Volunteer State Community College sophomore center Lucas Jones recently signed a letter-of-intent to continue his education and playing career at Division I program Southern Utah.
“It's a great little community,” pointed out Jones, a product of Murfreesboro's Siegel High School who also considered moving on to Carson-Newman, Central Missouri and Tennessee Tech. “It probably has 35,000 people in it. I went to a game during Thanksgiving (break), and there were still probably 5,000 people there.
“Coach (Roger) Reid has been at BYU (Brigham Young University) and with the Phoenix Suns. He's a great coach and a good guy.”
Jones – who stands at 6-foot-9 - began his career at Virginia Military Institute, where he came off the bench before leaving the school after one semester.
This is Jones' first season at VSCC.
He is currently averaging 7.1 points per game and 5.6 rebounds, and he has blocked a team-high 14 shots. Jones connected on 6-of-8 field goals, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in Monday's 86-49 victory over the visiting Covenant (Ga.) College junior varsity team.
“It takes so much pressure off your back,” said Jones of signing early on. “If you make a mistake, you don't have to worry about if coach was watching that. I can just play now. If I make a mistake, it's alright.”
Jones becomes the first Vol State men's basketball player to sign with a Division I program since Jaraun Burrows signed with Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Burrows, who was the 2005 Tennessee Junior and Community College Athletic Association (TJCCAA) player of the year, is currently a senior for the Mastadons.
The Thunderbirds of Southern Utah play in the Summit League. The program finished 16-14 a year ago, its best finish since the 2000-01 campaign (when the Thunderbirds won the conference championship and earned an NCAA Tournament berth).
Southern Utah fell to 1-6 this season after suffering a 79-78 loss to Colorado-Colorado Springs last Friday.
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