No Devin Ebanks, no Casey Mitchell, no problem. Saturday night, West Virginia had all it needed in the form of sophomore forward Kevin Jones, who went for a career-best 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Mountaineers 69-43 win over Coppin State.
WVU point guard Truck Bryant knew all along what type of player Jones could be and watching Jones in each of the Mountaineers games so far this season, Bryant’s prediction was completely understandable. Jones has emerged as a model of consistency in WVU’s often inconsistent offense: he is the only player on the team who has scored in double figures in all seven of WVU’s wins.
“That’s what I tell Da’Sean [Butler] all the time,” Bryant kidded. “I tell him that KJ [Kevin Jones] is going to be the leading scorer. Da’Sean will be joking like, ‘Not if I’m out there.’”
Apparently Butler was also in on the intra-squad battle for statistical bragging rights. “I’m not surprised -- hogging all the rebounds,” he said with a smile. “I was there. He smacked the ball out of my hands.”
But in all seriousness, Jones, who averaged six points last year in a reserve role off the bench, has quickly emerged as one of the Mountaineers most dependable scorers alongside Butler. He’s averaging just over 13 points a game this season for No. 6 WVU (7-0).
“I’m not shocked at all. Kevin is good and I expect that every night,” said Bryant.
Butler remarked, “As I always say, Kevin is the best player on our team, as far as skill wise and everything else.”
Jones deferred to his teammates and humbly said all the right things following his career night against Coppin State (5-4).
“I’m accepting my role as whatever coach needs from me on the floor that night,” he said. “Da’Sean of course is the go to guy on the team. Whatever shots he misses or my other teammates miss I’m trying to go after the glass.”
And that he did. Along with his scoring outburst, Jones contributed eight offensive rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists.
“I think that’s where most of my points came from tonight,” Jones said of cleaning up the offensive glass.
“Good things happen to good people,” said WVU head coach Bob Huggins. “You can coach him. You can tell him what to do and he understands what to do. He works like crazy and he tries to do what you ask him.”
Jones’ rise from sixth or seventh man off the bench to starring in the early part of this season would not have been possible if Ebanks had not been out due to personal issues and a lingering minor hand injury. But Jones, a team-first player, is anxiously awaiting the return of Ebanks, who figures to retake his starting spot from Jones. That is if Huggins can afford to bench a player who has been essential in carrying WVU while Ebanks has not.
“Devin is big piece of our team. We can’t wait to have him back,” said Jones. “We just got to play with the players we have and we’re good enough to win.
“I’m not worried about whether being taken out or not,” Jones continued. “I just want to come in and play hard, do my job and not let the coaching staff down or my teammates.”
Butler, a senior leader at forward, sees loads of progress and potential in Jones.
“Coach always tells us when people are having problems off the court, they’re having a bad day, you bring them on the court and it kind of bothers them,” said Butler. “KJ does everything right off the court. So when he comes into practice, it’s just basketball. He has no worries. He has no problems.”
Huggins and all of Jones’ teammates have raved about Jones’ unparalleled work ethic.
“He’s a workhorse in general. In the summer he’s in the gym shooting 15,000 shots,” said Butler. “He doesn’t stop. When I’m walking out, he’s coming in. When I’m coming back in, he’s still there.”
To Jones, an admitted increase in confidence and being more comfortable on the court have been indicative of his increase in production.
“I have a lot more confidence than I did last year, of course, I was a freshman,” said Jones. “I was hesitating a lot on my shots. This year, I’m going out there playing more comfortable so my teammates are looking for me.”