Marquette Basketball Player Profile: Jamail Jones

Article Written By: Ryan Ellerbusch (Twitter: @MUWarriorBBall)

Perhaps overlooked in Marquette’s 2010 recruiting class, freshman Jamail Jones is confident that his time will eventually come to contribute to the Golden Eagles on a regular basis.

The 6’6” forward from Montverde Academy in Florida was ranked by ESPN as the 53rd top high school basketball prospect in the class of 2010. However, Jones hasn’t seen much meaningful playing time throughout the course of this season and has averaged just two minutes of action in five games during the Big East Conference portion of Marquette’s schedule.

“I always come into every game thinking I am going to play. Not playing is rough, but I just got to wait my turn. We’re in the best conference in America so you can never take a night off. You always have to bring your best game because you never know. Anyone can beat you on any given night.”

Despite averaging just 1.4 points and 0.9 rebounds this season, Jones has remained “Mellow,” a nickname that his teammates call him by because he is very relaxed and likes to chill in his off time and sleep a lot. Rightfully so, the Marquette basketball program under third-year head coach Buzz Williams is one that is very intense and requires a hard-working, tough, and a never give up mentality, which Jones admires.

“(Buzz) is a good coach. Intense, very intense, and just hard-nosed. He doesn’t really take any crap so you always got to be at your best all the time.”

As just a freshman with high expectations and a lot of hype being a four-star recruit, thus far, Jones has been doing his best to stand out by showing coach Williams his talents and not getting caught up in the fact that critics may expect more out of him.

“I played against a lot of highly ranked people coming out of high school so they (the rankings) don’t really mean much. It’s just another game on a different day.”

Jones can often be seen on the court during pregame warm-ups dazzling fans with his slam-dunks that have even received national attention back in high school when Jones played in the ESPN 2010 Rise National Championship Invitational and had two dunks in back-to-back days that made SportsCenter’s countdown of the Top 10 plays.

Marquette fans first caught a glimpse of what Jones might be able to bring to the squad in future years on December 18th vs. Centenary when he recorded a career-high 11 points for the Golden Eagles on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the victory.

“I felt good out there playing with my teammates just being able to do what I do best and not doing too much outside of my box.”

Jones, who dons the number 22 on his jersey in honor of his father who earned three letters playing college basketball (1984-86) at Alaska-Anchorage, has also been an energetic boost on the sidelines where he cheers on his teammates and hopes one day that he can bring energy, defense, scoring, and some wins to Marquette as the Golden Eagles hope to make a national championship run.

Jones strengths are shooting the basketball, particularly from his hotspots near the left and right wings where he can be deadly from 3-point range. In addition, Jones is also learning to put the ball on the floor more and is improving his defense, which will only get better as Jones gains more experience playing collegiate basketball.

Jones knows his role on the team as a young student-athlete and is aware that he must always be ready when given the opportunity to shine by coach Williams either in a game or in practice when Williams shuffles the lineups at a rapid pace as he been accustomed to doing recently.

“It’s kind of a mix because sometimes he (Buzz) splits the team up or he will go starters and then he will pick another five to go against the starters. Just depending on how he is feeling that day.”

In the upcoming years as Jones’ basketball career here at Marquette progresses, Golden Eagles basketball fans should have no problem recognizing and interacting with this “mellow” athlete because Jamail Jones wants Marquette Nation to know one thing about him.

“I am a real down to earth guy. I’m a people person so whenever you see me, you can talk to me. Don’t be afraid to talk to me. I will talk back. It’s that simple.”