Millennium High School's talented 2014 post prospect Elston Jones is regarded as one of the premier prospects in Arizona's senior class, but it has been a tough road for Jones in his senior year. Jones would miss his senior season of basketball after suffering a tear to his patella tendon in a freak injury after another player landed on his knee last spring, while playing on the AAU/club circuit. As a result of the injury, Jones would miss the remainder of the club season - his most important summer evaluation period as a senior prospect.
Jones had some nice scholarship offers already on the table at the time, but would lose interest with most college programs around the country. Now fully recovered from the injury, Jones is looking forward to his college future as he has made his decision on a strong Mountain West program that is looking forward to having Jones in their fold for next season.
This weekend, after taking a visit to the Aggies' program, Jones elected to give a verbal commitment to Utah State and their men's coaching staff. Jones said hitting it off with head coach Stew Morrill and excitement over the new basketball practice facility opening in May sold him on the program.
"I really love all the fan support they have," Jones said. "Just all the fans cheering for the team. You can see they stick together."
Last season as a junior (2012-2013), the 6-foot-9, 220-pound post would lead his Tigers to a strong 24-6 overall record and a late playoff push, before falling to eventual Division-I state champion Corona Del Sol HS (47-46) in the state quarter-finals. Jones would have a strong season for himself in the process - averaging 12.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per/game on the season.
Jones once held scholarship offers from such schools as Cal, UNLV, Saint Mary’s, Loyola Marymount, San Diego State, San Francisco, UC-Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, UC-Davis, Boise State and Grand Canyon University, before the injury, but saw his recruitment tail off after the injury.
Jones currently held offers from New Mexico and Fresno State.
Jones is also a very good student and carries close to a 4.0 CUM GPA and is a full academic qualifier.
Congratulations to Jones and his family on this amazing accomplishment from our staff here at Arizona Preps.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Jones is a big-body low post prospect that is still developing a great deal but is developing nicely for his size and age. Still a bit raw physically and also still growing into his large body, Jones is not real athletic at this point but has excellent length and size, which allows him to get good inside post position. As a result of his left-handed shooting touch, Jones is able to score effectively around the basket and also shoot the basketball out to 15 feet, although he still needs time in the gym to become consistent from the perimeter. He possesses good low post footwork and skills around the basket, and he is difficult to defend around the basket as a result of his left-handed prowess. He is a very good offensive rebounder and finisher around the basket, and possesses a nice left-handed jump hook. He does not mind physical contact. As he matures, look for him to gain a much more physical approach to the game. He is a good passer already and looks for the open man on the floor. He is also a very capable shotblocker, as a result of his nice length – blocking or altering many shots in his area. Jones runs the floor well for his size, but looks a bit unorthodox still overall as an athlete and takes small steps rather than running fluid. He has been injury prone throughout his high school career, so it will be very interesting to see if that changes over time with maturity.
