Chat With Torrian Jones Welcome to the UND.com chat room. This week’s special guest was junior Torrian Jones. He is dropped by on Friday to talk about his season, the team and everything else on Irish fans’ mind. No Notre Dame player has been as important off the bench than junior swingman Torrian Jones (Fairless Hills, Pa.). Jones had one of his best all-around efforts in an Irish uniform against Vanderbilt on December 30 as he scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished off two assists and had a block and a steal in playing a career-high 29 minutes. Jones, who is averaging a career-best 19.0 minutes off the bench, has scored in double figures in three games. He has played 20-plus minutes in four consecutive games and in nine contests overall. If you missed the chat, here is a transcript. |
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| Torrian Jones: Hello everyone. Thank you for submitting so many questions. I’ll get started now. | ||
| jen, nyc: which member on the team are you most close to? | ||
| Torrian Jones: I am pretty close with everybody on the team because we are close-knit team. If I had to say one person it would be Chris Markwood, who recently transferred. | ||
| Kim NY: This team seems to be very close both on and off the court. How has that made you guys a better all around team? | ||
| Torrian Jones: I think there has been great chemistry with the team due to the fact that we are all so close off the court. It helps us all to be on the same page while playing. | ||
| Ellie (Pittsburgh): Do you plan on going to the NBA? If so are you planning on leaving after this year or seinor year? | ||
| Torrian Jones: I would love to play in the NBA because that is the ultimate goal for any basketball player. However, I do not plan on leaving school early because I do not feel that I am ready. | ||
| Brian Golden, Cleveland, Ohio: What’s the toughest challenge for a bench player? | ||
| Torrian Jones: The toughest challenge is to always be prepared when you are called on to go into the game. | ||
| John(rockton, il): What is the hardest part about playing on a sucessful basketball team for such a big school? | ||
| Torrian Jones: The most difficult thing I would say is staying focused on both basketball and school. There are many distractions and some people can easily get caught up in the wrong things. | ||
| Columbia: How much support do you get from your family and does that support help with your game? | ||
| Torrian Jones: My family is by far my greatest supporter in everything I do. It helps a lot because they understand me the best of anyone. | ||
| Steve (Indianapolis): How do you and the guys feel you are going to be prepared to play in March with how the season has gone so far? | ||
| Torrian Jones: I think we will be very well prepared because we play a tough conference and non-conference schedule. We will also be prepared because we have great leaders that will keep us focused in the postseason. | ||
| Rob (South Bend): Why did you select the number 20? | ||
| Torrian Jones: During my freshman year of high school, I was moved up to varsity midseason and that was the number that they gave me. I have had it ever since. | ||
| Bo (Salem): You guys have really emphasized defense this season, how has that been instrumental in the team’s success? | ||
| Torrian Jones: It has been very important to our success because we know how talented we are offensively and if we can add a defensive presence we know we will be successful. | ||
| charlotte: Hey TJ, Great season so far this year. I think you are the secret weapon for ND come March. How did you learn such GREAT “Defense”? You are my 2 son’s favorite player! | ||
| Torrian Jones: Both of my uncles were great defenders when they played in college so I think that defensive mindset was instilled in me at a young age. | ||
| Brett (Greenwood, IN): How excited will you and your teammates be when Pittsburgh comes into the Joyce Center, and you get another shot at them? | ||
| Torrian Jones: It will definitely be a big game for us because we have built up a rivalry with Pitt over the years. It should be a great game. However, we must take it one game at a time and not overlook any other teams. | ||
| Mike (Carlisle): How important do you feel it is for the team to win a regular season or tournament title in the Big East? Would a win in the Big East tournament help or hurt your chances in the NCAA tourney? | ||
| Torrian Jones: A BIG EAST title would be great momentum for us going into the tournament. It would mean that we are peaking at the right time of the season and that we are very well prepared to make a run. | ||
| Briana(Laurel, MD): Hey i was wondering..what do you do for fun, and who do you hang out with when your not on the court? | ||
| Torrian Jones: We do pretty much everything together. We just like to hangout in someone’s room and watch sports. | ||
| Sara(South Bend): Where is your favorite place to play, what arena? | ||
| Torrian Jones: My favorite place to play is obviously the Joyce Center. If I had to choose another place I would say last year’s NCAA tournament site because the atmosphere was so electric. | ||
| Torrian Jones: Hey, I have to go to practice now. Thanks for all the questions and well wishes. | ||
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