The Big South Player of the Year entered the transfer portal last week and since then he’s had phone calls from head coaches of virtually every big-time basketball program in the country.
Moments ago, Jones cut his list to Louisville, West Virginia Gonzaga, Maryland, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Marquette and Radford. Conspicuous in its absence are any teams in the Cincinnati area, where Jones is originally from. Cincinnati and Xavier were previously considered favorites to land his services.
Radford grad transfer Carlik Jones has trimmed his list to:
Louisville, West Virginia, Gonzaga, Maryland, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Marquette and Radford.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 30, 2020
Carlik Jones, who led his Radford Highlanders to a 21-11 and 15-3 conference record, averaged 20 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists while earning player of the league honors this past season.
With numbers like that, Jones has immediately vaulted to the top of the available players in the transfer portal and can play almost anywhere he wants during his grad transfer senior year.
In an interview with 247 Sports, Jones said, “The biggest thing is I want to win. I hate losing, so I definitely want to be somewhere that is a winning program. Also, I want to go somewhere with a great culture, where the players can adjust and make winning plays.”
While West Virginia already has a great deal of depth at all positions – particularly at the guard position – Carlik Jones is the type of player that doesn’t come along often and would be a welcomed addition to the West Virginia Mountaineers.
