Jalen Cone’s transfer to NAU from Virginia Tech is ‘perfect storm’
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (BVM) – Jalen Cone was one of the most sought-after athletes in the NCAA Transfer Portal following his departure from Virginia Tech in late March.
The sophomore point guard averaged 9.2 points per game this season for the Hokies and had a breakout span of six games where he averaged 17.2 points on 43% shooting from three before a foot injury sidelined him for the final month of the season. Cone recently narrowed his list of future destinations to seven schools: Oklahoma State, Indiana, Penn State, Northern Arizona, Nebraska, Buffalo and Iowa State.
With three years of eligibility remaining, Cone shocked many this week by committing to mid-major Northern Arizona University over a handful of Power 5 schools. Facilitated by Lumberjacks’ assistant coach Chris Fowler, Cone’s arrival is set to make big waves in Flagstaff.
Let’s get this thing rockin in Flagstaff! #Committed pic.twitter.com/KLgbL3qR8r
— Jalen Cone (@J15Cone) April 6, 2021
“I just think right now it’s an exciting time to come to NAU and when you look at our success here, or lack of it, however you want to see it, we haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2000,” NAU head men’s basketball coach Shane Burcar said. “If you’re Jalen Cone, you know you can come in here and play as many minutes as you can, put us on the map or help put us on the map.
“He’s (Cone) such a humble guy, too. Recruiting goes both ways. We made sure that he’s not coming here to try to lead the league in scoring without winning. He wants to win and leave a legacy here, and I’ll tell you what, he’s a basketball junkie because he knew our roster inside and out.”
Burcar served as the team’s interim head coach during the 2019-20 season and immediately led the program to its best campaign (16-14) since 2014-15. The 16 overall wins surpassed the program’s combined total from the two previous seasons and Burcar’s success led him to being a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.
The former high school head coach at Mesa High School (AZ) is now just a month removed from wrapping up his first full season as NAU’s head coach in which the Lumberjacks finished 6-16 and 4-10 in the Big Sky Conference.
But with the presence of Covid-19 and the lack of a typical offseason to prepare, Burcar calls the 2020-21 campaign a year, not a season.
“What I mean by that is that we were on pause twice, once for 14 days and the second time right in the middle of our season for 17 to 19 days depending on a player,” Burcar said. “I don’t know if you have a true season because you don’t have an offseason, preseason and you’re on pause for the summer. It was a heck of a year, that’s how I define it.”
Those aren’t excuses on behalf of Burcar, he said, but rather an honest assessment of the team’s reality. Now, the Lumberjacks’ reality is much different than it was a year ago with the addition of a talent like Cone to the program
Ranked No. 80 overall in ESPN’s 2019 recruiting class, Cone shot 41.1 percent from three-point range in two seasons with the Hokies and led the ACC in three-point shooting as a freshman (45.7%). The transfer of first team all-conference guard and NAU’s leading scorer last season, Cameron Shelton (19.2 points per game), to Loyola Marymount certainly lends itself to Cone playing a star role for the Lumberjacks.
“He (Cone) won’t need a lot of shots to get points and he’s an elite shooter,” Burcar said. “The other thing is that he gets other people involved to where we’ll be almost impossible to guard. Jalen understands that if he’s shooting a lot and no one else is getting shots, that doesn’t help you win and it doesn’t help his scoring either.
“Everything that Jalen said during his recruitment was all about winning. Now part of that winning is needing him to score the ball, so it all works out as a perfect storm for NAU and Jalen’s future.”
Cone and NAU appear to be a perfect pair to help each other reach its goals.
For Cone, his aspirations presumably involve reaching the NBA, which has proven to be a reachable destination from the Big Sky as evidenced by Portland Trailblazers All-Star guard Damian Lillard (Weber State). For the Lumberjacks and their 20-plus-year drought from the NCAA Tournament, they now have an elite talent who can lead them there.
“How many kids his age are saying Virginia Tech to NAU? Some of them have to do it, Virginia Tech to a mid-major. He didn’t have to do that. He could’ve went to those other schools, but he wants to be here and we want him to be here. It’s perfect.”
