Tyus Jones learns from his brother

— -- DURHAM, N.C. -- Jadee Jones coaxed his younger brother to the gym even before he was actually trying to do it.

It started off when  Tyus Jones, who is 10 years younger, just wanted to watch his big brother play basketball. That soon changed to using halftime of Jadee Jones' varsity high school games as an excuse to run on the court and get up some shots for himself.

It really clicked once Jadee Jones went off to college at Furman and was named to the all-Southern Conference 2006 freshman team as a 6-foot-2 shooting guard. He transferred and finished out his career at NCAA Division II Minnesota State-Mankota. But Tyus Jones saw what basketball could do.

And Jadee Jones saw what Tyus Jones could do, too, when he made the varsity team at Apple Valley (Minn.) High School as an eighth grader.

"He kind of pulled me aside and said you're going to have some opportunities to look at some colleges and I'm going to help you along the way," Tyus Jones said. "Ever since then our relationship has got even tighter. He started working me out as my trainer in the offseason and stuff like that. We just became even closer as a brother and as someone I can look up to."

Jadee Jones, 29, is the head junior varsity coach at Apple Valley and serves as an assistant coach on the varsity. He received his degree in exercise science and is fascinated with tailoring basketball-specific strength training workouts on his own.

Coming up with one for his younger brother was one of his first projects, so he dragged Tyus back into the gym.

Their goal was simply to complete the 10-week program, three sessions per week, without missing any of the workouts. For about a third of the sessions, that meant getting in the gym early to complete them before school.

During the first few weeks, that meant Jadee Jones knocking on his brother's door to wake him up at 5:30 a.m. and get him going. It all changed around Week 7. Tyus Jones competed in a fall league and twice in a game he nearly dunked on an opponent.

That's when he realized the workouts were paying off.

"He was the guard who was slow and kind of small and, that day, he was like, 'Wow this is really taking off,'" Jadee Jones said. "From then on he was knocking at my door at 5:15. It's almost like I had to pull him through it until he picked up his own momentum and then he took off running on his own."

With the help and advice from his big brother, Tyus Jones came to Duke already a self-assured, polished and mature player. From the start, he knew how to navigate arguably the trickiest part of his transition to college.

Quinn Cook was Duke's returning starter at point guard. There was speculation that Cook and Jones couldn't coexist in the same backcourt. Outside observers had already pitted the two against each other before they ever got a chance to play.

Jones defused the competition angle early and in just about every interview he did before playing at Duke. And when he came to campus, not as a freshman out to take over, but one ready to learn, it endeared him to the veterans on the team.

"It wasn't like any competition, we were always trying to help each other," Cook said. "He's like a sponge; he's always asking questions. He's the best point guard in the country in my eyes."

Jones certainly appreciates the compliment, but doesn't care to compare himself to any others.

Being the best point guard Duke needs for the situation is all that matters to him.

"If that means distributing, if that means getting on the floor for loose balls, just doing whatever I can to help this team win, that's how I look at a point guard," Jones said. "As a leader on the court you're remembered if you're a winner. That's the most important thing. I want to be remembered as a winner, not for how many points I had per game or assists or steals or anything like that."

For the record, Jones is averaging 11.4 points and ranks second in the ACC to Notre Dame's Jerian Grant with 5.6 assists per game. But that's not what makes him special for the Blue Devils.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the relationship between Cook and Jones exceeded his expectations and that the Blue Devils are "a smarter team having those two guys out there." It's as if Jones inherited another older brother whose guidance has helped him thrive.

"He's terrific," Krzyzewski said. "He's got great poise, he's never afraid and he understands the game."

Earlier in the season, Krzyzewski said he had to remind Jones that it was OK for him to direct his teammates around more and that he didn't have to defer to others.

Jones showed he understood in just about every big game the Blue Devils played in this season. Starting with his 17 points and four assists against Michigan State on Nov. 18, Jones has welcomed the big moments. Duke would not have won at Wisconsin on Dec. 3 or rallied to beat North Carolina in overtime three weeks ago had it not been for Jones taking over.

"From the beginning Tyus was a great floor leader. What I didn't realize was how big-time of a player he would be in the clutch when we really needed him most," junior forward Amile Jefferson said. "He's a big-time player and isn't scared of the big moments. The bigger the moment, the bigger he was going to be."

Jadee Jones has a little something to do with that thanks to his last game in high school. The game would determine if his team advanced to the state tournament. Jadee Jones said he was so excited for the game he tried to stay amped up the entire day.

When game time arrived, Jones said he was exhausted and his legs were rubbery for the game. Instead of saving his best performance for his last game, he had nothing left.

"That was the best thing I could pass on," Jadee Jones said. "From something small like that he knows how to prep himself and handle his emotions. He's always just kind of had that ability in a big game to always be prepared."

Now it's about preparing the next Jones coming up.

Tre Jones is following the path his older brothers traveled before him. Like Tyus Jones, he played varsity as an eighth grader. He started at point guard for Apple Valley High School as a freshman.

Tre Jones is going through individual workouts similar to the ones that Jadee Jones once laid out for Tyus Jones. He's getting the added benefit of having played last season on the same team as Tyus.

Because of Duke's schedule, Tyus Jones hasn't been able to see all of Tre Jones' games this season, but based on what he has watched, he has called his younger brother to give him pointers. In many ways Tyus Jones feels like he's reliving his own high school experience.

"I try to talk about what he did good and what he can improve on," Tyus Jones said. "He's only a freshman, so he's still going to learn a lot on his own just from experience. But certain things I can warn him about and get him ahead of the curve.

"I think that'll really help him a lot, it's going to help him work even harder and get to the same point that I'm at."

It's providing a new definition for keeping up with the Joneses.