Division II player of the year, Villanova point guard top list of training camp signings
For those prospects who didn’t get drafted, tonight may be first be disappointment, then a little joy as Nets sign camp invites Two top college players — one the Division II player of the year, the other Villanova’s 20-year-old starting point guard — are the first training camp invitees signed by the Brooklyn Nets after the team didn’t make a pick in the second round Thursday.
K.J. Jones II, a 6’6” wing who scored 3,600 points in five years for Division II Emmanuel College, and Mark Armstrong, a heralded if undersized 6’2” local product who left Villanova after two years, confirmed they’ve signed with Brooklyn after local reporters who cover broke the signings.
just needed a foot in the door. let’s go @BrooklynNets https://t.co/PJhD6kuQAL— KJ (@d1_kjay) June 28, 2024
@BrooklynNets Let’s work — Mark Armstrong (@markarmstr0ng1) June 28, 2024
Of the two, Jones is the more decorated. The 23-year-old played five seasons at Division II Emmanuel College in Georgia. He was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year this season after winning other regional awards.
In 33 games, Jones II averaged 26.2 points on 46.9% shooting overall, 36.6% from deep, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He shot 36.6% from 3 on 5.6 attempts and play point guard, shooting guard and small forward. There’s not much in terms of video online.
Jones II came in for a workout at HSS Training Center. He was the only Division II player to be invited to the Portsmouth Invitational in April.
Armstrong, a 6’2” native of South Orange, N.J. started 32 of 34 games for the Wildcats, last season, averaging 24.5 minutes and 8.4 points per game. His 83 assists led Villanova and the 24 points he scored on Jan. 15, 2024, were a career high. Only 20, he’s has been described as having “electric speed.” In all, Armstrong appeared in 68 games for the Wildcats in his two seasons which were a disappointment for both player and program.
He was a storied player at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, a 4-star and Top-75 recruit in a class that also featured his friend and now teammate Dariq Whitehead. He did not live up to his high school billing at Villanova.
Here’s some St. Peter’s Prep highlights...
...and from Villanova, a shorter video...
And of course. the irony of losing one Villanova product, Mikal Bridges, while adding another was not lost on the Internet.
Mark Armstrong has signed with the Brooklyn NetsThey replace one Wildcat with another https://t.co/PaodAr7eYg— Villanova Report (@NovaReportMBB) June 28, 2024
They and whoever else the Nets sign to training camp contracts and two-ways, as many as six undrafted free agents, are expected at HSS Training Center next week in anticipation of the Las Vegas Summer League which begins July 12.
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