Debbie Jones, mother of Apple Valley senior point guard Tyus Jones, told Sports Headliners her son is open to playing only one year of college basketball. “If the opportunity presents itself, then absolutely,” Debbie said.
Leaving for the NBA after one season has been discussed with coaches recruiting Jones. The possibility of playing only as a freshman hasn’t deterred the biggest names in college coaching from pursuing Jones who is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 5 player in the nation for the prep class of 2014.
The final schools Jones is considering signing a Letter of Intent with are Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Minnesota. NCAA rules allow high school seniors to sign from November 13-20. There is a second signing period next spring from April 16-May 21.
Jones plans to sign with a school in November. An announcement regarding his college choice will come during the first or second week next month, according to his mom.
How the announcement will be done hasn’t been determined but Debbie said, “We’ll probably do something at the school (Apple Valley).” She indicated her son’s announcement is likely to happen at the same time as Jahlil Okafor’s. A well publicized pact between Jones and Okafor to attend college together is likely to remain in place. Okafor is a center from Chicago’s Whitney High School and is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 1 player nationally in the 2014 class.
Debbie said it’s “doubtful” her son and Okafor will choose separate schools, and acknowledged the Chicago superstar doesn’t have the Gophers on his final list of possible colleges. “If they go together to school that unfortunately would eliminate the Gophers,” Debbie said.
Okafor’s list of schools is reportedly Baylor, Duke and Kansas. He and Tyus visited Kansas together last weekend and over Labor Day weekend were at Baylor. Okafor is expected to join his friend at Duke this weekend.
Jones and his mom leave tomorrow for Duke, the last official visit the two will make in narrowing down the list of schools. On Saturday they will watch the Blue Devils in an exhibition game against Bowie State.
Tyus has been one of the most coveted athletes in Minnesota prep history. Debbie said the family is appreciative of all the attention but it will be a relief to end the selection process.
She also said there haven’t been any offers from schools that are in violation of NCAA rules. “I think people kind of know who we are. They know they’re dealing with people who don’t operate that way.”
Worth Noting
Debbie Jones’ youngest son, eighth grader Tre Jones, starts tryouts with the Apple Valley High School varsity on November 11. She said Tre will know after the first week of practice whether he made the team — as older brother Tyus did as an eighth grader.
The Timberwolves play the Sixers tonight who have a preseason roster that includes former Gophers Royce White and Rodney Williams. White leads the Sixers in personal fouls per game, 4.25. In five games he is averaging five points. Williams has played in one game for 19 minutes and didn’t score but had one block, rebound and assist.
Look for the Vikings to honor Cris Carter at their home game on November 7 against the Redskins. The former wide receiver was enshrined earlier this year in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Despite the combined dismal 1-10 record of the Vikings and Giants, their Monday night game was the most watched NFL telecast on ESPN in three weeks, according to a story yesterday on Sportsmediawatch.com.
Fans are welcome at the Gopher Gridiron Luncheon program starting at 11:30 a.m. on Friday at Jax Café in northeast Minneapolis. The program includes a Gophers coach and two players with Mike Grimm as emcee. More information is available at GoalLineClub.com. Membership in the Goal Line Club is not required to attend the luncheon which previews Minnesota’s game at home on Saturday against Nebraska.
A hockey source requesting anonymity told Sports Headliners that Wild owner Craig Leipold’s “patience” with coach Mike Yeo may not last more than a few more weeks. “They should be (playing) better than they are,” the source said earlier this week before the Wild defeated Nashville 2-0 last night.
The Wild is 4-3-3 in the first few weeks of the season. Not only is the win total disappointing but the team isn’t reaching its potential in creating “scoring chances,” the source said. The Wild had one goal last night until scoring on an empty net with 24 seconds remaining.
This is Yeo’s first NHL employment as a head coach and third season with the Wild. The team made the playoffs last season after a five year absence but the source suggested the Wild isn’t playing at last year’s level when the final record was a mediocre 26-19-2.
With a ho-hum start, the Wild has been behind the Vikings, Gophers football and even the Timberwolves (season hasn’t started) in generating local sports interest.
Sam Warning, the Gophers 21-year-old junior wing, is tied for the nation’s scoring lead in points with Kevin Roy from Northeastern. Warning has nine points in four games after scoring 23 last season in 29 games. He is the first Missouri native to ever play for the Gophers.
The Gophers men’s and women’s hockey teams are ranked No. 1 in the country in the USCHO.com polls.
Daydreaming about the Twins? What if the front office used some Target Field revenues to acquire Tigers stopper Max Scherzer who is expected to sign with another MLB team during the offseason. Scherzer in a Twins uniform gives the club a No. 1 starting pitcher and signing with Minnesota weakens Central Division rival Detroit. Thoughts of a starting staff in a few years of Scherzer as the No. 1 guy, Alex Meyer No. 2 and Kyle Gibson No. 3 is intriguing.
Yesterday’s announcement that Paul Molitor will join the coaching staff with responsibilities that include in-game strategy leaves Twins followers wondering just how “hot” Ron Gardenhire’s manager seat is.
Local business leaders Dave Mona and Susan Adams Loyd are volunteer co-chairs for the National Senior Games to be held at various Twin Cities venues during July of 2015. The National Senior Games is the largest multi-sport event in the world for adults 50 and over, and 12,000 athletes and 30,000 guests are expected to attend the 2015 gathering. Loyd competes in track and field events for seniors, while Mona’s sports interests include co-hosting WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle.”