Former South Florida star helps team advance in The Basketball Tournament

South Florida doesn’t have a team of former players competing in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), but it does have an alum playing in the event. On Tuesday former Bull Dominique Jones helped his team, Florida TNT, advance to the quarterfinal round of the $1 million-prize tournament.

Jones scored four points, grabbed six rebounds, dished three assists and had two steals in 27 minutes of playing time to help Florida TNT to a 74-67 victory over Eberlein Drive. That moved them within three wins of the finals, where the winning team in the event takes home the $1 million.

This is not Jones’ first time in the TBT. In 2017, Jones played in the event with the Tampa Bulls, a team made up of USF alumni. They were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by the eventual tournament champion. Jones led the Tampa Bulls in scoring with 28.3 points per game.

Jones is averaging 14.7 points, a team high 7.3 rebounds, a team high 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game for Florida TNT.

A 6-foot-4 guard from Lake Wales, Florida, Jones played for Stan Heath from 2007–2010. He earned first team All-Big East honors. Jones holds the USF record for the most points scored in a single game (46), ranks fifth all-time on the programs all-time scoring list. Jones was selected in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft as the 25th pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies traded his rights to the Dallas Mavericks where he spent three seasons as a reserve and won an NBA Championship during his rookie season.

Jones has spent the past eight seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). This season Jones nearly averaged a triple-double with 38.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game for Jilin Northeast Tigers.

Florida TNT does not play again until next Saturday at noon ET in Dayton, Ohio against the Aftershocks (a team composed of Wichita State alumni). The game will be televised on ESPN.