Iowa inks power forward for final slot

IOWA CITY - Iowa basketball filled one of its most important holes this off-season, signing junior-college forward Dale Jones to a letter of intent on Monday.

Jones, who stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 220 pounds, led Tyler (Texas) Junior College in scoring, rebounding and free-throw percentage en route to the NJCAA tournament. Jones, a third-year sophomore, averaged 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds and hit 45.4 percent of 3-pointers for a team that finished 24-10. He will be eligible to play two seasons at Iowa.

'He's a great kid, an above-average student and can really shoot the ball,” said Tyler Junior College Coach Mike Marquis. 'He had a really good year here as far as scoring and rebounding. Really pretty good offensively in all phases.”

Jones averaged 45.1 percent from the floor and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line. He led the Apaches with 3.0 3-pointers a game.

'I see myself as a well-rounded basketball player,” Jones said Monday. 'I don't try to limit myself to one thing, ‘Oh you're a five, you have to post up.' I just see myself as a well-rounded basketball player. If Coach (Fran) McCaffery or Mike Marquis needed me to do something, I did it.”

Jones becomes the sixth newcomer to the Iowa basketball program this fall. It's also a return to his home state as well. Jones grew up in Waterloo and played high school basketball at West. As a junior, he scored 19 points in a Class 4A substate game against Cedar Rapids Jefferson and its star, Jarrod Uthoff. But Jefferson won that battle when Uthoff hit two free throws in the final seconds.

Uthoff, who was named the state's Mr. Basketball that season, was a third-team all-Big Ten selection this year for Iowa. He and Jones went head-to-head against one another for three years in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

'(We) are very familiar with each other,” Jones said.

Jones averaged 17.8 points as a senior at Waterloo West. He was a second-team all-state selection behind players such as Marcus Paige, Adam Woodbury, Kale Abrahamson and Jeremy Morgan. Jones left for Tyler that fall and put up 9.2 points and 6.1 rebounds a game in 2012-13.

Then in preseason drills his second season, Jones suffered a knee injury that required surgery. He red-shirted that year and returned for a third year last fall.

'I needed these two years to come down here and really mature and get hard-coached and I think Mike did,” Jones said. 'He coached me hard and coming down here helped me mature and become my own man. The knee injury that was a steppingstone in my life. I had to sit back and really appreciate playing this game every day.”

Jones immediately becomes the likely favorite to start at power forward. The Hawkeyes need to replace 6-9 Aaron White, a first-team all-Big Ten selection. White ranks second in scoring and third in rebounding in Iowa basketball history.

'These guys are missing a big part of their offense in Aaron White,” Jones said. 'He was a hard worker, did everything the coach asked him to do. I feel like I can do the same thing. We have a similar skill set, versatile, stretch-4 type. I can play the three, put the ball on the floor and post-up little guys, and bring out bigger guys. Really have a big part in the offense. I feel like I can really help this team.”

'He's got a good array of moves on the low block and can really shoot it faceup,” Marquis said. 'Coming off the knee injury, he's really starting to being able to put the ball down on the floor and protect the basket better, too.”

Iowa now has six newcomers on scholarship for the upcoming season. The Hawkeyes signed combo guard Christian Williams (6-6, 195) of Decatur (Ill.) St. Teresa last week. Iowa's November signees include Chicago Simeon combo guard Isaiah Moss (6-5, 175), Chicago De La Salle wing Brandon Hutton (6-6, 210) Oak Hill Academy shooting guard Andrew Fleming (6-5, 205) and Wayne (Ohio) forward Ahmad Wagner (6-7, 215).

Although Jones hails from Waterloo, returning back to the state wasn't his primary motivation.

'My biggest concern was how were they going to use me the next two years and how my career was going to be after basketball,” Jones said. 'I feel like I can trust these guys with the next two years of my life, both on the court and off the court.”

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