USF's Jones picked in first round of NBA draft

Dominique Jones made history in his final season at the University of South Florida, prompting him to skip his senior season and enter the NBA draft. Jones made more history in Thursday night's draft, becoming the first USF player ever selected in the first round.

"It feels good," he said. "I worked my way up. This is just a turning point for me. I've got a long ways to go."

Memphis selected Jones with the 25th overall pick and immediately traded him to Dallas for cash, reportedly around the league's $3 million maximum.

"We tried to trade into the top 20 to get (Jones), got lucky to get him (at) 25," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tweeted.

With a deal with Dallas in place for Jones, Memphis drafted Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez three picks later.

A 6-foot-5 combo guard, Jones supplanted former Bulls center Solomon Jones as USF's highest-drafted player. Solomon Jones was taken by the Hawks in the second round, the 33rd overall pick, in the 2006 draft.

Jones was did not travel to New York for the draft, instead watching with family and friends in his hometown of Lake Wales. Earlier Thursday, Jones was optimistic about his chances to go in the first round.

"That's what I've been shooting for all along," he said. "I feel pretty good."

Jones is the fourth player USF coach Stan Heath has tutored since becoming a head coach in 2001 to get drafted, joining Ronnie Brewer, Sonny Weems and Patrick Beverly, who all played for Heath during his five seasons at Arkansas.

"I'm excited for him and I am excited for our program," Heath said. "He's representing USF and is now the highest draft pick of any USF basketball player. We're going to follow his career closely. It's a big night for him."

Immediately after NBA commissioner David Stern announced the Grizzlies' selection, ESPN commentator Jay Bilas provided a scouting report on Jones for fans - including the one at Madison Square Garden wearing a Memphis jersey who uttered, "I don't know who that is," when cameras panned in on him - not that familiar with USF's leading scorer in each of the past three seasons.

"He is a better player than he is an athlete," Bilas said. "With a 6-9 wingspan, he can guard. Where he is really effective, he is an explosive scorer. He just understands how to score."

Jones, who first told the Tribune of his intentions to skip his final season in April, was heavily criticized by many USF fans on message boards for leaving school early, but in the end, his decision proved a good one.

Jones climbed draft boards with his strong performance at workouts in 18 different cities since mid-May.

Jones opted to skip his senior season at USF after averaging 21.4 points as a junior, including a school-record 46 points at Providence. He finished his career at USF as the school's all-time leader in free throws attempted (615), second in free throws made (453) and fifth on the school's all-time scoring list (1,797 points).