism are rare to find and play at a very high level.

Jones has shown flashes of being a great mobile, perimeter big man. He is a very good ball-handler for his size and can take traditional power forwards off the dribble with relative ease. On the perimeter Jones can shoot the ball from the mid-range and extends out to the three. He is not an elite level shooter, but above average for his position.

As a rebounder defender Jones can be dominant, but plays plays with little intensity. That did not effect him or the team at the college level, but it will in the NBA. His length and athleticism will allow him to be a very good rebounder and defender in time. Once Jones adds some considerable strength the adjustment to the NBA will be there.

During Jones time at Baylor he averaged 13.7 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 63 total games. Far from dominant, but a very solid career. What makes Jones a Top 10 prospect verse the No. 1 prospect is his lack of aggressiveness throughout a game. He always shows flashes (as stated above), but never consistently for a full game or a string of games. That lack of drive and energy are the drawbacks on Jones, but he has made it clear that he does not want to be a dominant player, which is something to consider strongly during the draft process.

As of today Jones is the No. 3 power forward, No. 7 on the Big Board, and the No. 9 Overall pick in the Mock Draft.

02/12/2012

Jones is another in the new wave of power forwards that are more athlete than power. On offense Jones can stretch the defense out to the three point line as a shooter. He creates mismatches all over the court with his unique size. Jones towers over any small forward and can take bigger forwards off the dribble. His versatility is what makes him a dynamic prospect.

All of those skills are seemingly a waste this year as Jones seems to always be looking to make his move, and then the final buzzer sounds. He is passive to a fault which is alarming for a player with that much talent, and that came back in a year where he could have been a Top 3 pick.

There are two takes on Jones so far, 1) He is passive and therefore bad or 2) He is being held back in the college system. By no means is Jones going to step onto and NBA floor and say, “I am finally comfortable” and score 30 a night, but he has to be somewhere in the middle. The physical skills are there for him to be an All-Star, but the drive seems to not be there.

05/13/2011

In his freshman year Jones was able to prove two truths about his game, 1) He is very passive and 2) He has a lot of upside.

He flashed that upside on occasion displaying the ability to shoot, handle, pass and defend. With his skill-set Jones is built to have the offense run through him on the perimeter to take advantage of mismatches. He is big enough to score in the paint on smaller (quicker) defenders and athletic enough to take larger (slower) big men off the dribble.

Where scouts want to see improvement for Jones now entering his sophomore year is in consistence, a more aggressive approach offensively on a nightly basis. This will allow Jones to flourish and finally display his talent on a nightly basis. Jones also needs to add more strength to his frame, currently he is a slender 6-11 220lbs. From an athletic standpoint that is a good frame, but in the NBA he will need to add somewhere between 10-20lbs. of muscle to handle the grind. Even in a draft as deep as the one coming in 2012, Jones is a Top 5 talent and could easily improve to being the best player in this class. 

2010

Jones is an athletic marvel; he is built like a power forward and has great athleticism. He also has the perimeter skills of shooting guard with the ball in his hands. A plethora of skill and ability should be enough to make Jones a Top Pick in any draft. On the other hand, he is also a little passive on offense and has no true position with his skill set. He has some Kevin Garnett in his game, but time will tell if he can find the trademark fire Garnett plays with and be a special player.

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