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The trajectory of Irving Macarthur combo guard Andrew Jones has been entirely vertical. Vertical as in elevating for monstrous slams. Vertical as in vaulting from an unknown prospect last summer to earning consideration as one of hte top combo guards in the country. Vertical as in becoming a five-star prospect by 247Sports as the calendar switched from 2015 to 2016. Vertical as in growing from 5'8 as a freshman to 6'3 as a junior to 6'5 as a senior.
A mid-December commitment for the Texas Longhorns, Jones is now the crown jewel of head coach Shaka Smart's first full recruiting class, assembled quickly and on the fly. Sure, power forward James Banks and point guard Jacob Young are both excellent prospects in their own rights, but Jones is on another level right now.
He's a top-25 player nationally by 247Sports, the No. 4 combo guard nationally, and the No. 3 player in the state of Texas, behind only De'Aaron Fox and Terrance Ferguson. He's averaging nearly 30 points per game this year from every spot on the court. He was recently named a McDonald's All-American.
In early February, he scored 40 points against RL Turner, with seven rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Turner scored only 36 total points. In his next outing, he dropped 27 points, finishing the week only nine points short of the points total put up by Macarthur's opponents.
When highlights emerge of Jones smoothly shaking a defender, steaming down the lane, and throwing down a vicious slam with no regard for his opponents, such a play is now so commonplace for Jones as to be capable of passing with little comment. Just Andrew Jones being Andrew Jones.
Andrew Jones @AxJ_10 with nasty dunk!! #ballislife pic.twitter.com/Fvi1vhNwzJ
— BallisLife South (@BradBallisLife) February 21, 2016
After all, he scored 37 points against Skyline in early February, too, with several big dunks and a buzzer-beating floater.
To be sure, all three commits/signees for the Longhorns are currently top-100 players, representing an impressive haul for Smart in such a short period of time, but right now Jones looks like the guy who will headline the class. Unless Smart manages to land local five-star talent Jarrett Allen, that is.