From unwanted to indispensable, DeVante’ Jones is ready to lead Michigan

During his postgraduate year at Notre Dame Prep, DeVante’ Jones faced a daunting predicament that threatened to truncate his basketball career — no college program truly wanted him. 

Sure, college coaches would frequent his games, often talking with Jones’ coach, Ryan Hurd. But each time, those conversations followed the same arc, with the visiting coaches disparaging Jones’ game. 

I’m not sure about the jump shot. I don’t know if he can run a team. It just doesn’t look right. 

Hurd laughs about it now, a chuckle tickled with incredulity. In hindsight, with Jones now just over a week away from debuting as Michigan’s starting point guard, Hurd finds the absurdity of the situation humorous. 

Back then, it was anything but. 

“It just got to a place where, for me, I apologized to him,” Hurd told UM Hoops. “People were trying to find a hole in him. I (told him), ‘I don’t understand why this is happening to you.’ It never made sense to me.”