Senior guard Kam Jones is a big reason why the Marquette Golden Eagles sit 7th in the AP Top 25, leading the team to a 14-2 record thus far (5-0 in Big East). The Eagles took Tuesday night’s matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas, 74-66, to stretch their win-streak to five.
In each of the four prior victories, Jones led the team in scoring and assists. The point guard has posted team-high dimes in all but three games.
Jones’ season has garnered national recognition, enough so to find his name in the Wooden Award’s top 25 list released earlier today.
It has been a career-best campaign for the senior, who is averaging 20.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 6.5 APG. In both points and assists, he is top 15 among Division 1 players.
Kam Jones Is an NBA-Ready Talent
It is isn’t just his numbers. Jones posts highlight-smooth plays on a weekly basis, such as this up-and-under and-one during the Georgetown game:
Umm Kam Jones, How? #MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/EPxL9mpy69
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) January 8, 2025
Joining him on the Wooden Award list are NBA draftees to-be such as Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, Auburn’s Johni Broome, and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears.
Jones may not be lottery pick material, but he is projected to go somewhere in the second round. If he continues to play at such a high level, his draft stock may well tick up.
Versus the Hoyas, though, he did not have his best performance, going 4 of 14 from the field for a season-low 11 points. Instead, junior guard Chase Ross did the heavy lifting, putting up 27 on 7-12 shooting and 9-10 on freebies, in addition to grabbing six steals. It was a surprise performance to say the least for Marquette’s fourth-leading scorer (9.9 PPG coming in).
Sometimes, though not often for Jones, you don’t have to be the hero.
Jones and Marquette Claw Their Way To Victory Despite Less Than Best Performance
Off on his shooting game going up against a tough Hoyas defense, Jones contributed in other ways, playing hard on the other end and avoiding mistakes. He turned it over only once, producing a five-to-one assist to turnover ratio. On the season he has been excellent in that department, maintaining a ratio above four coming into the game.
With Georgetown forced to foul trailing under a minute go, the Golden Eagles pulled away, but the final score does not represent the neck-and-neck competition it was. 13.5-point favorites prior to tip-off, at halftime Jones and the Eagles found themselves down 38-29.
Emerging victorious tonight was important for this team moving forward as they attempt to hang with Auburn, Iowa State and Duke, among others, atop the AP Poll. Earlier this season, Marquette climbed as high as 5th before losses to Iowa State and, in particular, unranked Dayton during the first two weeks of December.
After a week off, they will visit the DePaul Blue Demons (9-6, 0-4) as they continue conference play. Ideally, they should aim to string together some impressive wins before taking on 9th-ranked UConn 25 days from now.
Sneaking up in the rankings will only improve Jones’ odds of capturing the National Player of the Year Award. To get back to the top 5, the Golden Eagles will certainly need him.
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