Perry Jones III entered Baylor University as a top-10 recruit in 2010. He had the prototypical NBA body and athleticism (6 ft 11, 235 lbs), but after two inconsistent seasons, Jones plummeted from one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory to a guy weighed down by question marks.
A knee injury, combined with concerns about his motor and desire, took its toll on his draft stock and he fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder at 28 in the 2010 NBA draft. It was like getting excited for a much-hyped movie only for it to bomb spectacularly upon its release.
His first two seasons have been anything but memorable. He's averaged just 10.4 minutes per game in two seasons. But recently, with the Thunder devastated by injuries, a change has begun to take place. Jones is suddenly playing like the alpha dog scouts thought he was capable of becoming once upon a time.
"The early returns are bordering on unbelievable," Grantland's Danny Chau wrote. "Jones has scored 55 points in the last two games on 54.3 percent shooting, and 46.2 percent from 3. Those 55 points in two games are already a quarter of the way to his 216 points in 62 games last season. He leads the team in points, minutes, in plus-minus, and net rating. In the 31 minutes the Thunder have sat Jones, they are hemorrhaging points at a rate of 127.8 points per 100 possessions."
OKC stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are both out until around December. In the ridiculously crowded Western Conference, an extended absence for your two best players is a death sentence. Perhaps the desperateness of the Thunder's situation so early in the season has elicited a change in Jones.
The team, with its litany of injuries to its stars and important role players such as Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb, cannot afford to dig themselves into an early hole. The sample size might be small, but Jones appears intent on not letting that happen.
"Jones is doing virtually everything that can possibly be done to keep his team alive in games," Chau wrote. "For those of us who have seen him consistently fall short of expectations at Duncanville High School and Baylor University, watching this Perry has been a jarring revelation. It's been a complete on-court personality shift.
"By the third quarter of the Clippers game, he was at the center of defensive huddles, being vocal and demonstrative. In the Nuggets game, he was furiously jostling for post position, demanding the ball. On drives, he was Westbrook incarnate, with conscience, but without fear. Who is this guy? Is this what happens after two years of developing under Durant and Westbrook? Or is this something more primal; the product of being pushed against a wall with no recourse - a fight-or-flight response?"
Jones credits his injured teammates for an internal motivation pushing him to be more assertive.
"My teammates were in my head, especially Kevin [Durant]," Jones said. "He was telling me to be aggressive and telling me that the team is going to need somebody to step up and be aggressive. That's all I tried to do."
Jones has guarded the likes of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, a defensive versatility few can match. While his offensive game remains simple and raw, his aggressiveness is the key to taking advantage of his otherworldly athletic gifts.
If this version of Jones - the ball dominating, assertive bulldog defender - can stick around, then the Thunder just might be able to stay afloat while they wait for their stars to return.
