Tyus Jones says he’s “feeling pretty good” about a college package with friends Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow.
“You guys already know that me and Jahlil are gonna play together in college, and now we’re feeling pretty good about getting our boy Justise Winslow to come along with us as well,” Jones wrote in his USA Today blog.
“It’s looking pretty good for that. We’re, all three, really great friends and we’ve got a close bond so we all like the idea of playing together in college.”
Duke is considered by many the frontrunner for Jones, a 6-1 point guard out of Apple Valley (MN), and Okafor, a 6-10 big man from Chicago Whitney Young, although Okafor said nothing is done at the moment.
“That’s a rumor, I’m not committed yet,” Okafor told SNY.tv from the U.S. U19 training in Colorado Springs, Colo. “That’s a rumor.”
Both Okafor and Winslow told SNY.tv they talk about a package deal.
“I mean, it’s something we talk about,” Winslow said of the potential package. “All three of us have to do what’s best for us, and if it just so happens that we all go to the same school, then that will be great.”
And Winslow did just visit Duke, as well as UCLA recently.
As for Duke, he said, “I just started to build on some of the relationships I already had with some of the players and the coaches and some of the foreign players I just got to pick their brains about things.”
Several schools are in the mix for both Jones and Okafor, including Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Of those, Winslow has only Baylor and Kansas on his list.
Okafor and Winslow both share Arizona on their lists.
Okafor and Winslow are also currently playing with the U19 team that will train in Washington, D.C., Thursday-Saturday before departing for the Czech Republic Saturday for the U19 World Championships.
Jones opted not to play with his buddies on the team for family reasons.
“I’ve decided to not play with the USA U19 team this year because my grandpa got sick a few weeks back and I just want to stay around and be there for him,” he wrote. “He’s doing a little bit better. Slowly but surely he’s getting better. I just want to be able to be here to help him keep fighting.”
**For more stories on the USA U19 & U16 teams, click here.
