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Illinois basketball: The last chance for Tevian Jones to earn minutes

By Jalen Wilson

CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 29: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tevian Jones (5) high fives fans at the conclusion of the college basketball game between the North Carolina A&T Aggies and the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 29, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - DECEMBER 29: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tevian Jones (5) high fives fans at the conclusion of the college basketball game between the North Carolina A&T Aggies and the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 29, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball wing, Tevian Jones, was suspended indefinitely earlier this season, and the last chance he may have to earn meaningful minutes could come against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Jones came into the Illinois basketball program rated as a four-star prospect. He showed some promise and flashes of what he can be during his freshman year. Last season, against Maryland, he had 18 points while shooting 44-percent from three-point range and 50-percent from the field. He had 11 points against Iowa that season too.

Before Jones’ sophomore season even started, he was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team academic policies.

Jones was supposed to be a solid contributor for Illinois this season before his suspension. After Brad Underwood laid down the hammer, most fans didn’t know who was going to get his minutes. Alan Griffin was the recipient of most of those minutes, as Griffin has played a big role in Illinois’ success this season.

Eventually, Jones returned to the court. His first game this season was against Old Dominion. Even though Jones’  suspension is over with, he doesn’t really get playing time. He has only played an average of 4.3 minutes per game and 34 minutes total this season. Underwood usually puts Jones in for short spurts but rarely for an extended period of time.

That suspension really was a setback for Jones as he hasn’t gotten minutes or stayed on the court for a long time this season.

This upcoming game against the Golden Gophers may be his last chance to earn meaningful minutes this year because Alan Griffin will be suspended. This will be the last game of his two-game suspension. Jones will have to impress and make a couple of good plays to make Underwood think about giving him more minutes in the future.

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All in all, I hope Jones is able to make some good plays against Minnesota. I really want to see him on the court more. It would be nice to see him make a good impact on this Illinois basketball team for the rest of this season.

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