AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men’s basketball program received good news today with the addition of an experienced player to its backcourt in USC transfer Maurice Jones, a 5-7, jet-quick point guard who averaged 13.0 points, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals for the Trojans in 2011-12. Jones signed a financial aid agreement to attend Iowa State University yesterday.
A native of Saginaw, Mich., Jones will begin school at Iowa State in the spring semester but will not be eligible for competition this season. Jones will be a junior eligibility-wise next year (2013-14) and will begin competing for the Cyclones after the fall semester ends (roughly mid-December of 2013).
“I am really excited to start over and be a part of a program on the rise like Iowa State,” Jones said. “I watched Iowa State play a few times last year and (Iowa State head) coach (Fred) Hoiberg talked to me about how I will be able to thrive in their system. When I met with him (Hoiberg) he also talked about how much the community cares about basketball. I am really looking forward to being a part of the Cyclone program.”
Jones started 57 games in his two-year Trojan career, leading the team in the majority of the statistical categories last season: points (13.0), assists (111), steals (56), free-throws (78) and 3-pointers (52). He was named the team MVP at the postseason awards banquet.
USC struggled with a wide variety of injuries in 2011-12, as Jones became the main focus of the opposing team’s defenses. He led all Pac-12 players in minutes played (38.3) and was fifth in the conference in steals (1.8). He tallied a season-high 28 points vs. South Carolina.
As a freshman in 2010-11, Jones started 25 of 34 games for a Trojan team which advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 19-15 mark. Jones averaged 9.9 points, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals as a rookie, breaking the USC freshman record for steals in a season with 69, the seventh-best rookie total in league history. He was a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2010-11.
His career high in points is 29 vs. Santa Clara and he owns the USC school record for best 3-point shooting percentage in a game when he made all seven of his shots from beyond the arc vs. South Carolina.
He ended his Trojan career ranking ninth on USC’s career steal list (125) and 20th in career 3-pointers (93).
“Maurice is one of the quickest players with the basketball you will see,” Hoiberg said. “He is an experienced player who has proven he can play against top-level competition. We welcome Maurice to the Cyclone family.”
As a prep, Jones was named the Associated Press’ Michigan Class A Player of the Year in 2010 when he averaged 30.0 points, 12.0 assists and 5.1 rebounds for Arthur Hill H.S. A finalist for Michigan’s “Mr. Basketball” Award, Jones was rated as the 89th-best player in the nation by ESPNU and was first-team All-State.
Jones scored a school-record 49 points vs. Michigan State’s Keith Appling and his 2010 Class A champion Detroit Pershing team. Jones totaled over 1,800 points, 700 assists, 300 rebounds and 200 steals in his four-year prep career.
