NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Latrell Jones’ flight touched down at MSY around 10 o’clock Friday morning.
Two hours later, he was back in the gym at Archbishop Shaw with coach Rory Poplion, grinding and preparing for his workout Monday with the New Orleans Pelicans.
“It’s a dream come true, you know, being it coming up into in the city like this, and then just having that being my favorite team, you know, in the league and then coming up and having an opportunity to work out for them would be, you know, a dream come true,” says former Shaw and Nicholls standout Latrell Jones.
The 6’5, 180-pound New Orleans product just wrapped up a stellar senior season at Nicholls where he averaged 15 points on 44 percent shooting with 5 rebounds and 2 steals per game.
When you turn on the tape, his scoring ability stands out and it’s something he’s working 6, sometimes 7 days a week to refine for the next level.
“That was just something that I always, you know, wanted to work on and master. Different, ways of how I can get my shot off. You know, just expecting the defender to be wherever they are on the floor. Knowing my angles, knowing my spots on where I can get in order to get a shot off because that’s where my capabilities are,” says Jones.
“He’s a long wing. He could defend on the perimeter. He also erases shots at the basket, he ge ts after it. He’s a team-first guy. He’s the type of guy where he wants to win sprints, he wants to get in early, wants to stay late, and he just he’s a three-level scorer. I mean, he’s the type of guy that can, you know, knock down a mid-range. He could knock down the catch and shoot three. I mean, he made a bunch of threes this past season and I mean, he could finish with the best of them at the rim. Super athletic wing. I think his game really fits the pro level,” says Delgado Assistant and Player Development Coach Rory Poplion.
No matter what the week ahead holds for Latrell Jones, the work will never end. When opportunities come knocking, he’ll give each and every one of them his best shot.
“I just want to show all of my attributes. Everything that I am willing to offer to a team. I feel like where there is a question mark, I feel like there’s a fill-in for where my abilities are able to complete,” says Jones.
The Pelicans’ invite comes after an impressive showing from the sharpshooter at the NTX Combine. Jones has regularly been training here in the city of New Orleans with Rory Poplion, who specializes in professional player development.
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