Purdue Lands Combo Guard Lance Jones From Transfer Portal

Purdue picked up some backcourt depth this weekend with the news that Southern Illinois grad transfer Lance Jones committed to the program.

The addition of Jones isn’t exactly flashy, but with Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer likely having their starting spots locked up Purdue’s options were limited since they were looking for someone willing to come off the bench. That still leaves some questions pertaining to how Jones will mix in with the team next season after he shot 28% from three this year.

On the plus side Jones is a solid defender that has enough athleticism to attack the rim and create his own shot. That was something you could argue was desperately missing this year for Purdue. However, his three point shooting percentage has dropped the past three seasons and bottomed out at a poor 28%. His assist to turnover ration isn’t pretty, either. Taking a glance at the stat line you see a guard that is capable of shooting the ball but struggled on plenty of nights throughout the season. Something Purdue fans are unfortunately familiar with.

The hope here is that Jones continues to defend well and can attack the rim in a rotational role. While some people have mentioned his defensive ability could be key with Brandon Newman in the transfer portal, Jones lack of size (6’1”) likely means he’ll be backing up Smith and Loyer next winter in a role similar to what David Jenkins Jr. had this past year. There is some belief that as his volume dips his shooting percentage while bounce back up, though it should be mentioned Jenkins shot 38-45% from three in his first three seasons while putting up seven three pointers per game.

While Jones might not be a super flashy pick up for Purdue, he’ll add some experience and depth in the backcourt. The Boilermakers still need some additional shooting, but there is likely some hope that Loyer will find some consistency as a sophomore and that the new freshmen can add some firepower on the offensive side of the ball.