Jones meant no disrespect to USF teammates

Posted May 19, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated May 19, 2010 at 12:17 PM

Dominique Jones is in Chicago today for the start of the NBA draft combine, which runs through Sunday.

More than 50 top prospects will be competing, providing Jones an opportunity to test his skills against some of the draft’s marquee attractions.

Before he takes the court later today, Jones did want to clarify some comments he made that I posted on an earlier blog here.

When asked after a recent workout in Washington about his potential, Jones told reporters that “there’s a lot of things that I can do that I wasn’t able to show in college, because of the team that I was on and the talent surrounding me.’’

Jones said what he meant was that in the NBA, he’ll be surrounded by NBA players and expects that to improve his game because of the higher level of competition and talent surrounding him on the court.

As for any of his former USF teammates he may have offended, Jones said: “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for those guys. I went to war with those guys, and they went to war with me.

“I love the program. I had a role at USF, and in the NBA, I’ll have a different role because of the players around me. That’s all I was saying.’’