Sometimes something happens in a player´s career that isn´t necessarily a positive thing at the start, but over time it can become a serious blessing in disguise. That is exactly what happened to talented forward Delante Jones (195-SG-1995, college: Seattle). I get the opportunity to interview the new EPG Baskets Koblenz pro A player and a question I love to ask is what was the first eatery that you visited after a season overseas. What many overseas don´t understand is despite their being great food in every country, there is nothing like momma´s home cooking or visiting one of the many fast food restaurants. I mean American ballers can only get so much of Mcdonalds and Burger King that are as rampant overseas as Nordsee is in Germany. I was shocked when he told me he still hadn´t been to the well liked Chick-fil-a a place that ballers like Kyle Hines, Tyler Cheese, Justin Alston and Shaun Willett like to visit when they return home, because he was still in Germany weeks after his last game to end the season. I mean what American still hangs around in Europe after the season is over. Of course many will go on vacation and visit exotic places like Rome or Barcelona, but he was still in the small Tuebingen not necessarily a household name in Europe. Sometimes you begin to really like a place when you had success and had good experiences there. He went from a losing culture in Schwenningen to a winning culture with the Tigers. It was like night and day. “It was a new world. The practices with the Tigers were much more intense and precise. We had a clear goal with the Tigers and we worked very hard to execute that goal. Every practice was a challenge, but my teammates were amazing and helped me whenever I needed it along the way”, remembered Delante Jones. Even if he didn´t get the massive minutes he was used to in Tuebingen as they were shaved down from 30-16, the whole experience in his 4 months are one that could pay huge dividends for his further career. “One of the advantages to playing 30 minutes is the confidence it gives you. Finding a rhythm in that much time is easy. I was able to really focus on helping the team with the little things. Extra energy on the court. I loved the challenge of defending and winning my match-up and executing our scheme. I had one of my career best rebounding games in Tübingen. I was very happy about moments like that and I will keep building on them. I just fell in love with doing whatever it took to get wins for our club. Offensively, I was efficient but it came naturally. The offense created a lot advantages for me that I was able to take advantage of. My teammates and I always made the extra pass and the ball tends to find the open guy. So I just played naturally, didn’t force anything, and I was able to play well”, stressed Delante Jones. He also profited big time from influential teacher and up and coming coach Danny Jansson. “Danny is brimming with basketball knowledge. I tried to be a sponge. I picked up a ton of different concepts offensively and defensively. Danny introduced me to Bilbao action, for example. Danny also recommended I watch “Game Changer”. I switched to a plant based diet after that and saw immediate gains in my performance. I’ll keep with it the rest of my career and expect the change to take me to another level”, warned Delante Jones. Tuebingen could have unraveled to have been a career changing moment as he joined the EPG Baskets Koblenz, but injury halted his season after only 2 games.

Delante Jones who lists Ben Simmons as his toughest opponent ever and remembers him playing center and being dominant in the first half, but in the second half played point guard and blew the game wide open was born on August 25th, 1995 in Fairfax, Virginia. He grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia and attended Virginia Episcopal School. He then began his NCAA career at the American University and played a total of 60 games in 2 seasons between 2015-2017. In his freshman season he averaged 12.0ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 46.4%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 69.8% and in his second season averaged 11.5ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 44.8%, 3PT: 33.9%, FT: 68.5%. He demonstrated his consistency and scored in double figures in 41 games. Some of his best scoring games included netting back to back 23 point games in wins over Navy and Lafayette. “ My fondest moment was probably beating Bucknell at home that year. They were the best team in our league and they had a respected SG I matched up against. Bucknell also recruited me pretty hard out of high school, so it had that extra meaning for me. I think I finished with 18 points that night and it felt great to beat a quality opponent and some familiar faces on our home court”, said Delante Jones. He picked up some awards including All-Patriot League Rookie of the Year -2016 and Patriot League All-Rookie Team -2016. He then decided for a change and transferred to Seattle University having to sit out his first season due to transfer rules and then finishing in 2020. He had a marvelous junior season averaging 11.9ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 43.2%, 3PT: 34.2%, FT: 77.9%, but had a less than spectacular senior season where Covid ended his season and he averaged only 7.2ppg, 2.0rpg, FGP: 40.9%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 76.9%. It wasn´t an easy senior year with Covid and his minutes being shaved down to 9 less. “It was tough for sure. We had a good team and felt we could win our league. None of the 6 seniors got to walk the stage or anything like that. It carried over to the next season for me. I wasn’t able to find a job and spent the whole year at home. That was my toughest year of my career. I felt capable but my coach lost confidence in some parts of my game. He felt as though I could help the team most as a corner 3 point specialist. I had tough time adjusting my game to that role and it showed. It caused me to grow a lot as a person and as a player”, stated Delante Jones. He played a total of 55 games for Seattle and scored in double figures in 28 games including exploding for 26 points in a win over Omaha and 19 points against GCU. He was able to grow as a player mainly through the guidance from head coach Jim Hayford. “He really valued shooting. He made all of us be accountable for making 300-500 shots per day. He also was very analytical and didn’t hesitate to point out where you were statistically great and statistically poor. I think this helped me evaluate my game through a different lens and find more ways to improve”, remembered Delante Jones who remembers beating Mattia Da Campo more in 1-1, but lost their last match decisively which accelerated his development and he really honed in on his game even harder after that monumental experience.

The explosive scorer who names Bryant Crawford, Jon Davis, Terrell Brown Jr, Myles Carter, and Ibrahim Sylla as his 5 best teammates of all-time began his rookie season in Lithuania with BC Silute (Lithuania-NKL) and needed little adjustment time on the court as he averaged 17.6ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.7apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 55.8%, 3PT-3 (44.5%), FT: 80.5%. For Americans coming overseas, it isn´t always easy to adjust to everything and he found out that the training methods do vary from place to place. “Lithuania and America are vastly different. Early in the preseason I got a wake up call.. We spent a few hours running through the woods. That was a new one”, commented Delante Jones. He also got his first introduction to how fierce playoff series can be overseas losing a tough 5 game series against LSU-Atletas where he averaged 15/4/2 stats. “That series showed me how intense and competitive professional playoff games are. How important fighting for every inch is at that time of the season. One loss can cost you your season. You have to be ready to seize the moment”, expressed Delante Jones. He scored in double figures in 30 of 37 games and scored 20 points or more 12 times including 2 explosions of 42 points against Gargzdu and 38 points against Vilkaviskis. He couldn´t have picked a better place to begin his professional career. “I loved the energy and spirit Lithuania as a whole has for basketball. Outside courts are everywhere and they’re never empty. New have trouble finding a pick up game. I made it to Zalgiris and Neptunas games often, they were electric. My teammates were great, and we were close knit”, added Delante Jones who feels the classic Coming To America flick with Eddie Murphy should have been left alone..

The Virginia native who names Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O Neal, and Steph Curry on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore went to Austria in his second season, but had a short stay with BK IMMOunited Dukes Klosterneuburg staying only a few months and playing 3 games, but he did take positives from the experience. “Chris O’Shea helped me get better at reading screens going left and making left hand passes to shooters. Great shooting drills as well. I also made some lasting relationships during my time there”, said Delante Jones. It didn´t take him long to get a new gig as he came to Germany and joined the wiha Panthers Schwenningen (Germany-ProA) playing 10 games averaging 16.8ppg, 3.5rpg, 2.1apg, 2FGP: 48.6%, 3FGP: 48.9%, FT: 76.2%. The team had problems winning and went 4-6 in his time. He had a great win against Duesseldorf netting 27 points and a tough 3 point loss to Bochum scoring 24 points. “ During my time there, we really came together as a team and we’re able to turn things around. I just came in and tried to help bring intensity to practice and work hard. In the game I just played freely and with confidence and we were able to scrape out a couple wins. I learned to never be too high and never be too low, seasons are long and things can turn in your favor quickly. The assistant coach there, Saša Nadjfeji, showed me how to use body fakes and head fakes in the paint to create advantages and other footwork”, stressed Delante Jones. Now he is ready for the next massive challenge with new Pro A team EPG Baskets Koblenz. It is no surprise that he would sign with an ambitious team like that. I mean how can you not feel comfortable listening to Pat Elzie talk? “! Our conversations went well, and I definitely felt there was an immediate connection. I was impressed by his coaching experience. Coach Elzie has been promoted on 8 different occasions throughout Germany! Incredible. I am very excited to learn from and play for him. They want to move to the BBL and have the recourses to do it. They had a historic season last year setting several league records. They have a winning mindset and I wanted to be a part of that kind of organization”, commented Delante Jones.

So what kind of player could the EPG Baskets have seen from Delante Jones? The ex NCAA player who sees Jordan as having had the greatest career, and Lebron as being the greatest player ever is a 196cm guard who has pieces in his game from players like Tyler Herro, Tyrese Halliburton, Dejounte Murray and Austin Reaves. “ I think I am a solid defender. I enjoy playing defense and can be a tough match up for opposing players with my blend of length, strength and foot speed. I think my ability and mindset to make the right play and not just the play for myself really helps me to be able to be a dynamic offensive force. I take pride in studying the game and my opponent and I think this preparedness helps me to make plays that ultimately win games”, warned Delante Jones. He was a solid three point shooter in the NCAA, but has really upped his shooting percentages as a pro eclipsing the 40% mark a few times. “I really worked on improving my ability to shoot off the dribble. In college I shot a lot of catch and shoot 3s, but not off the dribble. Being able to have the confidence to shoot off of ball screens, step backs, and other separation moves really opened up the floor for me and has allowed me to find more comfortable shots”, stated Delante Jones. But the versatile player is so much more than just an offensive force, but is a two way player. “Now I am a guy who enjoys defending and competes on defense every possession. I also want to continue to improve and be able to get through every single screen. Last but certainly not least, rebounding. In Tubingen I was able to find myself as a rebounder. Now that I know what that tastes like, my goal is to average 6 rebounds per game over a season”, warned Delante Jones. He came to Koblenz in tip top shape. “I focused on my body. Adding muscle. I’m focused on my nutrition as I mentioned earlier. I think I will come back in the best shape of my career. Skill-wise, I am focused on finishing moves. Finishing with my left hand and passing with my left hand. I am also working on my low post game to take advantage of matchups with smaller guards. And, working on some dribble moves to help me efficiently get downhill”, warned Delante Jones. This player is the real deal and could have been a key player for Pat Elzie. I remember sitting next to EPG Baskets Koblenz CEO Thomas Klein at the final game in Koblenz against Rasta Vechta and he was telling me to be excited about what American they would soon sign. Now I know he was talking about Delante Jones. He definitely wasn´t kidding. It´s just too bad that EPG Baskets fans could only see 2 games of his talent. But I´m sure when he returns to 100%, then he will make up for lost time and dazzle everyone with his impressive game.

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