Texas Basketball: 5 reasons this could be a big season for Andrew Jones

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NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 16: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns directs his team during the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

1. Potential to become a more complete player

Something that will just happen over time for a player with the natural skill of Jones is rounding out the skill set. Jones is a more offensively gifted player than he is defensively. But, he is smart and athletic enough to round out his game and become a bigger contribute on the other end of the court.

Smart is also a good coach for developing talent, and more so than his predecessor with Texas basketball in Rick Barnes. Jones will benefit from the coaching prowess of Smart and the emphasis he puts on his team’s defense. A highlight of Jones’ first nine minutes on the court this season was nabbing one steal and one defensive rebound.

We can round out all these smaller factors into Jones becoming the standout and well-rounded player that the Horns recruited him to be. It’s clearly known how committed he is to getting back into rhythm and being an integral part of this team. And, the coaching staff and the rest of the locker room knows how high his ceiling is.

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As long as Jones keeps building his game in small increments this season, we could see a big breakthrough come near the end of 2018-19. A full off-season dedicated to improving on the court would mean a nice outlook for Jones in 2019-20. But first, he should excel this season as he continues to get back up to game speed.

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