June 9, 2012 | Mark Strotman | 0 Comments

Jamail Jones to transfer to Florida Gulf Coast

Marquette Tribune Photo

Former Marquette forward Jamail Jones will transfer to Florida Gulf Coast, per a source. He will sit out the 2012-’13 season per NCAA rules, and will be eligible for the 2013-’14 season. He will have two years of eligibility.

The 6-foot-6 forward was ranked by Rivals as the 10th best small forward, and 52nd best overall player in the 2010 class. ESPN.com ranked Jones as the 53rd best player in the class.

Jones chose Marquette over Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Oregon.

Pegged as a pure shooter out of high school, Jones shot just 9-for-40 from beyond the arc in his two seasons.

Jones never played more than 20 minutes in a game, and did not see the court in 24 of 72 games, all of which he was healthy.

His best game as a Golden Eagle came on the road as Marquette took on Notre Dame in February without injured centers Chris Otule and Davante Gardner. With Jamil Wilson in foul trouble, the wing took to the paint and held down his own, scoring eight points in 19 minutes after not having scored the previous 14 games.

Jones averaged 8.5 minutes last year, averaging 1.6 points on 35.1 percent shooting and 1.4 rebounds.

His freshman season, he averaged 5.8 minutes, 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds.

Former Marquette assistant coach Aki Collins believed Jones had all the tools to succeed when asked about the high flyer after the season.

“He can defend. Mello has this jog that drives me crazy, but if you broke it down to the half court, he can guard 2, 3, or 4,” Collins said. “And so he doesn’t always use his athleticism, but he always uses his mind. And so you have to use your mind, your athleticism, and your skill set together and be a consistent player, and then you’re going to play. And then you can help us.”

“I think the biggest thing with him is if he learns to be consistent and can defend, he’s one of our smarter players on the basketball court. He has a great basketball IQ,” Collins added. “He’s similar to Darius, where even internally sometimes you overlook his value because you know he’s going to be there every day. He knows everybody’s position, he knows where everybody’s going to be on the second unit. But he just has not put himself in a position where, ‘Hey, this is what I’m going to do.’”

Jones will most be remembered for the big dunks thrown down at Marquette Madness last November, giving us this lasting image.