Dominique Jones is taking Gus Gilchrist's absence as his chance to put South Florida on the national radar. (AP)
Country, it’s time to get to know one Dominique Jones.
South Florida fans have been aware of what the 6-4 junior is a capable of for some time now.
But it’s getting ridiculous.
Jones is on pace to win Player of the Year in the Big East, yet you probably don’t know a thing about him outside of his beastly stat lines in the past two weeks. In USF’s first winning streak in program history in the Big East, which has reached four games, Jones is putting up an average of 35 points per tip.
Last night, Jones contributed up 22 of his 29 points in the second half to lift USF to a win in the Verizon Center over Georgetown, which humbled Duke in the same building four days prior. He played all but one minute in the game and added eight grabs and four dimes. How very Evan Turner of him.
Even better about the performance: Jones shot 17 free throws and only sunk one 3-pointer. He also got chit-chatty with the Hoyas’ student section. (Then again, it wasn’t the strongest contingent that made the trip last night.) Winning and talking smack? I do believe we have a player whose confidence is growing by the game.
He’s dynamic, truly. And he’s dangerous. Now, maybe the Bulls need a little of that cockyness, too.
The biggest challenge now for Jones is to have continued success when more people are watching and more people are expecting it from you. We’ve never seen how he reacts to a little weight on his shoulders. Best-in-the-conference playerswalk about the place as if it’s merely a gym towel.
If there’s a reason to love his play, it’s that he doesn’t rely on scoring from only two or 22 feet away; he can shoot and find his spots from that cushion 14 feet outside the rim. Getting to the foul line 17 times when you’re 6-4 is damn impressive.
Jones is leading the charge since USF is without another primary player: Gus Gilchrist is still out with an ankle injury.
Here are Jones’ stat lines from the last five games:
• Cinci 21 points 38 minutes, 4 assists.
• Providence 46 points, 45 minutes, 16-23 from the field, 14-18 from the line, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals.
• Seton Hall 28 points, 45 minutes, 10-11 from the line.
• Pittsburgh 37 points, 39 minutes, 14-17 from the line, 8 rebounds.
• Georgetown 29 points, 39 minutes, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals.
He’s continually getting it done, being asked to play for an entire game and now has teams keying in on him. If South Florida can reach The Tournament (I can’t even believe I typed that sentence), then Jones is going to snatch the award out of Wes Johnson, Da’Sean Butler or Scottie Reynolds’ hands.
