Jones has put forth a body of work that makes him one of the most dangerous combo guards in the DMV. His potent scoring ability from all three levels allows him to change the course of a game in 2-to-3 possessions. He’s one of those guys that I’d categorize as a cold-blooded hooper rather than a definitive “basketball player.” A lot of times, the “hoopers” can give you the highlight reels, but stacking wins at a high level can be difficult. This isn’t the case for Jones. Not only has he led St. Frances to BCL championships, but he also has began making the transition as more of a playmaking lead guard rather than a score-first guy. He showed this summer with Team Melo that he can orchestrate in the half court and make others around him better with his ability to read the entire floor off the live bounce. He impacts winning at a high rate and is the bell cow for a St. Frances team who enters the 2026-27 season as favorites to win the BCL and MIAA.

This game offered an entertaining guard matchup between two of Baltimore’s own in Jones and Darrell Davis. Although Jones doesn’t play on the UAA Circuit, the UA sponsorship at St. Frances gave him the nod and if you’re familiar with the southpaw guard’s game, you knew he wouldn’t go down quietly. He gets to spots with quickness and precision with the ability to pull-up in the blink of an eye and bury jumpers in humiliating fashion. He scored 12PTS in this one, but all of them were loud as he caught the crowds attention with a crossover, half spin into a stepback or using his crafty footwork on the way to the cup for scoop finishes. Jones also accumulated 4ASTS, 3REBS and 3STLS.

Jones vaults up to No. 4 and has emerged as Baltimore’s best prospect in the rising senior class months removed from leading St. Frances to a Baltimore Catholic League title. When it comes to getting buckets, you can’t establish a list without getting to Jones’ name, but this spring with Team Melo on the EYBL Circuit, the southpaw lead guard has shown his worth as an initiator in the halfcourt who can make high-level passes off the live dribble. He’ll need to shoulder much of the offensive load for St. Frances this winter, but with Melo he’s able to display his defensive tools as well which include active/accurate hands, competitiveness and a mental toughness that you commonly see in undersized Baltimore City guards. Georgetown, Mississippi State, St. Joe’s, Towson, Villanova and Virginia Tech make up Jones’ offers amongst others.

Jones has built up significant momentum within his recruitment as well given the hot spring he’s put together as the primary playmaker for Team Melo . This weekend he had even more responsibility as the lead guard and aside from the final game against DeMatha, put together a really impressive body of work. St. Frances finished 2-2 overall and Jones’ fingerprints were all over the wins. If you eliminate the last game against DeMatha, the Baltimore native was good for 27PPG, 4.6RPG and 3APG. Villanova, Virginia Tech and VCU account for just a few of the programs who were tracking him closely. All have offered the 5-foot-11 southpaw.

If there was an MVP of S1 for each age group, Jones would’ve had a strong argument for the 17U level. Melo finished 2-1 on the weekend and Jones reminded everyone why he’s one of the more explosive scoring guards in the DMV, but it was his playmaking for others that left the bigger impression. He averaged over five assists per game and whether it was his end-to-end speed putting pressure on the defense or him getting to his left hand coming off ball screens, Jones’ vision covers the entire floor and he has the ability to whip one-handed dimes on a rope to weakside shooter, rollers to the rim or to his bigs popping out beyond the arc following the action. Scoring wise, he needs little space coming off DHO’s to get his shot off. He uses the gravity that his outside shot presents to mix things up with an effective change-of-pace approach in space where he can establish a downhill advantage and finish through contact if necessary.

Jones averaged and impressive 21PPG, 5.5APG, 3.5RPG and 3.0SPG on the weekend.

Somewhat of a slow start for Jones in the first quarter of this matchup was quickly put to rest with a productive three quarters to help steer Melo to a win. Jones is one of those naturally gifted scorers that forces his defender to be paranoid anytime the ball is in his hands. Where his game has really grown over the last six months is his ability to play at different speeds. The defender has to stay attached at all costs given his ability to score it off the bounce, but his ability to accel with twitch makes him a nightmare in ball screens, DHO’s or in transition as he can gain an advantage and then maintain elite body control on the deceleration while finishing at tough angles. The other wrinkle of his game that should shine this summer is his court vision. Jones is no stranger to whipping cross court passes off the live dribble to weak side shooters in their shooting pockets.

-Jones filled it up in bunches throughout the year, often re-entering games with a splash by knocking down perimeter jumpers and turning opponents over before they crossed over halfcourt to stack stops and buckets to build leads or cut into deficits. Love his change of speed when attacking opponents in the halfcourt to get downhill to finish with one hand above the rim, maneuver around the defense with euro steps, or earn trips to the free throw line. Jones improved his POA defense to fight over screens at the top of the key more effectively to generate the turnovers that are the lifeblood of SFA’s explosive scoring runs. While there is still room for improvement as an efficient scorer in the halfcourt, our scouts took note of the improved consistency of his scoring outputs as well as some improved playmaking that make him a more balanced threat on a nightly basis.

The thing I love about Jones is while he’s one of the most explosive scorers in the 2027 DMV class, he’s able to adjust and remain effective when a teammate is having a career night like Fisk was. He plays the role of a demoralizing shot maker as the defense’s attention and effort shifted towards containing Fisk only for Jones to come sprinting off pin downs or elevator screens and burying back-breaking three’s. He followed Fisk with 19 points on the night on 4/7 from deep. It was his ability to embrace Fisk being hot by getting into the paint at will and looking for his running mate whether it was in a half court setting or in transition. Along with his efficient scoring performance, Jones added seven rebounds and five assists on the evening.

This event offered the stage that Jones tends to thrive on and yesterday was no different. It was a quiet first half for the southpaw combo guard as he went into halftime with three points. He added another bucket in the third, but the fourth period was where he really got into his flow. Jones stepped up is aggression and quickly showed the local crowd that he’d spearhead St. Frances’ ultimate comeback win that took overtime to complete. Not only did he convert a huge 4-point play after getting fouled on a three-point attempt to tie the ball game with less than 2 minutes in the game, he’d go on to hit the buzzer-beating triple that forced the overtime session and give his Panthers the time needed to secure control. He’s a fearless Baltimore guard whose confidence never wavers, which is why he’s one of the more potent scorers you’ll find in the Baltimore/DMV regardless of class. Jones would score a game-high 23 points