Does David Jones immediately become the top player in the portal?

David ‘Deivi’ Jones is a dude. Before we dive into him as a player and why he is a dude, we wanted to state it as plainly as possible, David Jones is a guy who can come into a program and carry a load.

Coming into Tuesday, Kendric Davis held the top spot in On3’s transfer portal rankings (which should drop this week). PF Norchad Omier, PG Grant Sherfield, PF Kenneth Lofton, Jr., and SG Antoine Davis were the others in the top five. Regardless of where you put him in the pecking order, David Jones immediately shakes things up.

Jones is originally from the Dominican Republic. He moved to the United States during his sophomore year of high school and attended Teay’s Valley (WV) Christian School. They were not a widely known program at the time; however, in Jones’ time there, Teay’s Valley became a nationally ranked program, knocking off schools like Huntington (WV) Prep and Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy.

Jones was originally an unranked member of the 2021 class. However, with COVID canceling most games, DePaul was able to get Jones on campus for the second semester a year early. As a freshman, Jones averaged 5.1 points in 14.3 minutes per game in his nine games played.

Jones’ national team success

Jones’ success came as no surprise. He played travel ball with the Boo Williams program, where he led the entire 16u EYBL league in scoring at 24 points per game. Later that summer Jones played with the Dominican Republic u16 team in the 2017 FIBA Americas. Jones was the event’s second-leading scorer at 19.7 points per game.

In 26 FIBA games with the Dominican Republic national team, Jones averaged 13.7 points per game through five events. He missed his 17u travel ball season due to COVID, keeping him under the radar.

One of the Big East’s best

On Tuesday, David Jones entered the college basketball transfer portal. Immediately he overtook Terrence Shannon and Jalen Bridges as the top available small forward in the portal and a top-five player overall.

As a sophomore, the 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing averaged 14.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Stat-stuffing numbers across the board, but it was the efficiency in which he did it. Especially, as a player in his first full year of college basketball.

Jones shot 44.5-percent from the field and made 35 threes on the season. The shot-making, and confidence, are apparent. But a look at the counting numbers also shows he is not afraid to do the tough guy stuff. Jones was one of two players in the Big East, joining Julian Champagnie, who averaged 1.5 or more steals and 1.0 or more blocks per game last season.

Jones was also the only player in the Big East last season to average over 14 points per game with a player efficiency rating over 22 and a box plus/minutes over six.

Where could Jones end up?

With Jones from the Dominican Republic, no regional ties are involved here. Illinois, Houston, and Pittsburgh recruited Jones heavily out of high school; Oregon was his first offer. There is an obvious tie with West Virginia as well. While this one could get interesting because he is one of the best players in the portal and could play at any program in the country, Illinois and St. John’s are two schools to watch.