[MJ FOR LIFE 23Participant]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7630611/the-story-baylor-bears-star-perry-jones-iii-men-college-basketball

Didn’t know this about PJ III. This actually made me mellow up a bit towards him since I was getting frustrated how he is not playing up to his potential. We all know about his potential, we just need to see him untap it.

This is a lengthy article so I only took an excerpt. You can just read the whole article on ESPN on its headlines.

"Jones is averaging 13.2 points and 7.3 rebounds for the 25-5 Bears. But he’s scored just 5.3 points per game and shot 27 percent from the field in Baylor’s past four losses, three of which came against top-10 teams.

 Jones tries to stay upbeat, but it’s difficult. When Baylor loses, he said the criticism "goes through the roof" on Twitter — the bathroom walls of the Internet. "I can’t get on there without hearing about how soft I am," Jones said.

Two weeks ago, when Jones tweeted about his excitement over earning a B on an English paper, a "fan" responded that he should quit worrying about his grades and get back in the gym.

Less than a year removed from braces and acne medicine, Jones shakes his head. Last season he said he would’ve responded to such a comment.

"But now I’m more mature," Jones said. "I realize I don’t even know who these people are. "And they definitely don’t know anything about me."

That’s what frustrates Jones’ inner circle. Everyone thinks they know PJ3, as he’s called by his friends, but the perceptions are far from true. The people who believe he was getting money from Baylor during high school might feel differently if they knew Jones was homeless — bouncing from one $95-a-week hotel room to another — throughout much of his final prep season.

Those who wonder why he picked the Bears over a national power such as North Carolina or Kansas might understand if they knew that Jones’ 40-year-old mother, Terri, was battling a severe heart condition — she may need a transplant — 90 minutes away near Dallas.

And anyone who questions Jones’ mettle obviously forgets that he passed up an opportunity to be a top-5 NBA draft pick last summer because he didn’t feel he was ready. If it isn’t tough to know who you are and turn down millions, what is?"

taken from ESPN.go.com/mens-college-basketball

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 I’m sorry maybe it’s just me and I do feel bad for Jones.

But basketball is basketball, that’s where he should flourish, that’s where he should go extra hard and be killing because of how he lived in the past and the condition of his mother.

I felt for him from a human being standpoint, but not basketball, it’s alot of players that have been through more than him and still played up to par.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 @YoungDave

It’s more of a combination of things.  And he’s not playing bad he’s still leading a top 10 team in scoring, it’s mostly the way Baylor plays him.  They don’t use him right at all, or feed him the ball enough.  That’s the coach Scott Drew who needs to do a better job of tapping into Jones.  Putting him in the position to succeed which he really don’t do.  

Watch the Bears the next time they’re on TV and you’re gonna get so frustrated when you’ll see like 7 straight offensive possessions and Jones won’t even touch the ball.  He calls for the ball but he just don’t get it.  And he won’t force bad shots which is a good thing, so when he get’s the ball and doesn’t have great position or a nice shot, he’ll keep it moving.  

You’ll notice a few times too he’ll grab a defensive rebound and wanna push the pace only to be stopped and forced to throw the ball to a guard.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

I posted it in the "News" section on the main page. I can definitely see that life has not been easy for him and feel that he has been labelled with expectations that are difficult to live up to. The part that got me was a fan telling him to "go to the gym and work on his game" after Perry was happy about getting a B. Pretty freaking disgusting.

He is a kid and I am sure he wants to succeed. I do not doubt he tries hard, but it seems like he has limitations for a number of what I feel are valid reasons. He obviously has a lot on his mind besides basketball and the pressure at times must be crippling. I do not see him as a player that strives off of this pressure, but not everyone is.

Hopefully, once he is able to maybe do some certain things for his family, it might be alleviated. But, for all of the talk about loving his "upside" and not loving his "motor", I think he is who he is. I do not think he will be a superstar, but he should become a pretty solid basketball player who unfortunately has limitations that people would hope he would not have. Perry could eventually put everything together and turn into this super player many project him as, but I really do not think that is part of who he is. To me, there is little wrong with that, but to many other people, saddling him with gigantic expectations does not seem to be the right way to push him.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 I mean Thomas Robinson lost his mother, grandpop and grandmother all in one month last year and look at him now.

I don’t feel sorry for PJ3 from a basketball standpoint, I think that’s where he should flourish, and outside of his mother’s health, most of these problems were going on in HS, 2-3 years ago.

And I’ve watched Baylor, and at times I do feel he doesn’t get the ball enough, then other times he just downright plays soft, I really don’t think he has that beast in him, like they say he does, I haven’t seen it, gotta see it to believe it.

[GlenTaylorSucksParticipant]

You know, it’s easy to get lost in criticising him in the "you have so much potential but don’t use it" mindset, and forget that these guys are all people. They have lives outside of basketball, and it’s easy to forget that. He really does seem like a stand-up guy, someone who’s easy to root for. I’m surprised more hype hasn’t been made of his backstory- it really is kind of like The Blind Side. You hear about Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow’s back story every 5 seconds, and their lives haven’t been nearly as hard as PJIII’s.

[surveParticipant]

 I know Baylor may not be the best place to really showcase him because of how they use him, but I still feel that he is not a demonstrative player/person.  Thats not a knock against him, its who he is.  I like the comments he has made and his decisions, he is a very good player and we should except him as such.  He will go to the league and hopefully have a good career and earn a good living….but from what I have seen of him and reading interviews like this…he has good character and that will serve him well, far beyond basketball.  Thats very important.  MikeyV makes a good point about a lot of things being on his mind.  The pressure on him as a basketball player is tremendous.

[PrecociousNeophyteParticipant]

 He will never be the player some people are labeling him as and I think he knows that already. I do think that he is going to have a long NBA career, but just be an average player. I feel that when he is like 36 years old and still playing in the NBA people are going to look back at his career and say that he was a bust because he wasted all that potential. He knows that he is labeled wrong in the first place as a one and done player. When he looks back on his career though he will realize that he developed from a immature kid into a man. Thats all he really wants is for people just to take him as he is and not someone he’s not.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

He will benefit if he falls and goes to a more veteran team like Gerald aka Crash. Crash did not show what he could do at Alabama and went to a loaded Sacremento team. Things worked out OK for Crash even though he never did what was expected in Alabama after coming in rated #1 out of high school.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

Yeah I don’t think PJ3 is going to become one of the All Time greats or a superstar, I do believe he can become a very good player, one of those fringe All Star players that are vital to a teams success.  Just look at Rudy Gay whose playing really good this year but people are still disapointed saying he should be this and he should be that, but he’s not.  He’s just not.  He’s a realy good player he’s just not a superstar.

[Future_Scout]

 i do believe he has potential to become what everyone wants him to be! i feel like everyone is just following the leader by saying they don’t think….

def not the next durant tho

[tuck243Participant]

Are you out your freaking mind???  Just because Perry’s situation isn’t as bad as Thomas doesn’t mean it isn’t sad…  The fawk?? 

Anyway, I think he needs to get out of that Baylor situation and go to the league…  Similar to being traded he needs a change of scenery…  And hopefully this will give him motivation to succeed…  Similar to Rudy Gay and LeMarcus with a soft demeanor in College, hopefully the pros will be a different story…

[river09Participant]

 This is what is wrong with college sports. It should be always in the back of everyone’s mind that if you go to college you’re there for one primary reason and that is education. The fact that he recieves this much direct criticism over his BASKETBALL game is alarming. People need to back off and recognize that this who we’re talking about is a young adult who is living without his parents for the first time in his life and is actually a human being who is still concerned about getting to his classes on time. He doesn’t owe it to us to play incredibly good basketball, if he can find a way to do it good for him and I’ll enjoy (and have enjoyed) watching it. But if he (or any other hardworking student athlete) can’t quite pull it off, I’d hate for him to feel obligated by us (some lazy people sitting on couches watching) to feel horrible about it. So in the meantime sit back and enjoy what can be accomplished by a group of young adults NONE of which have reached their potential…. 

Written by a fellow collegiate student athlete.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

I bet that. He is not on Durants level.

[TheArtistPaysthePriceParticipant]

realize how hateful and trivial people like you and me can be over the internet. How many threads have been dedicated to how bad Baylor and PJ3 are on this site alone? He has been through alot but as a basketball player he still has alot of room to grow. Or quite possibly not grow. He just plays like a guy who doesn’t want to dominate. He reminds me of more a Lamar Odom player persona than Kevin Garnet. He seems like a guy that thinks Quincy Acy is better than he is. You dont have to be aggressive but being assertive at least is a necessary condition for being better than good. He just doesnt have that natural fire or cockyness but a lot of good NBA players dont. It just so happens that all great players do.

[omphalosParticipant]

Did anyone else notice that the thread about PJ3 being the "biggest underachiever in college basketball" bears a striking similarity to a thread on this site? Weird to think these guys might actually read what we say.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Dude can you read?

I clearly said it’s sad and that I feel sorry for him from a human being standpoint.

Not from a basketball player standpoint, those things happened a while back, and the court should be where he flourishes.

Learn to read then reply, that’s the first thing your teachers teach you in grade school, read through everything first before you answer.

[JoeWolf1]

I’m very sypathetic to any young man going through hardships, but it doesn’t change the fact that Jones has not played up to exectations.  I thought it was absolute BS that he was suspended before the NCAA tournament because his Dad took a 1,000 dollar loan from a family friend.  I thought he had as much upside as anyone, but the fact of the matter is, he didn’t really progress as a player.

In a lot of ways he was better as a 2nd option to Lacedarius Dunn.  He got to the foul line more, and I think he was more comfortable with his offensive role.  He shot a higher percentage, which I think is because he didn’t feel the pressure to create offense all the time.  He could just play in his game.  I also feel he didn’t shy away from contact quite as much.  Not everyone is a big game player who wants to carry the load offensively, that doesn’t mean he sucks, but it really appears to be the truth of the matter.

I bring all this up because, the guy is not going to be a 1st option player in the NBA.  I’d still take him in the lottery, probably 9-12, because I don’t feel he’ll be a complete bust, but a nice role player who still does have some potential to become more than that.  However, I don’t think that Perry’s realistic maximization of his potential would result in a 1st option type NBA player scoring 20+ ppg.  I think a realistic "potential" would be a guy who kind of bounces back between a 3rd and 2nd option.  Scoring around 15-18 per game.  

That’s what I feel his real potential is, with a more likely scenario for him being an occasional starter/bench guy contributing 10 and 5 while stretching the floor against slow big men. 

 

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