Duke’s Latest Transfer Is A Welcome Surprise

Duke is now something of a tradition with the Jones family

Duke fans might know, but a lot of people won’t, that former Duke and current New York Giants QB Daniel Jones was also a heck of a basketball player. Obviously he chose football and it’s worked out brilliantly for him.

His brother chose basketball though and went to Davidson.

Now, as a grad transfer, Bates Jones has announced that he’ll be a Duke Blue Devil.

Jones, a 6-8, 225 lb. forward, comes well recommended by Davidson coach Bob McKillop, who says Jones is “a wonderful player and person.”

Jones, who only started five games at Davidson, is essentially being recruited for experience and presence, as he told the Charlotte Observer: “I think I’m generally easy to play with, and the Duke coaches said they liked that I’ve played college basketball at a pretty high level for four years. I can bring a lot of experience to a program that will have a good amount of underclassmen and make some of the younger players by bringing intensity to practices, too.”

It’s an interesting pickup and probably smart. An experienced player almost never hurts, especially with a young team.