DeVante' Jones On His NBA Draft Thought Process: 'No Need To Roll The Dice'
Michigan Wolverines basketball is waiting on the decisions of two players — incoming transfer point guard DeVante' Jones and freshman center Hunter Dickinson. The former was awarded Sun Belt Player of the Year honors at Coastal Carolina last season, while the latter is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-American.
Both have entered their names into the NBA Draft, but both are being guided by NCAA-certified agents and have made it clear that going through the pre-draft process is exploratory. They each have until July 7 to withdraw their names from the draft and remain eligible for the 2021-22 college season.
Still, for now, they're pursuing their NBA dreams.
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Jones, who averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.8 steals last season, has been training in Dallas with other draft prospects and has added more to his game during the process.
"I have been in Dallas for probably about a month now and it is crazy how I’ve seen my game change tremendously," Jones told The Rookie Wire.
"Starting with my body, it has definitely changed a lot. I’m a lot quicker, have a better pace and am understanding how to attack different angles.
"My flow of the game has become really good. My three-point shot is a lot more fluid. A lot of scouts were questioning my shot. They wanted to see it become more fluid and they wanted to see my body change, so those are the two things I’ve really been progressing on a lot."
Jones, who has earned an invite to the G League Elite Camp, a three-day event that gives NBA Draft prospects an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of NBA and NBA G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives, is looking forward to the opportunity to work out with other prospects in front of NBA clubs.
"Going into June, I’ll be having a chip on my shoulder going into these workouts," he said. "Hopefully, they put me in workouts with first-round guys so I can prove to the scouts and the teams that it doesn’t matter what school you come from, they can’t save you when we’re on the court together. I’m just going to prove that I’m a better player all of the time."
Once he lays it all out there this month and gets all of the feedback, he's going to have a final decision to make on whether or not he wants to remain in the draft. Right now, he's not appearing on mock drafts but is hoping to move into the top 60.
"I know a team can’t promise anything but if a team can promise me they take me guaranteed or whatever the case may be, that would probably be the deciding factor," he said. "I have another year left so there is no need to be just rolling the dice on something when I know I can go back to school and raise my stock higher than what it is.
"Basically, if a team can guarantee me a spot right now then there would probably be a good chance I take that but if not, I would gladly go to Michigan and make a great title run and improve my stock."
While Jones hasn't seen his name appear on 2021 mock drafts, but he was projected by ESPN's Jonathan Givony as a second-round pick in next summer's NBA Draft at No. 50 overall to the Indiana Pacers.
"When I first saw it, I took a screenshot of it and I saved it on my phone," Jones said. "If Michigan was the route, I’ll just keep that in my phone and use it as motivation.
"I look at all of the guards that got ranked above me and whenever I get a chance to play them, I want to kill them. That’s not just me going and scoring 30 points, I want to kill them mentally and physically as a team thing just doing whatever I gotta do to get that win.
"I feel like people have their opinions. I’m glad they did that. I’ll use it as more motivation. I feel like I already have enough, but that just added more fuel to the fire.
"I’m glad they did what they did. I love proving people wrong. I’ve been doing it my whole life. I didn’t get discouraged by it. I just use it as motivation knowing that if I do end up going to Michigan, I feel like [getting drafted in the second round] wouldn’t be the outcome."
That's why Jones chose to transfer to a bigger school at a higher level, he said, knowing it will help him reach his ultimate goal. Hunting championships in the meantime, though, is not a bad consolation should he join the Wolverines.
"I’m not saying I can’t go to the league now, but deciding on Michigan I felt like it was going to help me out a lot with gaining buzz," Jones explained. "That was really the reason for it.
"Michigan is a great place. [Head coach] Juwan Howard is a great guy. [Assistant] Howard Eisley, [associate head] coach Phil [Martelli] and coach Saddi [Washington], that coaching staff, in general, is really family orientated. They showed a lot of love to me. Also, the fan base in Ann Arbor showed a tremendous amount of love.
"If I was coming back to school, I want to go to a place where the coaching is amazing, the fan base is outstanding and the team is easy to get along with. They are also hungry just as much as I am."
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