Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 1:35 pm  |  22 responses

Video: Terrence Jones @ Center Stage Tournament

Words by Justin Walsh

The great state of Oregon, home to Nike, Kevin Love and the punctuated A. C. Green (not to mention the pale gunslingers Kyle Singler and Luke Jackson) has a new star waiting in the wings — Jefferson High School’s own Terrence Jones.

He’s a point-forward with a nice stroke from behind the trifecta line and also plays effectively with his back to the basket or from the top of the key. His skill-set has garnered both hope and worry. The hope being that Terrence could really put Oregon on the map once and for all in basketball. The worry that is settled on the chest of each Oregon native is that nagging situation that comes up for almost every cat that comes out of the O — the best players always leave.

This is the line of thought. The state puts so much energy being loyal to the player in hopes that he will stay in state to bolster the quality of play in the local hoop game, only to lose them to another school across the country. But surely, these are mature people we’re talking about, right? They wouldn’t get hung up over simply choosing an out of state university, correct?

Remember when Kevin Love turned down Oregon? When UCLA finally played Oregon at the Ducks home floor, an Oregon fan held high a homemade poster displaying the reminder that Love’s kin, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, had a cocaine problem. Other people in the stands rocked poster-board with Kevin’s cell phone number so he could be taunted, crank called or harassed after the game. Let’s not forget about the questioning of his sexual orientation. When Kevin was struck in the eye during play, the entire Team color adorned Duck crowd screamed profanities at him and cheered when he left the game.

This leaves Terrence in a tough spot. How does the apple of the state’s eye balance being loyal to his stomping grounds, while at the same time trying to figure out what’s best for his future when he knows the price for desertion is steep? Will he be greeted with boos, profanity and cruelty whenever he comes back home, should he leave for an out of state school? As of now, Terrence doesn’t have a list of top schools he’s looking at, but he does have a basic group of schools involved in his recruitment that includes, among others, both major Oregon universities, both major Washington programs, Kentucky, Kansas and (Kevin Love’s alma mater) UCLA.

It’s unfair that Terrence’s future standing with his home state is more pertinent than his future on the hardwood, because Terrence is clearly one of the most versatile big men of the past few years. Whether a big name program like Kentucky or UNC wins his LOI (further proof that the rich get richer) or stays home to carry the state on his back, make sure you keep on the lookout for Portland native, Terrence Jones.

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  • Ken Posted: Aug.31 at 2:07 pm
    How tall is he?

  • runngun22 Posted: Aug.31 at 2:11 pm
    Wow…his game is nice.

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Aug.31 at 2:11 pm
    6’8, solid

  • Tzvi Twersky Posted: Aug.31 at 2:14 pm
    Nice mix, solid verbals, JW.

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Aug.31 at 2:16 pm
    TJ is so smooth. This is the lefty I can get on the bandwagon for.

  • Tyrone Shoelaces Posted: Aug.31 at 2:30 pm
    Too early to make James Harden comparisons? lol.

  • Video: Terrence Jones @ Center Stage Tournament Posted: Aug.31 at 2:30 pm
    [...] of the key. His skill-set has garnered both hope and worry. The hope being that Terrence could real click for more var _wh = ((document.location.protocol==’https:’) ? “https://sec1.woopra.com” : [...]

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Aug.31 at 4:39 pm
    Tyrone, he’s way taller than James. TJ is the size of a Tyrus Thomas almost

  • matt Posted: Aug.31 at 6:22 pm
    Nice words J, one thing to note though is he isn’t much of a back to the basket kind of player like you’ve mentioned, he’s more of a point forward who loves to take control of the game. Our boy Tyson fell in love with his game in Vegas and I can’t wait to see him grow in teh coming years

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Sep.1 at 2:00 am
    Matt, he is ridiculously versatile, but when I spoke with an assistant coach at Gonzaga, we spoke about some of the top players and the first thing he spoke about with Terrence was that he could play any style, and made a point to let me know he had a back to the basket game. But yeah, you’re right, he’s a Point-Forward.

  • davidR Posted: Sep.1 at 2:08 am
    nicely done on the mix. that beat is pretty dope

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Sep.1 at 2:14 am
    David, agreed. BIL makes some phenomenal basketball mixes. Best in the biz.

  • Action Jackson Posted: Sep.1 at 3:45 am
    this mix is not even the best one done of him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rZVHFkh2W0

  • LB Posted: Sep.1 at 5:54 am
    Oregon as a basketball state (not to mention as a state in general) is pretty underrated. They’ve had Damon Stoudamire (who definitely opened up my eyes about Oregon ball and who played at Lake Oswego, Kevin Love’s alma mater), Salim Stoudamire, Kevin Love, Kyle Singler, Luke jackson, the Professor…that’s a pretty deep lineup for a state that isnt all that known for basketball.

  • LB Posted: Sep.1 at 5:55 am
    Oh, not to mention Fred Jones

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Sep.1 at 6:29 am
    LB, Oregon IS an underrated State. Let’s see if TJ can put them on the map. I think part of the problem is that overall, the players you mentioned don’t STAY in Oregon for their basketball (With exception to Luke Jackson)

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Sep.1 at 9:54 am
    Action Jackson, the classic “BIL or HMT” debate.

  • onions baby onions Posted: Sep.1 at 10:38 am
    I’m gonna have to go with BIL..but barely

  • Justin Walsh Posted: Sep.1 at 11:11 am
    My view is that they are on different coasts, hitting different types of people. Because I’ve never met a bunch of people that watch both consistently. They watch one or the other, whichever they choose. I mean, there are exceptions, of course.

  • coop Posted: Sep.2 at 8:41 am
    Nice mix on Terrance Jones but I have to say the most exciting player in 2010 to watch is Ryan Harrow. Check this out: http://www.courtcred.com/2009/09/all-access-with-nc-state-commit-ryan-harrow/

  • PDXHoopHistory Posted: Oct.23 at 1:21 am
    LB… Ok, so know your PDX history… D Studd did not graduate from LO. He’s a Wilson Trojan graduate. Here’s some Oregon Products who put us on the map before Singler and Love: Terell Brandon (Grant), Damon Stoudamire (Wilson), AC Green (Benson), Danny Ainge (N. Eugene), Aaron Miles (Jefferson), Michael Lee (Jefferson), Salim Stoudamire (Lincoln, LO), Chris Rodgers (Wilson), Chris Stephens (Madison), Ime Udoka (Jefferson)… and so much more. Just so know.

  • PDXHoopHistory Posted: Oct.23 at 1:27 am
    LB, I disagree that Oregon is underrated. I thing basketball talent here from the outside looking in is just “over looked”. We get hype… b/c Nike is here. :) But, we don’t have bball programs that are consistently ranked in a “top 25-50″” through the years. Highest an oregon team ever placed was in 2000, when Jefferson reached #4 in the USA Today top 25.

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