University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach Matt McCall said Saturday that senior forward Casey Jones still hasn't practiced since suffering an injury in December, and that the decision on whether the SoCon preseason player of the year will come back this season is up to "what Casey wants to do."
Jones played in eight games for the Mocs this season, averaging team highs in scoring (12.6), rebounding (6.5) and assists (3.9) before dislocating his ankle Dec. 11, the day before the Mocs played (and won) at Dayton. Since then, the Mocs are 14-1, with their only loss at Furman on Jan. 9.
Because Jones hasn't played in 30 percent of his team's games, he is eligible for a redshirt and could return for the 2016-17 season.
"He has to do what he feels is best for his future going forward," McCall said. "He's weighing (the redshirt option) right now. The one thing I want to do is to get him the information I can so he can make the best decision possible, but I want it to be his decision. We all know how good he is, and we'd love to have him this year, but if he wants to come back (next season), we'd love that as well.
"I want to do what's best for his career. As bad as we want him in Chattanooga, Casey Jones has a big future in this game after college. I want him to be as healthy as possible so he can reach his goals and dreams."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.