The terms “five-star” and “underrated” are not usually correlated in everyday life, especially in the college basketball world. When a recruit gets that coveted fifth star they can usually expect to have some kind of light on them every time they step on the court. If that player is a top-five recruit coming out of high school, they can usually expect to be talked as a certain one-and-done prospect, off to the NBA after one year on campus. Two players haven’t exactly fit that mold, but have outperformed their expectations despite being five-star recruits.
Tyus Jones isn’t your usual five-star recruit. He does not boast unworldly athleticism, highlight reel dunks, or a big ego. Despite his deserving ranking, he was the fourth ranked recruit overall and the number one point, Jones was not talked about as a game-changing player as a freshman. His play has changed that notion so far this season.
Coming out of Minnesota didn’t do Jones any favors, either. The snowy state is not known for having elite basketball talent, but the 2014 class was an exception. Jones, Rashad Vaughn, and Reid Travis, all five-stars, all call Minnesota home, and all decided to move away. Vaughn and Travis went to the west coast while Jones went to the east. Even with a loaded state class, it is hard to get much press while in Minnesota. Jones was at an immediate disadvantage.
Another factor in Jones being an under-the-radar player was the return of senior point guard Quinn Cook. Cook has had a up-and-down career at Duke, but really came into his own last year and was expected to be a key leader for a relatively young Blue Devil squad. He has been steady this year, shooting 40% from three and keeping his turnover rate at a low 1.2 per game. Jones was going to have his minutes, and opportunities, cut because of Cook’s presence, but he has averaged an impressive 28.7 MPG including 37 minutes vs. Wisconsin and 38 minutes vs. Connecticut.
Now why are people paying attention to Tyus Jones now? Well he has performed, and performed especially well in big games. Against Michigan State, Stanford, Army, Wisconsin, and Connecticut, Jones has averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.6 APG, while averaged just one turnover per game. Jones had the label of being a composed player in high school, and that has certainly translated to the college level.
Kevon Looney has had a little bit of a different path that Jones. Like Jones, he was from a northern state, Wisconsin, but that’s where the differences end. Looney is an extremely athletic kid, and has his share of highlight plays. For some reason though, he wasn’t talked about as an one-and-done type of player. NBADraft.com has Looney up to #5 in their mock draft, and while those tend to be unreliable, it gives us an idea of how much he was out of the loop.
Although UCLA is a pedestrian 8-4 this season, and I should note that their losses have come to North Carolina, Oklahoma, Gonzaga, and Kentucky, all superb teams, Looney can’t be blamed too much. He has scored in double digits in every game except for the Kentucky game. This has helped him average 13.9 PPG and 10.9 RPG so far this season. That’s right, he is averaging a double double. This type of production is usually expected from a five-star, but no one expected this from Looney.
Considering Looney ended up at UCLA was surprising enough. No one thought he would make his way out to California. In fact, 0 of 33 analysts on 247.com predicted that Looney would end up at UCLA. The decision came with little fanfare, but the decision has obviously paid off. The Bruins offense lets him be free and use his versatility to his advantage, while also allowing him to hit the glass. The match has been a thing of beauty for both parties.
Tyus Jones and Kevon Looney might not have come into the season expected to be stars on their given team, but they have been playing like their should have been. It’s a rare case of five-star prospects being overlooked, but both players are showing us that it can happen. Jones and Looney should continue to have great seasons, and make sure we keep talking about them
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