Santa Cruz Warriors at Iowa Wolves: Jones’ 29 leads top-3 performers

1. Jones finishes with 29 & 8

Damian Jones currently averages 14.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.5 blocks in 26.7 minutes per game. He’s shooting a whopping 67.1 percent from the field and 75.0 percent shooting from the free throw line.

Other than his rebounding numbers, all of the statistics above mark G League career-high averages.

On Sunday against Iowa, Jones led all scorers with a G League career-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe. He also added eight rebounds and one block in 33 minutes.

With the introduction of the two-way contract and rise in overall basketball talent these past couple years, the G League has never been more competitive than it is now. While some casual fans might expect Jones to completely dominate the G League right off the bat, that doesn’t at all diminish his accomplishments with Santa Cruz.

Next: 3 Takeaways from 118-111 Win in Brooklyn

Jones is still working to find his niche in the basketball world. He was already renowned for his defensive ability and athleticism coming into the NBA, but he obviously still needs to improve his numbers on the glass to be taken seriously as a 7-foot center.

Nevertheless, Jones has shown a great deal of improvement since last season. I’d put my money on this year being his last year in the G League with the Warriors.