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Here's the thing. Location might not have made all that big a difference for Tevian Jones' next college basketball home. Hear me out. Something as simple as a fresh start — anywhere — could just be exactly what the former Illinois guard needs.
Jones' time at Illinois was mostly a disappointment. The Illini's win against Maryland at Madison Square Garden in the 2018-19 season — and Jones' role in it in the breakout performance of his freshman year — was the high point. Maybe the only one. Matching suspensions as a freshman and sophomore marred Jones' time in Champaign. The mistakes he made off the court meant he never really allowed himself the opportunity to establish himself on the court.
Now, Jones will have a fresh start at Southern Utah. Unless he receives a transfer waiver (again, who knows what it actually takes to get one?), the 6-foot-7, 205-pound guard will sit out the upcoming 2020-21 season and then have two more years of eligibility with the Thunderbirds.
Jones is far and away — and that might not even be strong enough — the most highly-regarded player Southern Utah has added in the "recruiting era." Whether Jones can live up to his four-star, just-outside-the-top-100 billing at Southern Utah will be the question.
Any help even if it's not until 2021-22 will likely be more than welcome at Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds finished the 2019-20 season with a 17-15 record and seventh place finish in the Big Sky. They were in all actuality a .500 team because two of their wins came against non-Division I teams.
By the 2021-22 season — if Jones has to wait that long — Southern Utah coach Todd Simon will be looking for someone to step into a leading scorer role. The Thunderbirds already lost their top scorer from 2018-19 (Cameron Oluyitan, a Jones-esque wing) to graduation, and this coming season's likely top scorer John Knight III will also exhaust his eligibility by next March.
The door is open, then, for Jones to turn around his college basketball career. It just comes down to one question. Will he?
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June 25, 2020 at 06:00PM
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Good Morning, Illini Nation: Tevian Jones' fit at Southern Utah - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
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