Sophomore (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) has come a long way since his freshman year. Unlike some point guards who are simply role players, Jones has proven to be a key factor to the success of the men鈥檚 basketball team this year.
In the men鈥檚 one-point win against Shenandoah Feb. 3, Jones showed just how clutch he is when he drew the foul and hit the game-winning free throw.聽 Three days later against Randolph-Macon, he broke a 65-65 tie with four straight points in the final minute to propel Eastern Mennonite to a 73-71 win. For his efforts, he was named the Royals Athlete of the Week.
鈥淢y expectation is that he鈥檒l be first team all-league because there鈥檚 no reason for him not to be,鈥� said Coach .
Jones was never the go-to player for his high school team. Dean recalls that when he was recruiting Jones in high school, he was the fourth option behind his twin brother (Charles Town, W.V./Washington).
Jones says his role聽 is much different than what was expected of him last year.
鈥淢y role now is facilitating the score whenever I can,鈥� said Jones, who is a captain. 聽鈥淓veryone always comes to me with questions and I like it.聽 I was vocal last year but this year I don鈥檛 have an option but to be, so I鈥檓 way more vocal.鈥�
He is averaging 10.1 points, 2.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.聽 He is also one of the best three-point shooters in the ODAC at 47.4%.
鈥淧ersonally I thought I couldn鈥檛 really shoot last year,鈥� Jones admitted. 聽鈥淪o all summer I worked on ball handling and shooting.聽 Now I鈥檓 shooting close to 50 percent from three so that really improved and I have more control over the ball this year.聽 Defensively, Coach said I鈥檓 one of the top on-ball defenders so I think that improved, too.聽 But I always want to get better at defense and getting other people involved. 聽I don鈥檛 like feeling too selfish on the court but apparently I need to be that way for us to win.鈥�
Maleke did not come up with this conclusion. His coaches did.
鈥淭o me he鈥檚 the most important player,鈥� Dean said. 聽鈥淲e do efficiency ratings on our kids based on criteria established by the NBA where we plug in all of their stats and it produces a number that says how efficient they are. He鈥檚 been our most efficient player all year long. That鈥檚 a nice way of saying he鈥檚 probably our most important or most valuable player. He kind of needs to grow into that role because he鈥檚 never been that guy. But Maleke is coming into his own and he needs to continue to do that because he is really talented. He can鈥檛 just settle for being a good player; he has to be the player of the year in our league next year. In my opinion, he has that kind of talent.鈥�