ODU employs Maryland’s Jones as next head coach

• Jeff Borzello Close Jeff Borzello ESPN Personnel Writer Basketball recruiting expert. Joined ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Pete Thamel Feb 29, 2024, 04:47

• PM ET Old Dominion has worked with Maryland assistant Mike Jones as its next head coach, the

on Friday.Jones is an Old Rule alum who led the Monarchs to the NCAA competition as a player in 1992 and 1995. This is his first season on Kevin Willard’s staff at Maryland after he invested the previous two seasons as the associate head coach under Mike Young at Virginia Tech. “I might not be more ecstatic. This is an opportunity of a life time,” Jones stated.”ODU is home to me and we are prepared to work to build the program back into something that Norfolk and the entire Hampton Roads community will take pride in.”Editor’s Picks

1 Associated

Before making the transfer to college, Jones established himself as one of the elite high school coaches in the country. He was the coach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland for 19 years, leading the Stags to a 511-19 record and nine Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular-season titles.Jones has adequate experience with U.S.A. Basketball, consisting of as coach of the 2019 under-16 nationwide team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Champion in Brazil.”It was necessary that

our new head coach inspect all the vital boxes consisting of capability to hire both high school and transfer student-athletes, player development, coaching acumen, style of play, community engagement, remarkable character and a proven history of success. Mike Jones checks all those boxes,”athletic director Wood Selig stated at a press conference revealing the hire. “In Mike Jones, ODU has a leader who has actually seen success at the highest level and understands what it requires to sustain competitive excellence. The fact that he is among us is icing on the cake. “Jones replaces Jeff Jones, who revealed his retirement Monday

after a 32-year head-coaching career. He had been at Old Rule since 2013, leading the Monarchs to the NCAA competition in 2019 after winning the Conference USA regular-season and conference tournament champions. Jones also spent 13 seasons as the head coach of the American University Eagles and led Virginia to 5 NCAA tournament appearances in the 1990s. Jeff Jones took a leave of lack in January after he suffered a cardiac arrest in December and then started treatment for prostate cancer for the 4th time.Old Dominion( 7-23, 3-14 Sun Belt), which has actually been led by interim coach Kieran Donohue because Jones stepped far from the team, wraps up

its routine season at Georgia Southern on Friday.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.