20 points tonight puts Jones alongside West, Hundley in WVU lore
MORGANTOWN - In the grand scheme of things, what Kevin Jones has a chance to do tonight against Notre Dame pales in comparison to what is at stake for the Mountaineers not only tonight but over the next few weeks.
MORGANTOWN - In the grand scheme of things, what Kevin Jones has a chance to do tonight against Notre Dame pales in comparison to what is at stake for the Mountaineers not only tonight but over the next few weeks.
The 9 p.m. game against the Irish (15-8, 7-3 Big East) at the Coliseum is, after all, the start of a brutal five-game stretch that could very well determine whether or not WVU (16-8, 6-5) is NCAA worthy.
The Mountaineers certainly don't have to run the table, but consecutive games against Notre Dame and No. 24 Louisville at home on Saturday, Pitt and Notre Dame on the road and No. 18 Marquette at home give WVU a chance to either solidify its tournament stature or see it begin to implode.
Then again, that's the way it usually is in the Big East, so this stretch of games is not that different from many others.
What is different is something that Jones has a chance to accomplish tonight. In a career that has included a Big East championship, a Final Four and potentially a Big East player of the year award, he now has an opportunity to do something that in school history has been accomplished only by the two lone players whose likenesses adorn the upper deck of the Coliseum with their numbers retired.
Jerry West scored 20 points in 10 straight games for the Mountaineers in 1960. Rod Hundley did the same thing five years prior to that. No one ever had a streak that long before or since.
Jones has scored 20 points or more in nine straight games.
"That's great company to be in. Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys is a great honor for me,'' Jones said Tuesday. "But I'm not going to force anything just to [tie that record].''
The truth is, Jones doesn't really have to force anything. That's the most remarkable thing about Jones' 20-point scoring streak - that he has done it without really looking to score.
"I don't have to force anything because I know I'm going to get my shots,'' Jones said. "When you play 40 minutes, you know you're going to get your shots here and there. It's all about not forcing things.''
Jones began his 20-point streak on Jan. 7 in a win over Georgetown that followed three straight games of 13, 15 and 14 points to start Big East play. Beginning with the game against the Hoyas, Jones has scored 22, 22, 24, 25, 26, 26, 20, 21 and 20 points.
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Nice company, KJ
20 points tonight puts Jones alongside West, Hundley in WVU lore
MORGANTOWN - In the grand scheme of things, what Kevin Jones has a chance to do tonight against Notre Dame pales in comparison to what is at stake for the Mountaineers not only tonight but over the next few weeks.
The 9 p.m. game against the Irish (15-8, 7-3 Big East) at the Coliseum is, after all, the start of a brutal five-game stretch that could very well determine whether or not WVU (16-8, 6-5) is NCAA worthy.
The Mountaineers certainly don't have to run the table, but consecutive games against Notre Dame and No. 24 Louisville at home on Saturday, Pitt and Notre Dame on the road and No. 18 Marquette at home give WVU a chance to either solidify its tournament stature or see it begin to implode.
Then again, that's the way it usually is in the Big East, so this stretch of games is not that different from many others.
What is different is something that Jones has a chance to accomplish tonight. In a career that has included a Big East championship, a Final Four and potentially a Big East player of the year award, he now has an opportunity to do something that in school history has been accomplished only by the two lone players whose likenesses adorn the upper deck of the Coliseum with their numbers retired.
Jerry West scored 20 points in 10 straight games for the Mountaineers in 1960. Rod Hundley did the same thing five years prior to that. No one ever had a streak that long before or since.
Jones has scored 20 points or more in nine straight games.
"That's great company to be in. Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys is a great honor for me,'' Jones said Tuesday. "But I'm not going to force anything just to [tie that record].''
The truth is, Jones doesn't really have to force anything. That's the most remarkable thing about Jones' 20-point scoring streak - that he has done it without really looking to score.
"I don't have to force anything because I know I'm going to get my shots,'' Jones said. "When you play 40 minutes, you know you're going to get your shots here and there. It's all about not forcing things.''
Jones began his 20-point streak on Jan. 7 in a win over Georgetown that followed three straight games of 13, 15 and 14 points to start Big East play. Beginning with the game against the Hoyas, Jones has scored 22, 22, 24, 25, 26, 26, 20, 21 and 20 points.
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MORGANTOWN - In the grand scheme of things, what Kevin Jones has a chance to do tonight against Notre Dame pales in comparison to what is at stake for the Mountaineers not only tonight but over the next few weeks.
The 9 p.m. game against the Irish (15-8, 7-3 Big East) at the Coliseum is, after all, the start of a brutal five-game stretch that could very well determine whether or not WVU (16-8, 6-5) is NCAA worthy.
The Mountaineers certainly don't have to run the table, but consecutive games against Notre Dame and No. 24 Louisville at home on Saturday, Pitt and Notre Dame on the road and No. 18 Marquette at home give WVU a chance to either solidify its tournament stature or see it begin to implode.
Then again, that's the way it usually is in the Big East, so this stretch of games is not that different from many others.
What is different is something that Jones has a chance to accomplish tonight. In a career that has included a Big East championship, a Final Four and potentially a Big East player of the year award, he now has an opportunity to do something that in school history has been accomplished only by the two lone players whose likenesses adorn the upper deck of the Coliseum with their numbers retired.
Jerry West scored 20 points in 10 straight games for the Mountaineers in 1960. Rod Hundley did the same thing five years prior to that. No one ever had a streak that long before or since.
Jones has scored 20 points or more in nine straight games.
"That's great company to be in. Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys is a great honor for me,'' Jones said Tuesday. "But I'm not going to force anything just to [tie that record].''
The truth is, Jones doesn't really have to force anything. That's the most remarkable thing about Jones' 20-point scoring streak - that he has done it without really looking to score.
"I don't have to force anything because I know I'm going to get my shots,'' Jones said. "When you play 40 minutes, you know you're going to get your shots here and there. It's all about not forcing things.''
Jones began his 20-point streak on Jan. 7 in a win over Georgetown that followed three straight games of 13, 15 and 14 points to start Big East play. Beginning with the game against the Hoyas, Jones has scored 22, 22, 24, 25, 26, 26, 20, 21 and 20 points.
He needed overtime to reach the mark Sunday at Providence and keep the streak alive after going almost 11 minutes at the start without a field goal. That was one of the few games Jones has actually pressed and felt pressure to score, not because he wasn't scoring but because the Mountaineers were down by 15 points.
"I think I forced some stuff in the beginning because I'm used to having offense come a little bit earlier and it didn't,'' Jones said. "I wasn't used to that and I was kind of forcing the issue a little bit.''
The thing about Jones and his scoring, though, is that he really doesn't have to try that hard to score. If he makes his usual effort in other areas - particularly rebounding - those scoring chances will come.
Bob Huggins can explain it quickly and efficiently just with statistics.
"He's taken 375 shots, I think, and he has 105 offensive rebounds,'' Huggins said, falling just two short of Jones' actual shot total of 377. "So that means he's really taken 270 shots out of our offense and the other hundred or so shots came from rebounding the ball. If you rebound the ball that consistently and rebound it that consistently offensively, you're going to score, particularly when you finish around the rim the way he does.''
Indeed, there has never been an offensive rebounder like Jones at West Virginia. In addition to the countless lists in which he will finish among the all-time leaders is this one: Jones will leave WVU with three of the four best offensive rebounding seasons in school history.
Scoring 20 against Notre Dame tonight, though, will not be easy, nor will winning. Not only have the Irish won four in a row - three of them against ranked teams - they have not surrendered 20 points to any player in Big East play.
BRIEFLY: Teams that beat Notre Dame usually do so outside of South Bend, Ind. The Irish are 12-1 at home this season, but just 3-3 on the road and 0-4 on neutral courts. West Virginia goes to the Joyce Center two weeks from today, where Notre Dame has won 31 of its last 32. ... It's hard to tell from game to game where Notre Dame's scoring will come from. The Irish have had four different leading scorers in their four-game win streak. Sophomore guard Eric Atkins (13.1) leads the team in scoring, followed by 6-5 sophomore Jerian Grant (12.7) and 6-9, 248-pound Jack Cooley (10.6). But it was 6-5 freshman Pat Connaughton (6.9) who scored 23 to lead the Irish over Marquette on Saturday. ... West Virginia has beaten Notre Dame two straight and four of five, including twice in the Big East tournament. The Irish won 13 of 14 prior to that.
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com or follow him at Twitter.com/dphickman1
Article Preview
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Nice company, KJ
20 points tonight puts Jones alongside West, Hundley in WVU lore
MORGANTOWN - In the grand scheme of things, what Kevin Jones has a chance to do tonight against Notre Dame pales in comparison to what is at stake for the Mountaineers not only tonight but over the next few weeks.
The 9 p.m. game against the Irish (15-8, 7-3 Big East) at the Coliseum is, after all, the start of a brutal five-game stretch that could very well determine whether or not WVU (16-8, 6-5) is NCAA worthy.
The Mountaineers certainly don't have to run the table, but consecutive games against Notre Dame and No. 24 Louisville at home on Saturday, Pitt and Notre Dame on the road and No. 18 Marquette at home give WVU a chance to either solidify its tournament stature or see it begin to implode.
Then again, that's the way it usually is in the Big East, so this stretch of games is not that different from many others.
What is different is something that Jones has a chance to accomplish tonight. In a career that has included a Big East championship, a Final Four and potentially a Big East player of the year award, he now has an opportunity to do something that in school history has been accomplished only by the two lone players whose likenesses adorn the upper deck of the Coliseum with their numbers retired.
Jerry West scored 20 points in 10 straight games for the Mountaineers in 1960. Rod Hundley did the same thing five years prior to that. No one ever had a streak that long before or since.
Jones has scored 20 points or more in nine straight games.
"That's great company to be in. Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys is a great honor for me,'' Jones said Tuesday. "But I'm not going to force anything just to [tie that record].''
The truth is, Jones doesn't really have to force anything. That's the most remarkable thing about Jones' 20-point scoring streak - that he has done it without really looking to score.
"I don't have to force anything because I know I'm going to get my shots,'' Jones said. "When you play 40 minutes, you know you're going to get your shots here and there. It's all about not forcing things.''
Jones began his 20-point streak on Jan. 7 in a win over Georgetown that followed three straight games of 13, 15 and 14 points to start Big East play. Beginning with the game against the Hoyas, Jones has scored 22, 22, 24, 25, 26, 26, 20, 21 and 20 points.
