The journey of Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones
Just three years ago, Tyus Jones graduated high school.
He had just finished a five-year campaign as the starting point guard on the Apple Valley Eagles varsity basketball team. Yes, folks, that’s right: he started on varsity as an eighth-grader. And he shined.
Jones tossed in 28.7 points per game as a sophomore. By then, the high-majors were peeking. The guy just made it look effortless, no matter the situation. His name continued to rise in the ESPN 100 rankings, and by the time he decided to continue his hoops path at Duke, he was a consensus top-10 recruit nationally.
And he highlighted his senior year with this dunk in the arena he would very soon call home.
When someone remembers the 2014-15 college basketball season, they remember three things: the Kentucky Wildcats’ undefeated run—led by Karl-Anthony Towns—that ended in the Final Four, the Wisconsin Badgers’ down-and-dirty upset of those Wildcats, and the only team left standing: the Duke Blue Devils. The undisputed leader and catalyst of that national championship team was none other than Tyus Jones.
They don’t call him “Stones” for nothing. Jones knew what winning was about his whole life. His Apple Valley teams consistently made deep postseason appearances, including a Class AAAA State championship in 2013. His Howard Pulley AAU squad always hung around with the best of the best on the EYBL circuit. Jones was always around for the wins. Who better to spearhead a legendary roster under a legendary coach for a legendary program?
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The confetti fell. Jones’ tourney heroics helped his NBA Draft stock skyrocket. He entered the mix for a chance at the highest level of basketball.
Not the most athletic or biggest guard in the draft, Jones was on many teams’ radars selecting in the late first round. The Timberwolves had already grabbed the all-around stud Towns with the first overall pick; fans were going out of their minds. What better way to follow up than acquire the hometown hero? The Wolves traded up to take Jones, and all of a sudden, Tyus was coming back to the state in which he had dominated for so long.
A bench point guard in the NBA usually has an extremely long career; they can find a job almost every year. But I don’t believe Tyus Jones is any old bench point guard. He’s a winner. And though he’s left an everlasting legacy on prep hoops in Minnesota, he wants to write another story on the biggest stage.
If you aren’t familiar with much Minnesota high school basketball, here’s what you need to know: in Minnesota’s high school class of 2017, there have been 21 Division I commits. In the two years before Tyus graduated in 2014 (along with the Milwaukee Bucks’ Rashad Vaughn, Stanford’s Reid Travis and Xavier’s J.P. Macura), there were just 19 combined.
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No one player has altered the course of how basketball is viewed in this state like Tyus Jones has. I hope he can have the same effect in the NBA.