Heath: Jones frustrated, has not made NBA decision

Posted Mar 17, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Mar 17, 2010 at 04:59 PM

USF men’s basketball coach Stan Heath isn’t ready to say goodbye to junior G Dominique Jones just yet.

Despite a Facebook message by Jones on Wednesday morning suggesting he is leaning toward the NBA, Heath is taking the wait-and-see approach.

“He just got a little frustrated,’’ Heath told the Tribune. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m still upset about last night.’ Unless you are John Wall or [DeMarcus] Cousins, or the kid [Wes Johnson] at Syracuse, you really have no idea what you are doing at this point.’’

Jones has until April 25 to declare for the NBA draft, so there is no rush for him to make a decision in the wake of USF’s 58-57 loss to North Carolina State in the first round of the NIT.

However, there is a new rule in place for underclassmen such as Jones who want to “test the waters.’’

The NBA has a June 15 withdrawal date for the draft, but the NCAA has set a new withdrawal deadline of May 8 for players who want to retain their college eligibility if they opt to pull out of the draft.

According to ESPN.com, since the May 8 deadline takes place before the NBA’s draft combine, the league has said it will start holding private workouts April 30.

Heath said Jones has a lot of information to study before making his final decision.

“If he is guaranteed first-round money, then I’d have to believe there is a good chance he will go,’’ Heath said. “But no one will know that for a few weeks yet. He knows he’s got work to do.

“He will call [NBA official] Stu Jackson and some of the GMs with later picks in the first round and get an idea of what they’re thinking. Then we will all sit down and I will present all of the information to him and then we’ll see.’’