Michigan remains confident in DeVante’ Jones despite early struggles

Every team’s point guard is its floor general. The head of its snake.

In college basketball, strong play from the point guard position is crucial for success. And right now, the Michigan men’s basketball team isn’t getting that from graduate transfer DeVante’ Jones, who is averaging 6.7 points and 3.9 assists through seven games.

That’s become uncharacteristic of this program, which has enjoyed a long lineage of point guards like Trey Burke, Derrick Walton Jr., Zavier Simpson and Mike Smith over the past decade. So far in 2021, point guard struggles have caused Michigan’s offense to become stagnant at times. Spacing issues, turnovers and the inability to handle ball pressure have plagued the Wolverines’ backcourt, leading to a trio of early-season losses to unranked competition.

Jones was always expected to take a step down from his Sun Belt Player of the Year-caliber 19.3 points per game from last season, but many thought he’d be able to build on the 5.8 assists per game he averaged as a sophomore. Yet so far, he’s looked uncomfortable taking the reins of Howard’s NBA-style ball-screen offense.

Jones also has a team-worst 19 turnovers — a sign that he’s still struggling to adjust to the higher level of competition after dominating at Coastal Carolina. But to Michigan associate head coach Phil Martelli, there’s a solution.

“We want him to get lane touches,” Martelli said Friday. “We want that ball to get into the paint and not just passing through to (center) Hunter (Dickinson) or to (forward) Moussa (Diabate). We want to make sure we get lane touches and he can then, to use the terminology, spray the ball around. Right now, we’re seeing a little bit more of that each practice but that's what we're really looking for.

“That’s the key. Not worrying about shots but making sure the ball is getting into the teeth of the defense and that we can create our offenses off penetration and pitching the ball. Again, the situations that he’s in at practice, it’s there, but it’s practice. When the popcorn’s popping and the lights are bright and everybody is watching, you want to make sure there's a carry-over from practice.”

And in Martelli’s eyes, that slow but steady progress can make all the difference. Now it’s a matter of translating it to the floor in games.

Beyond the practice court, much of Jones’ work has come in film sessions with Michigan assistant coach Howard Eisley, who works primarily with the team’s guards. Eisley, a former NBA guard himself, helped Simpson and Smith reach an elite level. Now, he’s doing the same with Jones, with an assist from “film aficionado” Juwan Howard, according to Martelli. The trio is putting in the effort Jones needs in order to take the next step.

“All hands on deck here,” Martelli said. “Again, complete confidence that DeVante’ will get there sooner rather than later.”

Michigan’s staff believes Jones’ improvement is a matter of “when,” not “if.” With Big Ten play beginning next week, the Wolverines are counting on it.

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