He had received his second invitation in as many years, but this one came on the heels of his official release from Rutgers and amongst a whirlwind of rumors that he would soon land in Durham.
Jones wanted to ignore those issues and concentrate on his basketball. He had improved over his two years as a Scarlet Knight, but by now it seemed he and the program were going in opposite directions. He had asked his release, gotten it, and made a few official visits, most notably to Duke, where he dreamed of joining longtime friend Jason Williams.
The Trenton native had pretty much made up his mind that if Duke were to accept his transfer and offer him a scholarship he would accept, but decided to postpone the announcement until the end of the tryouts. He wanted to concentrate on his basketball. He wanted to make the team.
His friend Williams would be there, and Jones was confident that he could play with them. However, the vast differences in their experience showed--the trio of Blue Devils had finished the year as the No. 1 team in the country and reached the Sweet 16, Rutgers didn't even have a winning record.
Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer shined. All three made the final cut with the former two also making the team. Williams played the best, making the summer his personal highlight show and setting the stage to become one of the best players in college basketball.
Jones didn't even make the first cut.
"I have to just keep on getting better," the soft-spoken public policy major said. "It is a struggle sometimes and I will get frustrated, but I just have to keep working."
A few days, a press release citing "general unhappiness" and a phone call later, Jones was a Blue Devil.
This summer, with a new strategy for success and a strong work ethic, Jones led the USA Young Men's team in scoring during its tryouts. He wasn't even originally invited, that part took some persuading by coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"He really turned some heads here," Syracuse and team USA coach Jim Boeheim told Fox Sports' Frank Burlison.
The impressive part of his incredible improvement was that he did it without playing a single competitive game, save the Blue-White Scrimmage in October. Under NCAA rules, transfers must sit out a full season after they switch schools before they are allowed to play. So while the rest of the Blue Devil team was edging Illinois in Greensboro or losing to Maryland on Senior Day or cutting down the nets in Minneapolis, Jones was sitting quietly on the bench in his stylish suit.
The only thing the most fashionable player in the ACC could do was watch and practice. Hard.
As Krzyzewski explained, Jones couldn't compete in a game, so he made his competition in practice. As a member of the Blue team--the second string players which challenge the starters on the White team--Jones made it his personal business to neutralize whoever was hot.
If Shane Battier was knocking down threes or Williams was driving to the hole, Jones would stop them. If Boozer was dominating in the center, Jones would keep driving in on him until he got by.
"He's totally responsible for where he is," Krzyzewski said. "I mean, we set the culture and the environment--you never know when a kid is redshirting how he's going to react--but basically Dahntay came to work every day... He didn't just come to work certain days, he competed every day and he came after Shane and Jason and Mike and Nate. And as a result of doing that day after day, he's gotten better.
"He did something I didn't think was possible."
The result: Jones became one of the top players on the team with his explosive first step from the wing that conjures up comparisons to the potential of Corey Maggette. Without him, Duke would have a tough time filling a void left by Battier. With him the Blue Devils will most likely be the nation's preseason No. 1 team.
"A lot of people didn't get to see the real Dahntay Jones at Rutgers because he wasn't in an environment where he was competing against the best everyday," Williams said. "I've seen him go through practice everyday here. When he goes out there, he'll be able to say, OThis is who I am and this is what I'm about.'"
Jones' stellar play just in practice has made so many waves in the Tobacco Road rumor mill that there has even been speculation that, even though he's only a junior eligibility-wise, he won't be at Duke for his senior year. Recently, however, he dispelled these rumors, telling The News & Observer of Raleigh that, "It depends on the situation, but I plan on finishing my two years [of eligibility] at Duke."
Even though he has yet to be tested in a game, the results are clear, especially after he lived up to his billing at the Team USA trials. He led all participants in scoring, got invited back for the final round along with Boozer and Chris Duhon and is considered a lock to be amongst the 12-man group representing the USA that invades the FIBA World Championship for Young Men in Saitama, Japan.
"He went from a year ago, being cut at the trials, to being the leading scorer at the trials without playing this year," Krzyzewski said. "That's very impressive. I'm anxious to see how he'll do when I coach him day to day, because I really didn't coach him day to day as a redshirt. I had him in drills, but I mean really coach himÉ. I think he'll take another step up because he wants to learn and he's a tough kid."
The same competitor that Krzyzewski loves in Jones and that got him to the high level he's at now, keeps Jones going through the games. Even though he's been amazing in tryouts, Jones is not satisfied, nor will he probably be unless he's playing for the team that cuts the nets down at this year's Final Four in Atlanta.
"They went all right," Jones said when asked about the trials. "I just tried to play as hard as I can. I haven't been in a game situation in a while since I redshirted this year so I just tried to play as hard as I could.
"Now I have to just keep working out at school and get back in better shape and get ready."
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