Spurs guard Tre Jones, a Duke alum, won’t even utter the words “North Carolina”...
Spurs guard Tre Jones, a former Duke standout, says he won’t even utter the words “North Carolina” this week. The heated college rivals square off in the Final Four on Saturday.HOUSTON — As if Spurs guard Tre Jones needed more reason to be pumped to see his alma mater Duke in the Final Four, the opponent the Blue Devils have drawn cranks his excite-o-meter up to 11.“The other school” would be North Carolina, the Blue Devils’ archrivals and a team Jones cannot bring himself to mention by name.
Jones returned to campus during this year’s All-Star break to visit with the current crop of Blue Devils. Lonnie Walker is averaging 18.8 points per game since the All-Star break, a well-timed surge with restricted free agency looming.The Spurs played their fifth consecutive game Monday without reserve guard Lonnie Walker, who suffered back spasms after being kneed by New Orleans’ Willy Hernangomez on March 18.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he was unsure how much longer the team would be without Walker, its highest-scoring bench player at 12.2 points per game.Team finding success during crunch timein New Orleans gave the Spurs another crunch-time win, an area in which the club has steadily improved throughout the season.