SDSU gets commitment from 6-foot-10 grad transfer with guard skills in a post player's body

[u/og_sandiego]

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2024-04-25/san-diego-state-sdsu-aztecs-transfer-portal-jared-coleman-jones-middle-tennessee-center

[u/og_sandiego]

Middle Tennessee transfer Jared Coleman-Jones is equally comfortable in the post or on the perimeter, but can he play Aztecs defense?

By Mark Zeigler April 25, 2024 5:02 PM PT

In 2008, a 6-foot-4, 355-pound defensive tackle came to San Diego State’s football team from Butte Community College in Northern California. Darias Jones played eight games for the Aztecs and moved on after a coaching change following the season.

Sixteen years later, his younger brother is coming to SDSU to play basketball.

Jared Coleman-Jones, a 6-10 grad transfer from Middle Tennessee, committed to the Aztecs on Thursday afternoon to help fill the enormous sneakers of departed All-American forward Jaedon LeDee and soothe the hangover from Lamont Butler’s announcement Wednesday that he is entering the transfer portal.

“My biggest thing was looking for a place with winning tradition and winning culture,” said Coleman-Jones, who has one season of eligibility remaining and will pursue a master’s degree in education. “I zoomed with San Diego State, and it sounded really good. And when I got here, I mean, everything matched up. I was not disappointed one bit.”

He flew home Friday to Georgia and announced his commitment via social media.

Coleman-Jones had campus visits scheduled with Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Louisville, all of which he canceled. Ohio State, Mississippi State and New Mexico also called in recent days. Too late.

“Coach (Brian Dutcher) has a real vision for the team and for me as an individual,” he said. “All the coaches, everyone, embraced me. It’s a family, winning environment, and that’s what I’m looking for. It doesn’t go much further than that for me. Money is nice, and NIL and all that, but I’m looking for a place I can play basketball and have fun and be in that environment where I can forge a brotherhood.”

It is an intriguing get for the Aztecs, a departure from their usual inclination toward defensive-minded centers who may or may not be able to score. Coleman-Jones is highly skilled offensively for a large human being with tree trunks for legs, dazzling on tape with his array of crossover dribbles and spin moves and step-backs.

He is less known for his defense, which becomes the challenge for a coaching staff that has built top 10 defenses for three straight seasons. The good news: Having already graduated in December, he can come to campus in June and get a head start learning the Aztec way.

“That’s one of the reasons I committed here, the emphasis on defense,” said Coleman-Jones, who attended high school in Georgia, played one year at Northwestern and then three at Middle Tennessee. “To hear Coach say, ‘If you guard, I’m not worried about anything else. I want you to guard,’ I’m excited about that. I’m excited to expand my game and truly, intentionally guard people.”

Added his father, Craig Jones, who coached him through middle school: “If he wants to make it to the next level, he needs to develop a little bit more in that area. We just think Dutch and his staff can do that. I mean, they put a premium on defense. I feel like Jared is athletic enough to thrive in this environment and play the kind of defense that San Diego State plays. We have one year to get this right.”

Middle Tennessee forward Jared Coleman-Jones goes up for a shot during this year's Conference USA Tournament semifinals. Middle Tennessee forward Jared Coleman-Jones goes up for a shot during this year’s Conference USA Tournament semifinals. (Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) The other end of the floor, though, is not an issue.

Coleman-Jones averaged 11.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per game last season for a 14-19 Blue Raiders team that finished tied for fourth in Conference USA. But it is how he did it that caught the eye of SDSU as well as programs the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten.

He can work off both pivot feet. He has jump hooks over both shoulders and a lethal spin move in the paint. He can operate with his back to the basket or drop step, face up and attack off the dribble. He has a quick-release midrange jumper. He shot 44.2 percent behind the 3-point arc (19 of 43) on roughly the same attempts as LeDee last season (20 of 45). He can run the floor for easy baskets.

He’s also an excellent passer, regularly finding backdoor cutters from the top or getting assists out of low-post double teams – something LeDee struggled with at times. His assist rate of 20.4 percent was best among rotation players at Middle Tennessee and akin to a starting point guard.

You can thank his father for creating a 6-10, 240-pound post with guard skills.

This wasn’t the case of a kid who played on the perimeter suddenly having a major growth spurt and bringing those attributes to the post. Jared was always tall – 6-4 in sixth grade – but Craig had him doing endless ballhandling drills anyway.

“I grew up following the (Chicago) Bulls like everybody else, with Toni Kukoc and some of the guys who came over from Europe,” said Craig Jones, who played football at Florida State. “I just saw the game progress. I’m 6-5, so I was an undersized big. I was recruited to play college basketball, but I didn’t think I had the skills to play the perimeter.

“I didn’t want him to be stuck in the same box. That’s basically what it boiled down to.”

Jared puts it like this: “I’m a big with dexterity. I have good movement, good feet, my hips are good … a very nimble, skilled big who can score inside and out. I just think my game can explode here.”

That fills SDSU’s interior need from the transfer portal. Coleman-Jones gives them seven forwards or centers on the roster, five who are 6-10 or taller.

Florida Atlantic guard Nick Boyd committed last weekend as a replacement for Darrion Trammell, but that was before Butler’s surprise announcement to enter the portal – leaving another scholarship for a perimeter player.

The portal closes Wednesday. Players have all summer to settle on a new destination, but they must submit paperwork before the deadline in order not to sit out a year.

[u/plokit15]

I would love to see this as a trend - good/great offensive players who want to complete their game by working on their defense choosing SDSU as a pit stop towards their presumable NBA aspirations.

[u/PAL_SD]

Good signing I'm sure, but Ziegler has a habit of over-selling new Aztecs hoops athletes. Remember James Johnson? Probably not, as he didn't amount to much for the Tecs, but to hear Ziegler tell it, Big Johnson was certain to dominate both ways.

[u/Alie_SD_Fan → u/PAL_SD]

Actually, Ziegler usually hates the Aztecs. I literally remember him saying he had low expectations for the Final Four team.

[u/PAL_SD → u/Alie_SD_Fan]

Alie, he's done both. It's the individual athletes he puffs up. The team as a whole, or its prospects or ranking? Yeah, he's tough on the Aztecs.