AMES, Iowa –– Curtis Jones describes himself as “kind of a nice guy.” Gracious enough to answer every single phone call during the hubbub of the transfer portal. Self-aware enough to admit how cool it is that Hall of Fame Kansas coach Bill Self dubbed Jones a “first-team All-American” after he erupted for a game-high 25 points in No. 2 Iowa State’s 74-57 win over the ninth-ranked Jayhawks on Wednesday night.
Jones’ introspection speaks volumes. He’s seemingly tried to keep everything about his personality the same as his game, profile and platform completely transform into something he never could have predicted.
In another life, Jones was a 6-foot-3, 160-pound shooting guard out of the Twin Cities who had zero Division I or Division II offers. Sure, he was blessed with a silky-smooth jumper (Jones says he could shoot since he came out of the womb), but guys with that type of build are a dime a dozen in the high school ranks.
I wasn’t really a player,” Jones told CBS Sports. “I didn’t pass the eye test. A lot of times, people like to see someone dunking and flying, that might catch. The way I play, I might not catch your eye. It’s not as flashy. Plus, I was super skinny.”
For a large chunk of his senior season at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jones was solely focused on one school: Iowa Western Community College. But when his phone notification pinged that Hank Plona, the then-coach at Indian Hills, followed him on Twitter, Jones quickly turned his sights toward one of the top junior college programs in the country. Even without a committable offer from Indian Hills, Jones turned down Iowa Western and waited.
“All my chips were on Indian Hills,” Jones says. “I got blessed that he offered me a scholarship. At that age, I was trying to be cool and tell him in a week and my mom was like, ‘Nah, you’re going to tell them yes right now.'”
Plona changed Jones’ position to get more reps playing with the ball in his hands. He almost always knew which buttons to press to unlock a different and better version of Jones, including a point-blank conversation where he asked Jones if he was recruited to Indian Hills to redshirt.
Jones didn’t think so.
Plona agreed.
“You have to start acting like it,” Jones recalls. “He told me I was different. After that, we didn’t have a meeting like that again. He did a lot for me.”
Jones parlayed a strong season at Indian Hills into an opportunity at Buffalo where he showed a few flashes in Year 1 and transformed into the Bulls’ leading scorer in Year 2.
Jones’ phone erupted when he entered the portal with two years of eligibility remaining. Jones was not highly regarded in transfer portal rankings, but that didn’t stop high-major coaches from knocking at his door left and right. It was a far cry from his high school recruiting experience.
Iowa State eventually won out thanks to T.J. Otzelberger’s consistency, energy and pitch. As is tradition in Jones’ basketball journey, he was rock-solid in Year 1 at Iowa State. But he’s transformed into an even better version of himself as a fifth-year senior.
Jones is averaging a career-best 17.3 points per game for an Iowa State club that looks every bit the part of a top-tier national championship contender. Jones owns one of the most unguardable floaters in the country while shooting 39% from downtown.
Oh, and Jones’ treys aren’t normal. They come from the parking lot.
In a way, Jones embodies a little bit of what makes this Iowa State group special. Tamin Lipsey was just a three-star recruit. Keshon Gilbert was just a three-star recruit. In fact, Iowa State’s go-to lineup against Kansas of Lipsey, Gilbert, Jones, Joshua Jefferson and Dishon Jackson features five (!) former three-star recruits.
“Their evaluation in recruiting has been tremendous,” Self said. “Maybe [Iowa State athletic director] Jamie [Pollard] got them so much NIL that they can go get anybody, but the pieces fit.”
After Jones’ eruption against Kansas, he’s now ninth in kenpom.com’s National Player of the Year ratings. And with a shooting stroke like that, the NBA’s interest is most certainly piqued.
If this skyrocketing emergence is just too much, Jones certainly isn’t showing it. Those junior college roots aren’t leaving any time soon.
“Indian Hills meant so much to me,” Jones said. “I was never looking at it like, ‘I’m at JUCO, this sucks.’ I was grateful to be there because I knew what it could do for me. I can’t say I knew I was going to be here, though.”
