THE SCOUT: Fullerton’s Max Jones provides experience and athleticism

Jones has one year of eligibility remaining and can play either guard position. Jones has almost 1,400 career points in 84 games played with 81 starts averaging almost 30 minutes per game. Jones was selected honorable Mention All-Big West in 2022-23 and was two-time first-team all-conference and freshman of the year in the Sunshine State Conference while at the University of Tampa.

Jones has had 26 20-point games and six 30-point games in his career including a career-high of 39 against Florida Tech while at Tampa. His career-high while at Cal State Fullerton was 30 against Nebraska earlier this year.

What the stats say

Jones made the jump from Divison II to Divison I and it was seamless. He had a double-digit scoring season and was efficient from everywhere on the floor.

In his first year at Cal State Fullerton, he played alongside current Alabama player Latrell Wrightsell Jr. as they made the Big West championship game. His sophomore season he averaged 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, shooting 46.1% from 2, 39.8% from 3, and 78.5% from the free-throw line.

In his junior year, he had an uptick in points per game, but his efficiency went down as he took on a larger role. He averaged 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, shooting 34.2% from 2, 38.8% from 3, and 78.8% from the free-throw line.

Jones had his best offensive rating in his first year at Cal State Fullerton with a 106.8 rating on a 22.9 usage rate per Bart Torvik. This past year, it dipped to a 95.2 offensive rating on a 32.0 usage rate. His effective field goal percentage also decreased by six percent and his turnover rate was 19.5%.

Jones improved in creating steals with a 3.7% steal rate and a 55% free-throw rate. Jones was more of a primary ball-handler and scorer this season with the higher usage rate but he did do a good job of getting to the free-throw line. The poor shooting from 2-point range is a concern, but Jones has the size and build to be better from two with K-State’s coaching staff.

What the film says

Jones has a smooth, left-handed shooting motion and plays with good pace on offense. He’s is a good 3-point shooter by percentages and it shows up on film too. He has the ability to shoot off the dribble and on catch-and-shoot opportunities.

He has a quick first step to get past his initial defender, but he’s struggled at the rim and in the mid-range. He shot 34.6% at the rim on 78 attempts and 33.8% on mid-range jumpers on 68 attempts per Bart Torvik.

He seemed to get sped up when attacking the rim and the spacing K-State will have this season will help with that. Jones has good size for a combo guard at 6-foot-4 and showed the ability to post up smaller guards and score effectively.

Another area he needs to improve on is turnovers, he averaged 2.9 turnovers and a 19.5% turnover rate this season as he took on more of the playmaking duties. Last season he played more off-ball and as a combo guard where he averaged two turnovers and a 17.4% turnover rate per game.

He will have to cut down on turnovers, but he was more successful playing off-ball and his 2-point shooting numbers were 12 percentage points better as an off-ball guard.

Defensively he has the size to guard multiple positions but tends to get lost navigating around screens. He also tended to gamble on defense and go for the steal too often, but those are fixable mistakes that the K-State coaches can correct.

Fit with K-State

The fit with K-State is a fun one as a bigger guard who showed the ability to create his shot from 3 and to attack the basket.

Max was good at getting to the free-throw line with a 55% free-throw rate and is a career 78% free-throw shooter. One area of improvement for him is shooting better from 2 but his shot selection will be better at K-State. The exciting thing is that K-State has a multitude of guards who could start next to Dug McDaniel depending on the matchup between Max Jones, CJ Jones, and Brendan Hausen.

Jones has the talent to be a starting-caliber guard in the Big 12 but will have to cut down on turnovers but should be better next to an exciting guard in McDaniel.

He could also come off the bench as a sixth man and be a volume scorer. There are endless possibilities with Jones and it will be interesting to see what plan the K-State coaches have for him.

What Tang says

“It’s always a great day to be a Wildcat and we’re excited to welcome Max and his family to K-State. Max is a proven and versatile shot maker. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and is in attack mode on both ends of the floor at all times.”