Amid a New York-sized whirlwind of rumors and tersely worded press releases, Rutgers basketball star Dahntay Jones may be well on his way to becoming a Blue Devil.
The Scarlet Knights sophomore, who has become the subject of a flurry of Duke transfer rumors during the last month, has been granted his official release from Rutgers, according to Duke assistant coach David Henderson.
"Nothing has been done officially yet [by Duke]," Henderson said. "There's not a lot to know at this point other than that he has been granted a release and he's considering his options."
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard made an official visit to Duke over the weekend, but neither Henderson nor the Jones family would comment publicly about the visit, saying only that no commitment has been issued.
"When we have information to give, we'll make sure and give it," Jones' mother, Joanne, told the Charlotte Observer after her son's visit. "Right now, there is nothing to give."
Although no date has been set for Jones' announcement, Rutgers assistant director of sports media relations John Beisser confirmed that a decision is expected in a week.
Meanwhile, Jones' father, Larry, remained vague about when an announcement could be expected.
"It's been a very, very difficult couple of weeks here," he told the Home News and Tribune of East Brunswick, N.J. "He's torn. He's certainly very young and needs time to think and evaluate his commitment to his own success athletically and academically. He's trying to formulate where he can find the happiness he's really looking for. It's a lot to ask from a 19-year-old kid."
Phone messages left at Jones' New Jersey home were not immediately returned.
The second-year guard, who was recently named MVP of last season's Rutgers team that finished with a 15-16 record and earned a second straight NIT bid, averaged a team-high 16.0 points a game for the Knights, the seventh highest total in the Big East.
But Rutgers' failures late in games-the Knights were 3-9 in games decided by six points or fewer and 1-8 in their last nine-combined with a home-stretch freefall that saw Rutgers drop its final six contests frustrated the moody star.
Jones remains eligible to return to Rutgers, but the official release makes it highly unlikely that the former Big East all-freshman selection will do so.
The athletic swingman is rumored to be considering Stanford, Texas and Georgia Tech in addition to the Blue Devils, although Duke is believed to be the leader.
As a high school senior, the Hamilton Square, N.J. native, who Clark Francis rated as the fourth best shooting guard in the 1998 class, picked nearby Rutgers over other finalists Stanford and Virginia.
But after two seasons with the Scarlet Knights, Jones feels he might need to transfer to reach his basketball goals, which include the NBA.
Jones would be just the second transfer during Mike Krzyzewski's tenure, following in the path of Roshown McLeod, who transferred from St. John's in 1996 and was the 20th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.
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