Opportunity to win at highest level drew Lance Jones to Purdue

It’s not like Lance Jones didn’t experience success this past season at Southern Illinois, helping the Salukis to 23 wins.

But at Purdue, with which the graduate transfer guard signed on Wednesday, he’ll hope to see a whole different level of success, as the Boilermakers could again rank among the better teams in college basketball next season, with or maybe even without Zach Edey.

“I’m just going to come in with an open and positive mindset, just trying to learn from the guys that have already been there and try to help anyway I can,” Jones said. “They’ve been through March Madness and that’s someplace that I want to reach. I’m just trying to be a part of that winning culture, a winning team. Obviously, they had great success last year. So I just want to come in and try to make an impact any way I can. and just do whatever is necessary.”

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Jones was targeted immediately by Matt Painter and his staff off the transfer wire after a fine four-year run at SIU, where he was twice named All-MVC and twice named to the league’s all-defense team. Jones will in effect replace departed senior David Jenkins in Purdue’s backcourt, with the potential to play more than one spot.

While he primarily played and defended away from the ball this season at Souther, he has extensive experience at point guard from earlier in his career, relevant since he’ll be the odds-on favorite to carry those point guard minutes Braden Smith doesn’t next season (or push Smith altogether).

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Jones carried enough defensive matchups against bigger players — often the opponent’s top perimeter scorer, meaning sometimes bigger and taller forwards and wings — to suggest there will be potential versatility there at Purdue.

Defense is one of Jones’ priorities. A former high school teammate of former Boilermaker perimeter stopper Nojel Eastern at Evanston Township in Chicagoland, Jones says Purdue principles influenced how he was taught defense in high school.

“It’s just something that kind of grew on me — just taking charges, doing little things like diving for loose balls, and trying to stop the other team’s main player,” Jones said. “It was just something that I kind of took pride in, that I got a sense of joy from.”

But the whether it’s offense or defense, Jones fits one of Painter’s hot-button priorities for next season: Quickness.

His explosiveness, Purdue hopes, can add back an element offensively that it lacked post-Jaden Ivey.

During his Southern Illinois career, that quickness was a real asset for the Salukis, but one Jones believes he didn’t maximize this past year. He experienced real success as a three-point shooter early in his career and has shown real range and catch-and-shoot potency, but as a senior his volume erupted and his percentage dropped to just 28 percent on a whopping 250 attempts. That number would have been second behind only Andrew Funk in the Big Ten last season.

“I felt like throughout the year, I was kind of falling in love with the three when I could’ve attacked the basket more. I just think that’s decision-making on my end; some of those threes, I didn’t have to settle for. I could have attacked the basket or shot a mid-range shot or something like that. Some of those threes, as I look back, I wish I could have eliminated.”