FAIRMONT —
I’m guessing you’re curious as to why Kevin Jones wasn’t taken in Thursday’s NBA draft.
Me, too.
The same surely goes for the rest of Mountaineer Nation and heck, probably even the player himself who averaged 19.9 points per game, 10.9 rebounds and put a wildly inconsistent West Virginia University team on his back for the large part of his senior year.
Just a day earlier on Twitter, Jones was ecstatic, as his lifelong pro basketball dreams seemed mere hours from being fulfilled.
“Tomorrow I will realize my childhood dream,” he posted at the time. “I just want to thank everybody who has been a part of my success throughout my basketball career.”
Fast forward to late Thursday night, and the storyline had changed dramatically.
The first round had come and gone. And with that so had a widely reported promise of a team planning to use its first-round pick on Jones. In addition, the Charleston Daily Mail reported earlier in the week that a second team looked to use a slot it held early in the second round to take the 6-6, All-Big East forward.
But instead NBA teams picking in the second round opted for players you haven’t heard of such as Izzet Turkyilmaz and Ognjen Kuzmic. Or three Big East talents including Marquette’s Jae Crowder, who had edged Jones for league Player of the Year just months earlier. Even oft-injured guys like Purdue’s Robbie Hummel had their name called.
Then the clock finally struck midnight and the Lakers wrapped up the night’s proceedings by taking Gonzaga’s Robert Sacre with the 60th overall pick.
Kevin Jones, meanwhile, was left waiting at the altar.
The decision makes you wonder what NBA scouts and front office are searching for half the time.
Is it a basketball player — someone who does the dirty work like Jones did and does it without a lot of flash — or a skinny guy with a long wingspan that could turn into a special pro if the stars somehow all align, which usually doesn’t happen with kids who can vote but still might not be of legal drinking age.
No matter how tall the ceiling, there’s something to be said for a solid floor and the chance you know what you’re getting. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to suggest that Jones could be an outstanding bench player in the NBA, someone who could provide scoring and rebounding in a pinch.
Either way, he’ll still get the chance, as some team will most certainly pick up him as an undrafted free agent. And since second-round NBA contracts are not guaranteed and draftees must make the team, perhaps it’s better that Jones will be able to pick which city provides the best fit — and the best chance to stick.
The thing is, it shouldn’t have come down to that.
Email Nick Cammuso at ncammuso@timeswv.com. Follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/NickCammusoTWV.
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