Duke basketball treasure looking like Spurs starting point guard

Duke basketball alum Tre Jones has a shot to excel in his third NBA season.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich recently hinted that center Jakob Poeltl is the team's only guaranteed starter. But in each of the Spurs' three preseason games thus far, beloved Duke basketball product Tre Jones has served as their starting point guard — and seemingly not because of injuries to others at his position.

That includes Sunday night when Jones and the Spurs, now 0-3 in preseason play following their 111-97 loss, hosted the New Orleans Pelicans (3-0), featuring another NBA Blue Devil in Jones' former Duke teammate, Zion Williamson. (The other Blue Devil on New Orleans' roster, Brandon Ingram, remains out with a sore toe.)

Jones finished with nine points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two turnovers in 19 minutes on the floor.

Meanwhile, Williamson totaled eight points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block, and four turnovers in his 24 minutes.

Across his first two seasons in the league, Tre Jones drew 12 starts in his 106 career games. Last season, the former two-year Duke basketball starting point guard, who went No. 41 overall at the 2020 NBA Draft, played 69 games, averaging 6.0 points, 3.4 assists, and only 0.7 turnovers in 16.6 minutes per outing.

The Spurs, who have not reached the playoffs since 2019, have two more preseason bouts before beginning their regular season on Oct. 19 in a home game against the Charlotte Hornets.

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We'll have to wait and see if Tre Jones gets the starting nod. For now, though, he seems like the frontrunner.

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