Swingman to stick with Giants

PATRICK HAMILTON/Nelson Mail

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: Darryl Jones will be taking up a scholarship option at NMIT while playing for the Nelson Giants.

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The domino effect has begun for the Nelson Giants.

Two days after forward Mika Vukona made a commitment to the Fico Finance Giants for the next three national basketball league seasons, Darryl Jones yesterday signed on to remain with the Nelson franchise.

A versatile swingman who has been with the team for the past two years, Jones played in 16 matches and started four this season, contributing eight points and four rebounds a game, making 44 per cent of his three-point shots.

However, his impact goes beyond the numbers. Jones made a habit of providing big plays when the Giants needed a lift, coming up with a defensive stop, nailing a jump shot or grabbing a rebound to shift the momentum of a match.

Coach Chris Tupu said those intangibles made Jones a player he was keen to retain.

"It's been said before, DJ has that mongrel quality that comes naturally to a handful of players and not others.

"He's a dream to coach because he will play his guts out every minute he's on the floor."

Jones has chosen to stay in Nelson and begin study through a scholarship scheme for young athletes put together by the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, the Giants and rugby's Tasman Makos. The Giants have already had Ben Wright, Bronson Beri, Nico Ritschny, Ricky Brooks, Sam Dempster, Josh Bloxham and Vukona studying at NMIT since the scheme was introduced two years ago.

"It's great that DJ wants to look at life outside of basketball," Tupu said. "Claire [Giants fitness coach and NMIT lecturer Claire Dallison] and I see huge advantages in turning out more well-rounded guys, guys who don't just want to train for basketball, then veg out on the Playstation.

"Darryl's a young man with a future in basketball but he appreciates that sport isn't always going to be there and he's switched on enough to see the opportunities put in front of him."

Jones said a serious knee injury, suffered in the first game of the season, started him thinking.

"When I did the knee, I felt for the first time that basketball wouldn't always be there and that I needed to look further down the road.

"The study scheme is a great resource for someone like me who hasn't been in the classroom for a few years and isn't sure of what options there are.

"I'm really looking forward to enrolling and attending some classes and seeing what directions they might take me in," he said.

Jones said the knee injury and a hamstring strain that hampered him late in the season would form part of his off-season programme.

"I think I have been fit, but maybe I could be fitter, stronger, more explosive," he said. "Injuries aren't something you plan for but I want to get through a season in one piece for a change.

"And I know my game has lots of areas I can still develop. I can be quicker, I can make improvements in my shooting, get better at creating my own shot."

Jones is hopeful his name will be on the list of Tall Blacks trialists when it is released this weekend but, if not, "I won't sulk, it's just another incentive to put the work in for next year".

- © Fairfax NZ News