Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Rebels Quick Hits:

UNLV’s Derrick Jones declares for NBA Draft, won’t hire agent

UNLV Defeats New Mexico Solidly

L.E. Baskow

UNLV forward Derrick Jones Jr. (1) is welcomed back to the bench after great play over New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday, January 12, 2016.

UNLV forward Derrick Jones Jr. will submit his name to the NBA Draft but not hire an agent, he tweeted Thursday afternoon, which means there’s a chance Jones could return to the Rebels.

“I am very blessed and humble to announce I will be declaring for the 2016 NBA draft without hiring an agent,” Jones tweeted. “I would like to thank the coaches and staff at UNLV who helped me become a better player and a better man on and off the court. I am proud to be a member of the Runnin’ Rebel community and will always proudly represent the city of Las Vegas!”

The freshman from Chester, Pa., averaged the second-most points on the team (11.5 per game) while grabbing 4.5 rebounds with 1.4 blocks in 21.5 minutes per game. Jones’ season ended with one regular-season game remaining because the NCAA nullified his ACT score and ruled him ineligible, and if he wanted to return, that situation would have to be resolved.

Listed at 6 feet 7 inches tall and 190 pounds, Jones’ leaping ability put him on professional radars in high school, and he continued to improve as a freshman before the investigation that started in June concluded with him being ruled a nonqualifier.

The new draft eligibility rules allow underclassmen to put their name in the draft and still return to school as long as they don’t hire an agent. If he’s invited to the combine, Jones could work out with about 80 other prospects in front of NBA personnel, and he could also have one individual workout with a team.

Jones is the third Rebel to declare for the NBA Draft, though freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr. and sophomore Pat McCaw said they would hire agents. Sophomores Dwayne Morgan and Jordan Cornish are both transferring, so depending on Jones’ decision, the Rebels have only four or five remaining scholarship players from last season.

All of the departures have been before new coach Chris Beard is even official at UNLV, which is expected to happen Friday during a Board of Regents meeting.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy