Position Small forward Nationality American Listed weight 190 lb (86 kg) Height 2.01 m Salary 543,471 USD (2016) | League NBA Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) College UNLV (2015–2016) Weight 86 kg | |
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Born February 15, 1997 (age 20)
Chester, Pennsylvania ( 1997-02-15 ) High school Archbishop John Carroll High School Current team Phoenix Suns (#10 / Small forward) Similar Alan Williams, John Jenkins, P J Tucker, Marquese Chriss, Jared Dudley Profiles | ||
Derrick Labrent Jones Jr. (born February 15, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels before a test controversy forced him to enter the NBA draft early.
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High school career
Jones attended Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania. As a senior in 2014–15, he was named the Southeastern Pennsylvania Player of the Year, the Delaware County Player of the Year, was the PIAA Triple-A Player of the Year, and was selected first-team All-Catholic League. Under coach Paul Romanczuk, Archbishop Carroll went 23–7 overall in 2014–15, including a 12–3 mark in conference play. In the semifinals of the state tournament, he recorded 30 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots. For the season, he averaged 19.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. During his high school career, he scored 1,645 points, collected 1,029 rebounds and blocked 268 shots, finishing as the highest scorer in school history.
College career
Jones joined the UNLV Runnin' Rebels for his freshman season in the 2015–16 NCAA season. Prior to the start of the season, the NCAA Eligibility Center requested that the ACT investigate test scores recorded by Jones and several other minority student-athletes from a particular testing site in Baltimore, Maryland. Despite this, Jones was cleared by the NCAA prior to UNLV's first game against Cal Poly in November. Jones was the Runnin' Rebels' second-leading scorer in 2015–16. He averaged 11.5 points on 58.9 percent shooting and 4.5 rebounds in 30 games. Jones recorded four double-doubles during the season, including a career-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds against Chaminade at the Maui Invitational Tournament.
On February 29, 2016, UNLV was notified by the ACT testing service that Jones' score had been cancelled. As a result, Jones was deemed ineligible to compete under NCAA rules and was forced to sit out the remaining three games of UNLV's season.
NBA Draft
On April 7, 2016, Jones declared for the 2016 NBA draft, but left open the possibility of returning to UNLV or going to another college program by not hiring an agent. Later that month, Jones hired an agent and remained in the draft.
Jones ultimately went undrafted in the 2016 draft, and subsequently joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2016 NBA Summer League. However, due to a groin injury, he was unable to play for the Kings during the tournament.
Phoenix Suns (2016–present)
On September 25, 2016, Jones signed with the Phoenix Suns for training camp. Jones secured an opening-night roster spot after impressing the Suns during training camp and preseason. During his rookie season, he has had multiple assignments with the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA Development League. He made his NBA debut against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 19, 2016, and recorded his first field goal in the NBA to finish with three points in three minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on December 15, 2016. Despite spending most of his time in the D-League during the 2016–17 season, Jones was selected to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He went on to make it through to the final round of the Slam Dunk Contest, where he ultimately lost to Glenn Robinson III. Through the All-Star break, Jones appeared in only 7 of the Suns first 57 games, never played more than 5:07 and never scored more than 6 points—which he tallied in the Suns last game right before the All-Star break as an opportunity to get a dunk in the NBA stat books prior to appearing in the Dunk contest days later. He began seeing consistent minutes with the Suns following the All-Star break.
Personal life
Jones is the son of Derrick Sr. and Otiesse Jones. He has one brother, Lakeem Johnson, and two sisters, Dej'sha Jones and On'Jesha Jones.