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You have to love a college basketball coach named Jonathan! Jonathan Metzger-Jones has 4 years under his belt as an assistant at Montana, and he has made the postseason in 3 of those years. He does a little of everything: recruiting, scheduling, summer camps, etc. After playing college basketball at Pacific, he later played pro basketball in Europe before getting into coaching. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with “Jono” about surviving multiple overtimes and having Gonzaga/Kansas on this year’s schedule.
You played for Coach Bob Thomason at Pacific: what made him such a good coach? He is and was a coach with an unbelievable offensive mind: he just knew how to pick apart defenses. He never had the best players in the league (besides Michael Olowokandi) but was still able to field teams who could score a lot of points.
You made more than 100 threes in your career: what is your secret for making shots from behind the arc? You need the ability to communicate and relate to your teammates. You also need to be accountable/responsible so they know that your actions are for the betterment of the team: actions speak louder than words.
After graduating you played pro basketball in Europe: what is the biggest difference between college basketball and pro basketball? The shot clock: dropping down to 24 seconds was a big adjustment. In Europe there is more emphasis on skill as opposed to athleticism/brute force. A lot of players have a hard time adjusting to that but it was easier for me because I was not the strongest guy. You have to be willing to adjust to a new culture and fit in with your new team.
You were an assistant at Montana for a few years under Coach Wayne Tinkle before being retained by head coach Travis DeCuire when he took over last year: how does it usually work for an assistant when his old boss takes a new job, and how did it work for you? It is different everywhere you go. I know of a head coach who took a Power 5 job and did not take a single assistant with him, and I know other coaches who got a new job and brought their entire staff with them. It worked out great for me and my family because we love the city of Missoula and the program. We have done some good things in the past and we have a bright future as well.
Last year you had 4 separate multiple-overtime games: I assume that overtime games are exhausting for players, but how tired do you get as a coach? Yes…but it is a different kind of exhaustion for coaches. When a game goes into multiple overtimes there is pressure and excitement flowing through you and it is hard for your brain to hold onto everything. It definitely takes a toll on the coaches but we would not trade it for anything.
In the 2015 NIT you lost to Texas A&M: what did your team learn from that game that you think can help you this year? I think it was pretty evident that we need to have the mentality of never giving up. We were down by more than 20 PTS and we could have given up, but we took the lead in the 2nd half and the crowd got behind us. It showed our guys that we can compete with “bigger name” schools and can come back against any adversity.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Boise State/Gonzaga/Washington/Kansas: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I would say the Kansas game: it is an environment unlike any other in college basketball and most of our guys have never seen anything like it. Gonzaga also has a terrific program and returns their entire frontcourt so that will definitely be a tough game as well.
Your team returns 4 of its top-5 scorers from last year: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? It is going to be a big help. The scoring is nice but it is even more important to have guys with the experience of competing for a conference title. Our biggest thing is that we have been through the fire so now we have to take 1 more step and get to the next level.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our expectatios are to play Griz basketball for 40 minutes/night. Our goal is to win the conference title and get back to the NCAA tourney.