Iowa State player spotlight: Bryce Dejean-Jones
By Doug Winkey
Last week our site kicked off player spotlights with a look at the bandaged icon, Georges Niang. This week I thought it would be a good time to look at the new player who has the potential to have the largest impact on the men’s basketball team in Bryce Dejean-Jones.
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Dejean-Jones (or DJ Bryce as I’ve decided to call him) comes to Ames from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas where he played for two seasons after transferring from USC and sitting out 2011-2012. Most recently, Dejean-Jones led UNLV in scoring at 13.6 points per game shooting 32 percent from downtown and 43 percent overall. Fans should have every reason to believe those numbers could increase in Fred Hoiberg’s offensive schemes.
In his two years prior to joining the Cyclones, he played in the NCAA tournament in 2013 where he led the team in scoring in their loss to California. He was also named the Mountain West Co-Newcomer of the Year while leading his team in scoring on multiple occasions.
He should slide right into the starting lineup alongside Monte Morris to provide instant offense. The easy comparison is that he is the second coming of DeAndre Kane, but I see more of a Will Clyburn-type figure based on the fluidity that he seems to possess when slashing and running the floor.
Dejean-Jones is probably the best-known commodity coming to Iowa State this year. He comes from a historically strong team in UNLV and looks to have a perfect skill-set for Hoiberg’s system. It is reasonable to expect good things from what is another high-profile recruit in the current era for Cyclone basketball.