St. Joseph's center not just about defense

Despite being the only returning player to score in double-digits last season, senior sharpshooter Pat Carroll has not been the "go-to guy" the Saint Joseph's men's basketball team has needed to win games this season.

When the Hawks recently went on a four-game winning streak, they were led by junior center Dwayne Jones, who has emerged as a veritable scoring threat this season.

Jones has been a dominating defensive and rebounding presence for St. Joe's the past two years but has found a surprising scoring touch towards the middle part of this season.

Jones has turned it on of late, scoring in double digits six of the last eight games, including 18 points against Atlantic 10 rival Massachusetts.

As a three-time All-Tri-State player at nearby American Christian High School in Chester, Pa., Jones was on Penn's radar coming out of high school, but the Hawks quickly recruited him.

"We were hoping to be involved, but St. Joe's did a good job," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "They looked at him as an outstanding player in the years to come, especially on the defensive end, which he has proven to be."

As a center on a team stacked in talent at the guard position, Jones proved crucial for the Hawks on defense his first two years. Though he did not get many chances to score, he led the Atlantic 10 in blocks per game and the team in rebounds per game his freshman and sophomore years.

The 6-foot-11 center has already pulled down double-digit rebounds in 11 games this season and is on pace to shatter his previous season-high of 2.0 blocks per game.

He has swatted away 43 shots in 15 games this season, an improvement of almost one block per game.

Jones' imposing presence in the middle has given opposing teams something to worry about in addition to Carroll's shooting ability.

"He's a dominant force on defense, blocks a lot of shots and changes even more," Dunphy said. "I think Dwayne is a professional."

Without former Hawks standouts Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, Jones has more frequent opportunities to score. His offensive success is one of the reasons that St. Joe's is competitive this season.

"He has really stepped it up," Penn sophomore forward Steve Danley said. "He has a chance to take some more shots and once he gets into a rhythm, it is really tough to stop him."

Danley said that Jones is able to create his own shots and has been able to do more than just make open shots after the defense collapses on Carroll.

"He has a couple of moves down in the box that he's really effective with," Danley said. "He is most effective in the open floor and going up and getting rebounds. He can make a lot of things happen, being as long and athletic as he is."

"Teams have to respect Carroll and all their perimeter players, so it opens up things for Dwayne inside, and he does a lot of screening and posting up as well," Dunphy said. "I think he has worked really hard to be the best inside player he can be and he will get better as the years go on."

Jones will be be one of the more intimidating centers that the Quakers will face from city and league teams this season.

Danley, who currently leads the Quakers big men in scoring, will most likely see the most of Jones tonight.

"You can't think about him blocking your shot," Danley said. "The biggest thing is establishing position and being really physical with a guy like that. A couple feet make all the difference underneath."

Despite Jones' success as a shot-blocker, Dunphy said that Penn will still try to execute its normal offensive scheme, which begins with getting the forwards involved.

"We still have to do what we think is the right thing to do, which is get the ball inside first," Penn's coach said. "[Jones] can just play behind a lot of our big guys, so we may be able to catch it down there but can't force it up where he can block and change shots. We have to be careful, but still have to take it to him."

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