I think we're so used to FoB's being kind of "meh" - are they helping us or not(?), that when we get a clear good one, we're not ready to believe it . Jones is clearly a good pickup. Buck - we'll have to see. Not expecting too much there but he's still only 20.
oh yeah he’s only a kid still. That was another case of an unsettled player that Bruce saw and exploited. He’s an expert at this
It seems that the first wave of players that Bruce Arena brought in (his ex-Revolution players and others such as Nick Lima) was simply to stabilize the roster and to evaluate it from there. After having had some games to do that, DeJuan Jones seems to be the first guy Arena brought in to fill a specific need (i.e. to push Cristian Espinoza up more and for Espinoza not to have to worry so much about going back to defend as much). It’s similar to Kevin Constantine’s first season as the San Jose Sharks’ head coach for the 1993-1994 NHL season (that team’s third season in existence and its first in the then-San José Arena): before the season began, he overturned much of the underperforming roster with new (to the team, at least) talent like Sergei Makarov, Igor Larionov, Artūrs Irbe, etc. Then sometime during the season, Constantine added Ulf Dahlén for a specific need and the team made the playoffs for the first time, shocking the Detroit Red Wings with a series win and almost defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the following round. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Surprisingly Jones the only Friend of Bruce brought in based on merit has been the best of the bunch after just three games In three appearances with the San Jose Earthquakes Dejuan Jones already has three goal contributions under Bruce Arena. 📸 @Mireles94_ #Quakes74 #MLS pic.twitter.com/gdf3mv7qMD— Favian Renkel (@FavianRenkel) May 11, 2025
Its early days but this is already a fantastic trade. Bruce is getting maximum out of him, as in fringe national team picture maximum
“NEWS: Earthquakes Defender DeJuan Jones Called to U.S. National Team Roster for June Training Camp” (SJEarthquakes.com - Thursday, 5/22/25) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G