Big Sky Basketball: In-depth look at Southern Utah senior guard Tevian Jones
By Bryan Mauro
Expectations for Tevian Jones in 2021-22
Southern Utah is never going to have much in the way of national expectations, as they, along with the rest of the Big Sky are only going to get an NCAA tournament bid by winning the conference tournament. It was a huge upset last season when the Thunderbirds were eliminated in the semifinals of the conference tournament as they were the best team in the league all year long.
This season the expectations should be NCAA tournament or bust. Southern Utah returns most of their team from last season and all their scoring. The offense is going to be one of the best in the conference again and have a chance to be one of the best in the country again.
Southern Utah has an offense that any offensive player is going to love to play in. Jones has thrived in the offense and is going to be rewarded once again this year. The guard was already an All-Big Sky first-team performer after his great 2020-2021 season.
This year many expect him to be better and he is going to have a shot at the Big Sky Player of the Year, but he is going to have some very still competition for the award with Bodie Hume of Northern Colorado. The senior would trade it all for an appearance in the NCAA tournament which given the overall strength of Southern Utah seems like a very likely end to the season for the Thunderbirds.
Jones is far from the only player that Southern Utah has. Just a reminder, that every student-athlete was given an extra year of eligibility last year from the NCAA. So, in reality, Southern Utah could be good for the next handful of years but living in the present, Jones is going to pair with point guard and super-efficient scorer John Knight III.
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Southern Utah also has two of the better shooters in the country in guard Dre Marin and forward Maizen Fausett. The players all averaged double figures last year. Southern Utah is virtually unchanged from a season ago and not only are the favorites in the Big Sky they are going to be one of the better mid-majors in the country.