TOWSON, Md. - The Sanford School in Delaware has produced two very good guards who were key members of Towson's basketball teams in the 1990s.

Lewis Waller, '91 was a top sixth man on Towson's two East Coast Conference championship teams in 1990 and 1991. Ralph Blalock, '96 is seventh on Towson's all-time scoring list with 1,498 points and hit the game winning three-pointer near midcourt at the buzzer that helped the Tigers upset West Virginia, 81-78, in 1994.

Deon Jones wasn't even born when Waller played at Towson but he hopes to become an important figure in the history of Tiger basketball just as Waller and Blalock were.

For Jones, it's been a difficult transition from being the Delaware State Player of the Year as a senior where he averaged 18 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to starting shooting guard and backup point guard.

With Towson not returning any players from the backcourt last season due to transfers, graduation and suspensions, Jones has been forced to start right away and wouldn't you know, the Tigers opened up at traditional powers Kansas and Michigan to start the season.

But to the 6-5, 200-pound wing, he wasn't really fazed.

"I like that," said Jones. "Kansas is a pretty big stage. I like competition; even in high school, I liked playing the top schools in the country. It prepares me for later on. It gets me stronger and better defensively and offensively."

Jones chose the Tigers shortly after Coach Pat Skerry arrived at Towson and he believed in the direction that the program was going.

"I felt like Towson was a better place for me," said Jones. "It was a good environment. I liked the campus. Coach Skerry is a good coach. Coach (Kenny) Johnson came on and I knew him before this. I knew it was an up-and-coming program."

Jones didn't mind the bright lights in high school. He hit the game-winning three-point basket at the buzzer in the state championship game victory over Red Lion (60-58) in a game played at the University of Delaware.

Before Jones played at the Sanford School, he was also at Paul VI H.S. in Virginia as a sophomore (where Johnson coached) and played for another state championship team.

Jones scored nine points in the opener against Kansas and had 12 points against Michigan two nights later. Even though the Tigers lost both games by double digits, Jones showed that he wasn't flustered by playing on such a big stage.

One thing that has hurt the Tigers in their non-conference part of the schedule has been inconsistency. Some nights, they turn the ball over too often just as they did against Manhattan (23 turnovers) and in a loss to Vermont on Friday night, they turned it over just 10 times, but allowed Vermont to shot 51% from the field.

With three freshmen guards, a sophomore small forward with no Division I experience and an inexperienced bench, it's no shock that Towson has committed 240 turnovers in its first 12 games.

"It's about experience," said Jones. "We're all new to this. It's a little pressure. We're getting better. We're not having as many (turnovers) as we had earlier in this year. As the year goes on, we'll get better."

Jones is currently third on the team in scoring with 8.4 points per game and fourth in rebounds with a 4.5 average.

After they face Virginia on Friday night in John Paul Jones Arena, the Tigers will take on their CAA schedule. Friday's game against the Cavaliers will be the Tigers' first since the loss against Vermont because of the holiday break.

"We need to keep working," said Jones. "All of us need to work out even when we're home to keep getting better."

Despite the slow start (0-12), Towson's young players appear to have the right attitude.

"We just have to be focused," said Jones. "We can't let it get us down. We have to keep pushing and fighting and we'll get a victory soon."