Texas Basketball: 2 areas where Andrew Jones can improve

One of the best stories in college sports in recent years involves the redshirt senior Texas basketball shooting guard/wing and former elite five-star recruit Andrew Jones. After beating Leukemia a couple of years ago, Jones was able to return to the court for Texas. And he’s been one of the biggest contributors in this backcourt/wing rotation in the last couple of seasons.

But there are still areas where Jones’s game is trending up in the past two seasons, where he looks to only continue to improve heading into the 2021-22 campaign. And with new head coach Chris Beard taking over in place of the departed Shaka Smart, this is a great time for Jones to take his game to new heights.

The two particular areas where Jones showed some life last season, where he should continue to improve during his redshirt senior campaign, is with his management of turnovers and getting to the free-throw line.

Jones was a solid shooter for the Longhorns throughout much of last season. And he also didn’t turn the ball over as much as he had in prior years during the 2020-21 campaign. Last season, Jones had a turnover percentage below 15 for the first time in three years. And he kept an assist percentage over 15 for the second season in a row.

Texas basketball has a solid two-way wing returning next season in Andrew Jones

It’s not like Jones is the most impressive facilitator in the world. But it is more important that Jones continues to improve as a shooter and manage untimely turnovers than be a primary initiator. Although Jones averaged around 2.3 assists per game last season (below his career average), he did register a free-throw percentage north of 83.

That was good for a career-best for Jones, by a good margin. He had never shot over 80 percent from the charity stripe in any prior season.

Where Jones could continue to improve is with his shooting percentages all-around. His three-point shooting percentage took a step back last season, down roughly five percentage points. And his field goal percentage dipped down nearly below 40 for the first time in his career.

Reverse the trend in shooting percentage, while keeping turnovers at a minimum, and Jones will continue to be an effective offensive spark on the wing. Meanwhile, Jones is an underrated defender that doesn’t get enough credit for how much he contributes on that end of the floor.

Last season, Jones averaged more than one steal per game, while posting a 1.9 defensive box plus/minus. His defensive rating also stuck below 100 for the third consecutive season. Jones is a disruptive force on defense.

Jones and the Longhorns have a stacked roster heading into next season. For the first time in the past two years, Jones might have to really fight for his spot in the starting unit. Texas has a ton of depth on the wing after a busy offseason in the NCAA Transfer Portal.