Terrence Jones or C.J. Leslie: Decisions, decisions…
By Paul Jordan
As much as UK fans want it, it is very unlikely that UK lands both Terrence Jones and CJ Leslie. More likely is that one picks UK, while the other chooses Washington if your Terrence Jones, or NC State if your CJ Leslie. The question is which player would UK rather have and how would they fit into Cal’s style of play. Each player has their pro’s and their con’s, so here is a look at each players strength’s and weaknesses.
Terrence Jones– Yes, it’s true that Jones made a last second recruiting trip to Kansas , but don’t speculate much about this as it doesn’t seem to be too serious. His mom did not attend and he is most likely doing it to keep his options open if for some reason he had a last second change of heart.
Otherwise, it seems to be a 2-team race between Washington and Kentucky. Jones is a 6’8” SF/PF that would add size to UK’s team and compliment next years starter in Enes Kanter. You have to wonder what the impact of Terrence Ross’s commitment to Washington may have on Jones. The two are good friends that are both from Oregon, the duo are also high school teammates, both were considering basically the same schools and they were going to announce on the same day, before Ross let his news leak. Jones would add an extremely versatile player that would almost certainly be one of the favorites for national freshman of the year. Terrence Jones could certainly be a multi-year player because he isn’t even projected to be picked in next years draft according to NBADraft.net.
On the other hand, Jones is a 3-player converting to a 4 which may make it difficult for him at the beginning of the season next year but he certainly could mature into a solid 4. UK desperately needs a 4 that can hold down the post and play a little on the perimeter and play a similar type role that Patterson did last year. If Jones is able to play that position as well as Patterson did than Jones would certainly rise in the NBA draft projections (if there is a draft…)
CJ Leslie- Leslie is probably the more talented player that is capable of doing big things next season if he were to reach his potential. Leslie seems to be down to UK and NC St. (the school he formerly committed too), and UCONN. UCONN, though, seems to be a long shot pick by Leslie. Many people already know this, but for those that don’t, Leslie is the former teammate of John Wall and Wall most likely has been telling him to follow his path. The fact that a school Leslie previously de-committed from in NC St. is still in the race scares me. Something might of triggered to cause Leslie to de-commit from NC St. that Lowe & Co. are trying to fix. Leslie, though, seems to be a UK lean. Leslie would also provide a big, versatile body that would compliment Kanter and help UK down in the post. He can takeover a game with his athleticism and can be a factor in UK’s campaign for number 8. As well as Jones, Leslie too could be a multi-year player as he isn’t projected in the NBAdraft.net 2011 mock draft.
Leslie also isn’t a converting 4, he is a natural 4 as he as been playing that for most of his high school career. Leslie can easily fill in for the role Patterson maintained so well and Leslie has the tools to start from day one.
In a perfect world, both Leslie and Jones would both commit and UK’s recruiting class would match last seasons. But as we know, this world is far from perfect, and one of these recruits most likely isn’t going to choose the Bluegrass. As for the player I would rather have UK land, it would be Leslie. Leslie is more comfortable playing the power forward position and while getting Terrence Ross would have been nice, UK has enough guys that play the 3 with Miller and Liggins already aboard.
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