Prospect Spotlight: Daesean Jones (2019)

Experience is life's best teacher. The same bodes well in the game of basketball. Every year, a team sets their goals on winning some kind of championship. For the Patterson Clippers, that was the Class 2A State Championship that hey were fortunate enough to raise at the end of the high school season. Winning back-to-back titles may be the hardest accomplishment in sports, but what helps is having returning players that understand what it takes to accomplish such a feat. Junior guard Daesean Jones will be a key returner from last year's Patterson team and play a vital role in them returning back to the Xfinity Center in hopes to capture another state title. Jones started on last year's team and averaged 9.5 points per game. The 6'1 guard is a valued floor-spacer and is always shot ready when the ball is swung his way. When out in transition, Jones attacks the basket well looking to draw fouls to get to the charity stripe, where he shoots an efficient clip. Often times when Jones isn't the primary ball-handler on the fastbreak, he'll trail and spot up on the three-point line to catch the defense off guard. Defensively Jones does well as one of the top guys in Patterson's hectic zone. His consistent, active hands are usually the reason for deflections and steals that lead to Clipper fastbreak opportunities. Considering that Jones is 6'1, he'll likely be featured as a point guard once he gets to the collegiate level. Keeping that in mind, he had one specific skill he focused on this summer with Cecil Kirk's 16U: ball-handling. The Clippers have a solid trio of guards consisting of Jones, Gerard Mungo and T.J. Thomas. Both Thomas and Mungo are usually the ones bringing the ball up the floor, but with Jones improving on his handles, he won't hesitate anymore to push it himself with the situations calls. Jones has been getting some interest e-mails from a number of Division III schools recently. If the Clippers can put together another successful run this season, there's no reason why more schools shouldn't be inquiring about the guard who holds a 3.8 GPA.