Film Room: Jalen Cone Appreciation Article

Cone's complete game vs USC, and things that may go unnoticed

The story of last night’s victory over USC was Fardaws Aimaq’s 15 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 assists in a dominant performance.

Or maybe it was Jaylon Tyson’s 27 points on 67% shooting, to go along with 11 rebounds.

Or Jalen Celestine’s 6 points in overtime, including a highly difficult 3-point shot in a clutch moment.

I’ll offer a fourth option: The totality of Jalen Cone’s game on both ends of the floor.

This article was sparked by a comment Jalen Cone made last night in the postgame press conference; “If I want to be successful at the next level, if I want any shot in the NBA being my size, I got to sit down and guard and just be a pest on the defensive end.”

Jalen Cone was given the assignment to tightly guard all-conference guard Boogie Ellis. There was no switching or defensive handoffs. Cone chased Ellis all around the court. He picked him up at aggressively at halfcourt, and fought his way through every screen and pick to keep up with Ellis.

Ellis’ season average: 17 points, 43% shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ellis vs Cal: 8 points, 33% shooting, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.

Watch how much work Cone puts in to keep connected to Ellis. At the beginning of the clip, Cone is playing defense on Ellis in the backcourt.

Cone picks Ellis up the second Ellis gets the ball in the backcourt, and stays in contact, impelling Boogie to pass it off very early. Cone fights through a few screens and never lets Boogie get comfortable. Towards the end, Cone maintains attention on Boogie, while all other Cal players are focusing on the interior.

Cone was very in-your-face on Ellis the entire game. Compare this to Keonte Kennedy’s defense on Isaiah Collier (the other ballhandler on the outside). When Collier has the ball, Kennedy is giving him a little space, not as forcing on the individual matchup as Cone was on Boogie.

The defensive game plan last night was for Cone to hound Boogie every time Boogie had the ball. Isaiah Collier was not expected to play. He had missed the last 6 games with a hand injury, and did not start for USC. When he was subbed in midway through the first half, those of us on writer’s row were surprised. I don’t think Cal schemed for having USC’s two elite ballhandlers on the floor at the same time - part of the reason Collier singlehandedly almost delivered USC the victory in the second half.

In the clip below, Ellis gains a step from the hip check high screen. Cone catches up with Ellis and is able to get back in from of him and impact the shot.

Cone immediately transitions to attacking on offense, and executes a perfect alley-oop dunk with Grant Newell.

Cone finished with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from deep. Over the last stretch of games, Cone has shown more of a willingness to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. In the victory over Stanford, Cone’s shot was not falling, shooting 0-for-6 from outside and 1-for-11 overall. But his ability to drive and draw fouls was clutch, as he finished with a team-high 9 free throws (making 8).

In the clip below, Cone drives the baseline and has an easy assist to Fardaws Aimaq.

What impressed me was the decisiveness in driving to the basket. There was no pump fake, no dribbling on the perimeter. Cone immediately attacked the basket, beat his defender and drew the interior defense. This left Aimaq wide open for the easy short range shot. Earlier in the season, I don’t know if Cone is this decisive and does not attempt a 3-point shot.

Cone is also an expert at acceleration and deceleration.

There are so many things I love about this play. I am impressed with the 3-man choreography on many of Cal’s sets. At the beginning, Aimaq signals as if he’s setting a high screen. Cone cuts down the lane and circles back out to the top. Cone’s defender does a good job of keeping up with him. Jaylon Tyson and Cone then run a football-esque double screen in the middle of the lane. Cone has a step and accelerates around Aimaq. Cone goes from full running to instant deceleration and stopping. He is able to gather the ball and go fully vertical for a clean shot attempt and make. None of that is easy. In our moderator chat,

Terence

compared this to how Luka Doncic and James Harden work off ball and generate good shots off frenetic motion.

So, in summary, 20 points on exceptional shooting. I did not even mention the nine straight points late in the first half that got the crowd on their feet. Add in lockdown defense on their primary ball handler. Cone also added 4 assists, second only to Aimaq’s 5.

Thank you, Jalen Cone.

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A couple other observations on Jalen Cone;

During the USC/UCLA roadtrips, Cone engaged with the Cal fans in attendance and thanked everyone for coming out in support.

In the postgame press comments, coach Madsen and the two players always make a point to shake hands or fistbump everyone in the room, along with a positive “Thank you for coming out and covering the game” type of comment. Coach Madsen is around 90% at this, and the players around 85%. This is not meant as a criticism. People are moving around, the mood after a game may not be wholly conducive to such things, there may be other factors that make it difficult. There is always an attempt, at least.

Jalen Cone always get to everyone in the room. 100% fistbump coverage and positive comments.

Again. Thank you, Jalen Cone.