Jones feels good about his position in draft entering final workouts

Posted Jun 15, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Jun 15, 2010 at 12:22 PM

Dominique Jones has been a busy man preparing for next week’s NBA draft.

The former USF star has worked out for 15 teams in the past month. He is working out for Toronto today, and has two more workouts scheduled prior to the June 24th draft – Chicago on Saturday and New Jersey next Tuesday.

Jones has already worked out for the Bulls and Nets once.

Jones is confident he has done enough in the draft workouts to bolster his stock. DraftExpress.com has him going No. 27 to the Nets, and NBAdraft.net has Orlando taking him with the 29th overall pick. ESPN.com NBA draft analyst Chad Ford doesn’t have Jones currently in his first 30 picks.

“I’ve been doing real good from what the teams are telling me,’’ Jones said. “There are no guarantees, but the percentages are very high that I’ll be a first-round pick. I can’t see certain teams passing me up.’’

“To me, it’s not really about the pick, but more about the situation.’’

In his workouts, Jones said several of the teams have been surprised by his ability to play the point guard. A shooting guard at USF, Jones hasn’t run the offense regularly since his days at Lake Wales High.

“It’s something I’m used to if I have to play there,’’ Jones said Monday. “I’ve tried to show teams that I’m not going to be a liability [at point guard].’’

Jones measured 6-foot-5 and 216 pounds at the draft combine, with 5.9 percent body fat. While scouts study the numbers, Jones has also tried to give them some personality during their interviews.

“My thing is, I just want to put myself in a positive situation and show teams who I am close up and what I’m all about.’’

The NBA draft is June 24 from 7 p.m. to midnight from Madison Square Garden in New York.