Xavier Season in Review: Tyrique Jones report card

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Banners on the Parkway postseason player report cards. We’ll be breaking down each player’s grades for the rest of this week and on into next week and maybe the following, just depending on how time allows. We’ll also be assigning and explaining our own grades of each player. We’ll start with the player who got the lowest community ranking and work our way up to the MVP.

Tyrique Jones joins Kaiser Gates as one of the most obviously physically gifted players on the team. Short of stepping outside and knocking down a jumper, there’s not a lot more that Jones could do at his position. He devours the defensive glass, blocks shots, is incredibly efficient on offense, and improved in almost every statistical category this season. And yet, Tyrique leaves fans with the impression that it hasn’t all quite clicked yet. His overall grade from our community reflects the feeling that maybe he could get just a bit more out of what he has.

Offense: B

Jones has no three point game and, while rapidly improving, still isn’t a great free throw shooter. There really are no other holes in his offensive game. Tyrique can, within reason, put the ball on the floor and beat a big. He has almost surprisingly deft back to the basket game, especially when moving to his right hand. Add in a 12.2% offensive rebounding rate and 70% (good for 12th in the nation had he qualified) free throw rate and you have an almost dominant offensive presence. Another year of improvement from the line and Jones will be scoring in double figures routinely.

Defense: C

Here’s where the mystery of Tyrique deepens. Too look at him and watch him move is to see a player who should absolutely dominate on defense. Jones is not built like a brick outhouse, he’s built like two of them put together. He’s quick enough to have the second highest steal rate on the team, and he’s a very good shot blocker. Despite all that, he’s not a very good defender. Whispers that Coach Mack was not pleased with his defensive effort became louder when Coach Mack began expressing that more vociferously. Tyrique can play great defense, it just appears as if he doesn’t always choose to do so. When you are on a team with Sean O’Mara and Kerem Kanter, that means you only get 15 minutes per game.

Overall: B-

Tyrique is a guy who is heading into the season where Xavier’s bigs tend to make their jump. Mike Pegues is gone, so Jones becomes the first chance for the new staff to demonstrate they have the same ability to mold from wet clay. If they can, there’s no reason that Tyrique can’t continue his improvement and land on one of the all-Big East teams. With more dedication on the defensive end, he could have been there this year.