Schools Come Calling on the Terrances

OregonPreps

For the past year rising juniors Terrance Jones and Terrance Ross have been developing quite the national reputation with Jefferson and Team Jones and have quickly become two of the more highly coveted players in the 2010 class. When college coaches were permitted to contact the two directly at the end of the school year, they each heard from a "who's who" of college coaches.

Jones, a 6-foot-7, 200 pound versatile perimeter player, said he received phone calls from UCLA, Washington, Kansas, Georgetown, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma over the first weekend of the contact period.

Ross stands 6-foot-5 and is an extremely athletic, dead-eye shooter from the perimeter and has shown this spring an improved ability and aggressiveness attacking the rim. Pat Strickland, who coaches both Jones and Ross at Jefferson and with Team Jones, said Ross had a long list of schools calling to show their interest.

"Texas, Maryland, Oklahoma, Indiana, Washington, Oregon State, Oregon, Cal, Arizona State, Baylor and Kansas all called for Ross this past weekend," Strickland said.

The two also acknowledged that they have plans of attending the same school.

The pair was scheduled to attend the Nike Hoop Jamboree in St. Louis. And while Ross stayed in Portland and played with Team Jones in the Rose City Showcase, Jones more than held his own against some of the nation's top underclassmen.

"I played thought I played well," Jones said following the camp. "I had a lot of other guards on my team so I was forced to play out on the wing. I just had to make plays from the wing and move without the ball in order to be effective, and I did that. It just allowed me to show my versatility."

Jones said he played with the same team-first attitude that he uses with his Jefferson and Team Jones squads while at the camp, a trait that according to Jones wasn't matched by many of the camp's other participants.

"Most of the other guys there were looking to go one-on-one and look out for themselves," Jones said. "I was trying to help everyone on the team get involved and trying to get a win."

It's that same mentality that has placed Team Jones deep into most of their tournaments and allowed for the Terrances to gain more exposure. And they realize that as they get into the final month of the AAU season, playing as a unit will only benefit them individually.

"We're getting our name out there as a team," Jones said. "As we continue to show that we are a really good team, each of us will continue to get recognition."