Gonzaga Basketball: Jeremy Jones key to potential special season for the Bulldogs

Senior forward Jeremy Jones showed up in a huge way for Gonzaga Basketball in the Maui Invitational. It’s been a great journey to get to this point.

Four years ago, Jeremy Jones found himself on the campus of Rice University in Houston as a redshirt, dual-threat quarterback for the Owls’ football team. He then made his way to the Owls’ basketball squad as a walk-on, where he averaged 14.4 minutes per game. The next year, he was in Spokane, Washington, at Gonzaga University as a redshirt forward.

Then, in the 2016-17 season, he saw his squad advance to the National Championship game. On Wednesday, he contributed a crucial five points and four rebounds in 18 minutes, the most of any Gonzaga sub, as the Bulldogs defeated No. 1 Duke to capture their second Maui Invitational and their first ever win against a top-ranked team.

Since joining the Gonzaga program in 2015, Jones has had to bide his time for minutes as several successful forwards have journeyed through the Zags’ system. Between his first two seasons of playing time for the Bulldogs, Jones appeared in 60 of their 76 games, averaging 1.2 ppg and rpg in an average of 5.1 mpg.

Now, with the absence of Killian Tillie due to an ankle injury, head coach Mark Few has turned to the red-shirt senior to alleviate the pressure of the Zags’ forwards Corey Kispert and Rui Hachimura. And alleviate he has. Through six games this season, Jones has recorded 14.3 mpg, the third most of bench players, while averaging 5.7 ppg and 5 rpg, the fourth most on the team. Jones has hit 10 of 12 shots this season, including all three of his three-point attempts.

However, Jones’ contributions are not only on the scoreboard, as his non-statistical defensive abilities have been huge for the Zags’ success early on this season. Measuring in at six-feet-five-inches and 205 pounds, Jones is a fantastic lock-down defender. As the Zags have developed many successful big men in recent years, Jones’ strongest development seems to be his basketball IQ, as he intelligently covers the lane and the open spaces of the court alike.

While Tillie is set to return to the Zags’ rotation by the time West Coast Conference play begins Jan. 5, Jones’ contribution should see little change. The trifecta of his statistical contributions, defensive intelligence and experience in the Gonzaga playbook should be more than enough reason for Few to continue using Jones as a crucial substitute in what could be the Zags’ best season in program history.