Colby Jones is a super toolsy versatile wing that I love for virtually any team in the league. He doesn’t have many weaknesses and is capable, basically in every kind of way. Jones is athletic, a smart defender, an improving shooter, a really impressive passer, and has good size. There aren’t really any holes in his game. His main weakness in the past was his shot but he's improved his percentage every year to the point where it’s respectable. Last year the main worry with him was his shooting but the split has gone up considerably to 38%. The three-pointer looks shaky still and he doesn’t seem the most comfortable with it but the fact that the number has gone up is a good sign. If he could hit it on a more consistent game-to-game basis I feel like many would fall in love with him in the kind of way I have. He could easily go to an NBA team and work with a shooting coach to get himself right in that aspect. He’s a real mid-range maestro and has looked calm and collected when trying to get buckets there. He is a pretty good athlete but he isn’t a big-time interior scorer. He can make the easy cuts but doesn’t have the physical capability to simply overpower people. Jones has to use a nice bag of floaters, layups, and workarounds that have been heavily refined with a silky smooth touch. What makes Colby valuable offensively though is his playmaking ability at 6’6”. He’s playing a point forward right now for Xavier as the main ball handler and distributor which is evident in his five assists per game. There's always a perpetual sense of patience when he’s working as a creator. He avoids all the sloppy turnovers that most players make and resists the temptation of others trying to spread up his game. That mix of size and passing capability is a really rare skill and I’m surprised this isn’t reflected in his draft stock among rankings in the media. He loves to move the ball around and is quick to relocate himself in order to benefit the offense. He makes really good reads when it comes to finding the open man. In the league, he’s mostly going to be used as a generic combo guard/wing but I would really like a team to give him a chance as a big point guard every once in a while. I don’t think giving him a larger role would be a hindrance as he’s never been a super ball-dominant player and isn’t anything close to a heliocentric player, even with a sort of weaker roster like Xavier. He’s more of a half-court player offensively which might make it so his scoring doesn't translate one-to-one exactly day one, but that's okay. He does work well in pick and rolls in both positions which helps to increase his number of utilizations on the court. Jones isn’t an amazing one-on-one defender but he certainly isn’t bad, the consistency in his work ethic is ever present on that end of the ball. Jones isn’t afraid to get hit and he likes to embrace the contact and pain as a sacrifice for the good of his team. He works really well around schemes to stick to his man-like glue. Colby constantly fights hard for rebounds and is aware of what's going on around him. The off-ball movement comes naturally for him as he's always trying to anticipate what's next. Xavier has made it so he’s easy to plug into basically any playbook. I think he could be a big riser if he has a good run in march madness and measures well at the draft combine. We have seen players like Dalen Terry and Jalen Williams rise later in the season to become top 20 picks last year while possessing similar skill sets at that size. Many see his ceiling as being low which may be true but that high floor as an immediate starter seems like something easy to bet on. I like the upside with his shooting due to his splits getting better and better with each passing year and as he improves his range, so does his draft stock improve due to that 3&D potential. Players of that archetype have been super valuable as of late and I expect that to be reflected in the draft.

More potential Josh Hart/Malcolm Brogdon. Terrific strength for position. Good spot-up shooter with high IQ on both ends of the floor. Uses strength to get good positioning on rebounds. Secondary playmaker potential: high AST/TO and AST/USG ratio. On the older side of prospects, will be 21 on draft day, but could be sought after by contenders later in the first round who need immediate contributors.

High IQ Guard who tends to make the right, winning play Smooth shot that always forces a threat on D Does a bit of everything - can pass, drive, handle, pass, and play defense Insane defense mechanics, shifts feet laterally and gets his hand up with precision Strong build Can dribble, pass, and shoot - a reliable versatile piece Fits so well into any NBA Lineup An underrated rebounder and box-out guy Doesn't care about the statline, just performs the way he needs to Free Throw Percentage was concerning this year Junior - elder prospect Limited potential with such already polished game In the NBA, Colby can have all or none of the roles, depends if teams value extreme quality or quantity Talented passer, makes defenses look silly Boring, yet extremely effective game Can telegraph ideas a bit Doesn’t create a lot of space of the dribble, minimal athletic separation Underrated playmaker, good court awareness Tends to stand off-ball Pure, clean makes Aware open-court playmaker Values the little things, active outside of the stat sheet Extremely crafty Every play (seamlessly) is positive for the team when Colby has the ball in his hands Can lack aggressiveness at times, be weakened by opponent Sometimes tries to do things his frame doesn’t allow Uses change-of-pace, head fakes as a key part of his game Stable, strong, stiff passes Lacks touch in the lane Disappointingly short wingspan, hurts him on both sides of the ball Lacks ball security against those more aggressive defenders Solid cutter, willing to move off-ball Don’t love his defensive versatility, too small for bigs, wide and laterally slow for guards Inconsistent performance throughout the game, sometimes in it, sometimes not Big lack of athleticism/burst, hurts ability to fully drive the lane Connective passer Uses body as he drives, separates from defense Concerningly slow for a guard Great processor, reads defense so methodically, knack for finding rollers and cutters in the half-court Lacks consistent energy throughout the game