Besides a game against some No. 1 team on Saturday (Kentucky, I think?), there has been a lot of talk about senior guard Verdell Jones amongst IU fans this season. Is he fading and become an irrelevant part of the offense? Or is Jones staying within himself and sharing the offensive wealth?
There may not be an answer to that question just eight games into the season. But I thought I'd take a look at some of the numbers to see if they told convincing story to either side of the argument.
Here's the stats that back up the fading argument...
-Sixth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.25 points per game
-Finished at least second in scoring in each of his three seasons IU
-Making 52.7 percent (39-of-74) of his points via the two-point basket, compared to 63.2 last season
-Only making 2.5 shots per game
-Only attempting 5.9 shots per game, compared to 10.2 last season
-Has played twice as many minutes as Derek Elston but has scored same amount of field goals
-More turnovers (21) than shots made (20)
-Has an effective field goal percentage of 47.8 percent
-Leads IU in turnovers
Now before you go all "Verdell bashing" as many of you like to do, there's the other side of the coin. While Jones' offensive numbers may not be where they've been at in years past, these numbers show that Jones is contributing in different ways.
-Leads IU in assists at 3.8 per game
-Best season average was 3.6 assists per game
-Has a 1.4 assist to turnover ratio, his best at IU
-His 2.6 turnovers per game are his lowest average at IU
-Has an average plus/minus of +16.3 per game, compared to +0.3 last season
-Trails only Cody Zeller and Jordan Hulls in plus/minus
-Shooting 55.6 percent from three-point range compared to 29.8 last season
-Attempting 4.9 free-throws per game, compared to 4.1 last season
We still don't know what type of role Jones will develop into has Big Ten play comes along. I've heard a lot of clamoring for Will Sheehey to take his spot in the starting lineup. We've seen Crean leave Sheehey in late-game situations instead of Jones. Who knows how that will unfold as the season progresses?
For Jones, he's a senior that has been the most consistent source of offense in the program's worst three-stretch in school history. People need to remember the bowels that this guy has seen this program at. For a long time, he was the only one that COULD score.
Yes, IU has other seniors like Matt Roth, Daniel Moore, Tom Pritchard and Kory Barnett. But none of those guys have been such a key part of the IU offense for the past three years. There are very few players in the country going through the type of adjustment Jones is going through, especially this late in his career.
He kept saying coming into this year how important it was for him to see this team in the NCAA Tournament. Does that mean he wanted to be the one to lead them there? We don't know. We do know that he has shown zero signs of frustration with his new role this season. He's talked up his teammates like a senior is supposed to do.
Now, he obviously has more offensive help than ever to carry the load, which he has taken a back seat to. But what will happen if IU goes on a little losing streak once Big Ten play starts? Does Jones start forcing the action? Or does he stay within his adjusted offensive role?
There are a lot of things to consider when having the Jones debate. It's easy to say he doesn't fit into the offense based on his decreased production so far. Just don't be so quick to say he shouldn't be on the floor.
