Dobson senior power forward Torren Jones is transferring to basketball powerhouse La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere, his mother, Cheryl, confirmed in a text message Friday morning.
Jones and his cousin, Jaron Hopkins, left Basha for the Mustangs this summer after their coach, Brad Pinter, was forced to resign following an underachieving season for the Bears in 2011-12. Jones averaged 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds last season, but Basha lost its final three games and was knocked out of the Division I postseason in the second round. Jones attended the first two days at his new school but will not play a regular season game there.
Jones was offered a scholarship by Arizona before he entered high school, but his recruiting interest didn’t pick up again until this year, when he played very well in club ball evaluation periods to get offers from Marquette, Missouri, Oregon State, Washington State, Colorado, New Mexico, DePaul and Wyoming, according to Cheryl.
La Lumiere is a small, private college preparatory 90 minutes east of Chicago. Its roster is loaded with college-bound players and competes with the top prep schools in the nation. Jones’ transfer was first reported by Rivals.com.
Dobson also added Perry transfer Ryan Richardson this summer to go along with holdover Kodi Justice, an Arizona State commitment. The convergence of the talented quartet instantly made the Mustangs the team to beat in Division I for 2012-13. The loss of Jones changes the team’s dynamic, as its three best players are now perimeter players, but Dobson should still be right in the mix and could still be the favorite.
Reach Kyle Odegard at (480) 898-6834 or kodegard@evtrib.com. Follow his blog at http://blogs.evtrib.com/varsityxtra, or find him on Twitter @Kyle_Odegard.
