Jerome Jones

[STL Hoops Insider]

He chose Missouri State. Billikenreport broke the news, and there is also a blurb and footage on our site.

[Guest BillikenReport]

He chose Missouri State. Billikenreport broke the news, and there is also a blurb and footage on our site.

Jones told me he really wanted a scholarship offer from Saint Louis U., but I don't think he was going to get one because the Billikens have targeted several similar sized swingmen (6-4/6-5-ish) who shoot the ball a lot better from the perimeter than Jones does. But Jones is a very good athlete who plays a lot bigger than he is. I thought he was 6-5 or 6-6, but he said he's only 6-4.

[STL Hoops Insider]

I'm a little concerned about the team's athleticism and I hope that at least a couple of athletic players like Jones could be landed in the 2009 class. Are the 2008 signees on campus yet. I know several of the other 2008 signees of other schools are already on their respective campuses working out.

[moytoy12]

I'm a little concerned about the team's athleticism

lol, of course you are. Although i know you are upset that none of these guys can do a 720 jam, I know TL and KL have good athleticism. I'm betting that Femi, K. Mitchell, and Willie aren't too bad. Here's guessing that Conklin will be ok and that BE will have worked on his conditioning in the offseason per RM's instruction. That leaves us with Cassity, Paul, and Ruben that probably won't be considered overly athletic. I think we'll survive somehow.

[Guest BillikenReport]

lol, of course you are. Although i know you are upset that none of these guys can do a 720 jam, I know TL and KL have good athleticism. I'm betting that Femi, K. Mitchell, and Willie aren't too bad. Here's guessing that Conklin will be ok and that BE will have worked on his conditioning in the offseason per RM's instruction. That leaves us with Cassity, Paul, and Ruben that probably won't be considered overly athletic. I think we'll survive somehow.

At the Elite Camp, Barry said he had lost about 10 pounds. He definitely looked slimmer.

[trumpeteers]

lol, of course you are. Although i know you are upset that none of these guys can do a 720 jam, I know TL and KL have good athleticism. I'm betting that Femi, K. Mitchell, and Willie aren't too bad. Here's guessing that Conklin will be ok and that BE will have worked on his conditioning in the offseason per RM's instruction. That leaves us with Cassity, Paul, and Ruben that probably won't be considered overly athletic. I think we'll survive somehow.

Eckerle is athletic-great leaper, fairly quick hands and feet, runs well-- Seems like a good athlete to me

[moytoy12]

Eckerle is athletic-great leaper, fairly quick hands and feet, runs well-- Seems like a good athlete to me

Thanks, I have only been able to see him a couple of times on TV.

[slufanskip]

Eckerle is athletic-great leaper, fairly quick hands and feet, runs well-- Seems like a good athlete to me

PE is at best an average athlete for a D1 6'1"? guard. Compared to the average guy he's probably a great athlete, but for the position he plays on a D1 basketball team he's average at the very best.

[SS601]

PE is not even an average athlete on the D1 level. He is a D3 player all the way! He would have an extremely hard time playing at many D2 schools. The same goes for DM at Northern Kentucky.

[jimbofive]

PE is not even an average athlete on the D1 level. He is a D3 player all the way! He would have an extremely hard time playing at many D2 schools. The same goes for DM at Northern Kentucky.

[Bearvision]

He definitely needs to improve his jump shot, but he was 11-33 from 3pt range, and 66% from the FT line, so he's not exactly a butcher with his shot.

ESPN rates him a top-200 player, and Hoopsmaster has him as a top-150 player.

Exciting get for Missouri St. even if he does have a few warts. You can teach a kid to be a better shooter, you can't teach his athleticism. Plus, this is another foot in the door of the Stl area for recruiting.

I love what Coach Martin is doing thus far.

[3star_recruit]

Is Kyle Kirk still with the Bears? He and Jones play a lot alike, with Kirk having a better handle.

[billiken_roy]

Is Kyle Kirk still with the Bears? He and Jones play a lot alike, with Kirk having a better handle.

3 star, kirk played at swic last year. i assume he will stay and play his sophomore season at swic as well.

[3star_recruit]

3 star, kirk played at swic last year. i assume he will stay and play his sophomore season at swic as well.

I wonder what happened at Mo. State? He was a highly touted recruit for them at the time.

[billiken_roy]

I wonder what happened at Mo. State? He was a highly touted recruit for them at the time.

i do not recall exactly but something in my head tells me that i had read he really didnt want to be redshirted that initial season and when he was, it was upsetting? again, not sure on that.

[brianstl]

i do not recall exactly but something in my head tells me that i had read he really didnt want to be redshirted that initial season and when he was, it was upsetting? again, not sure on that.

That could be it. I thought I heard he and Hinson had a falling out.

[Bearvision]

Kirk had many issues, none of which need to be aired on a message board. If Kirk had better handles than this Jones, Jones should stop playing basketball. That was the absolute worst part of Kyle's game, and he would tell you that.

Jones is much higher rated than Kirk was, though Kyle got a 3rd star from one recruiting site.

Anyway, Kyle has given up basketball and is in Ranger school in Georgia.

[p diddy]

Kirk had many issues, none of which need to be aired on a message board. If Kirk had better handles than this Jones, Jones should stop playing basketball. That was the absolute worst part of Kyle's game, and he would tell you that.

Jones is much higher rated than Kirk was, though Kyle got a 3rd star from one recruiting site.

Anyway, Kyle has given up basketball and is in Ranger school in Georgia.

"It's true. Kirk had much better handles than Jones did as a high school player. He played mostly point guard early in his career at FZW and he handled the ball quite a bit on a very good Eagles team during the summer at the 15s and 16s. It seems like he lost a lot of his game as he got bigger and older. He could never shoot. He was strictly an athletic slasher.

bad boyz for life

[Guest BillikenReport]

I like what Cuonzo Martin has done in a short time with recruiting.

Guys like Derron Hobbs and Jerome Jones have a chance to be good college players and could thrive in the uptempo system Martin has talked about.

- Nate

[Bearvision]

"It's true. Kirk had much better handles than Jones did as a high school player. He played mostly point guard early in his career at FZW and he handled the ball quite a bit on a very good Eagles team during the summer at the 15s and 16s. It seems like he lost a lot of his game as he got bigger and older. He could never shoot. He was strictly an athletic slasher.

bad boyz for life

Watched him play for years, both as a Kickapoo player, and at Missouri St. I've hung out with the kid, and he's told me himself that handles were the worst part of his game. He was an athletic slasher for sure, but he slashed more without the ball, or by using his power to get past defenders who were smaller than him, rather than using quickness or dribbling. Kid was built like a LB, was super aggressive, attacked the rim, rebounded well, and was good at finishing above the rim. Perhaps you're remembering him more as a 15 y/o, rather than the player I watched etc?

I believe Jones looks much quicker (or agile) than Kirk was in HS. Side to side quickness is important in our scheme.

Probably a pretty similar bio to Jones, who I've only seen on film. Jones certainly isn't a great shooter, but neither was Coach Martin, who developed into a good one.

I've always subscribed to the theory of getting the great athletes and players who fit your scheme. Our defensive scheme relies on quickness and defensive intensity, so you have to have a certain level of athleticism to play here now.

I agree Nate, in a short time of recruiting, Martin has easily surpassed my expectations. Now, we just need to close on Alec Burks as well for '09, and get a PF to round out '08 class to go with hopefully Ryan Allen as a wing.

[Guest BillikenReport]

"It's true. Kirk had much better handles than Jones did as a high school player. He played mostly point guard early in his career at FZW and he handled the ball quite a bit on a very good Eagles team during the summer at the 15s and 16s. It seems like he lost a lot of his game as he got bigger and older. He could never shoot. He was strictly an athletic slasher.

I thought Kirk was a very good mid-range shooter as a freshman at Zumwalt West. At that point, he was a slim 6-foot-4 kid who could get to the hoop, finish with authority and knock down shots out to the 3-point line. As he got older, he got bigger and then lost what were his strengths when he was younger. His drive and two-hand dunk over a 6-8 Troy kid as a freshman is still one of my favorite moments of covering high school basketball.

I had heard he entered the armed forces, but wasn't sure of the specifics. I know one of his problems in his first year at SWIC was his conditioning and getting into shape, so I wonder how that works with going into the Rangers. If I remember correctly, you have to be under a certain weight limit (maybe 200 pounds). But that could have been increased in recent years.

- Nate

[3star_recruit]

Kirk had many issues, none of which need to be aired on a message board. If Kirk had better handles than this Jones, Jones should stop playing basketball. That was the absolute worst part of Kyle's game, and he would tell you that.

Jones is much higher rated than Kirk was, though Kyle got a 3rd star from one recruiting site.

Sorry Kirk didn't work out for you guys but no need to employ revisionist history. Both Scout and Rivals both had him as a 3 star coming out of high school, he was recruited by more impressive schools than Jones, was invited to the prestigious Nike Hoop Jamboree as an underclassman and the big Nike camps as a junior and a senior.

[Bearvision]

Sorry Kirk didn't work out for you guys but no need to employ revisionist history. Both Scout and Rivals both had him as a 3 star coming out of high school, he was recruited by more impressive schools than Jones, was invited to the prestigious Nike Hoop Jamboree as an underclassman and the big Nike camps as a junior and a senior.

Funny how the revisionist history works as well...Kirk was poo-pooed on this board from the start.

Jones is rated top-200 and top-150 by two separate sites...I don't remember Kirk being rated that way at the time. I was excited for Kirk at the time, and that post never slams or disparages Kirk in any way.

Jones' recruiting had just begun to start to increase, the summer before your senior year is the biggest summer of your recruiting life. We'll see who has a better college career, but I'd have to wager it will be Jones, considering Kirk didn't start for his JUCO team before getting hurt, wasn't good enough to play big minutes for a team with a hole at both the Guard positions, and the 3, so he redshirted, and had other issues in college.

Both players are highly rated for one reason: Their athleticism.

[3star_recruit]

Funny how the revisionist history works as well...Kirk was poo-pooed on this board from the start.

Maybe you're thinking of the Mizzou board. I've been here for years and have never seen Kirk poo-pooed by anybody. He was highly regarded when he was here but when he moved to Springfield a lot of us lost track of him.

[Guest BillikenReport]

We'll see who has a better college career, but I'd have to wager it will be Jones, considering Kirk didn't start for his JUCO team before getting hurt, wasn't good enough to play big minutes for a team with a hole at both the Guard positions, and the 3, so he redshirted, and had other issues in college.

That's a pretty safe bet, assuming Jones qualifies and actually gets into a game at Mo. State.

Considering Kirk is out of basketball — and out of college, apparently — after one redshirt year at a D-1 and being a backup at a junior college, there's no way anyone can claim he had a successful college career.