It’s official: Tre Jones staying at Duke
Duke will have its starting point guard back next season.
The school announced Monday that Tre Jones will stay in school for his sophomore season rather than entering the NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-2 Jones had been projected to be selected late in the first round if he’d entered his name in the draft.
As one of four freshmen starters for the Blue Devils this season, Jones helped Duke go 32-6. Duke won the ACC championship and entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed but lost 68-67 to Michigan State in the East Region final on March 31 in Washington, D.C.
While freshmen Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish are preparing to enter the NBA Draft, Jones decided over the weekend that staying in school was more appealing.
He made his final decision to stay on Monday.
Jones averaged 9.4 points and 5.3 assists per game for Duke. He started all 36 games he played for Duke, missing two January games due to a separated shoulder. He’s considered among the nation’s top defensive players.
Jones made 41.4 percent of his shots while making just 26.2 percent of his 3-pointers.
His return for next season will give Duke a backcourt that also includes senior Jack White and juniors Alex O’Connell and Jordan Goldwire, who were all reserves this season, as well as 6-7 sophomore Joey Baker. Incoming freshmen perimeter players include 6-2 Boogie Ellis and 6-5 Wendell Moore.
This story was originally published April 8, 2019 at 5:54 PM with the headline "It’s official: Tre Jones staying at Duke."