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Radford coach Mike Jones might have an ordinary name but he has been a part of some extraordinary games as a basketball coach. In the 2008 SEC tourney as an assistant to Georgia coach Dennis Felton he had to deal with a game being postponed due to a tornado before winning 3 games in 30 hours to clinch an SEC tourney title. 3 years later as an assistant to Coach Shaka Smart at VCU he was part of the Rams’ remarkable run to the 2011 Final 4. After winning only 6 games in his 1st year as head coach of the Highlanders in 2012, he has led them to very high land by winning 22 games in each of the past 2 years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Jones about working for John Beilein and growing up as the son of an ABA legend.
You played basketball at Howard University: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I was a role player: the guy who loved to defend and did not mind passing (because my coach told me not to shoot!). I got into coaching because it seemed like fun. A good friend of mine was a coach and I figured that if he could do it, so could I.
You spent 3 years as an assistant to Coach John Beilein at Richmond/West Virginia: what makes Beilein such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you ever learned from him? John is a great coach because he is a great person. He has had a lot of practice as a head coach (having never been an assistant himself), and he recruits players who work best with his style of play regardless of what school he is at, so the players fit with what he likes to do offensively. Lastly, he has a special gift of how to make players feel confident and play that way, as well as how to make everyone on the team play together. The most important thing I learned from him is that you must recruit guys who can make shots and who have skills, then further develop those skills after you get them.
Entering the 2008 SEC tourney as an assistant to fellow Howard alum Dennis Felton on a Georgia team that was 13-16, you had a 2-PT OT win over Mississippi, then had to postpone your quarterfinal game due to a tornado, then won 3 games in 30 hours on the campus of your in-state rival Georgia Tech to clinch your 1st SEC tourney title in 25 years: what are your memories of that wild weekend? My best memories were of how tough the staff/players were all year and how it all paid off that championship weekend. We watched the selection show from the court because our game ended so late on Sunday!
In the 2011 NCAA tourney as an assistant to Coach Shaka Smart at VCU, your team made a magical run all the way to the Final 4: what is the key to being a successful “Cinderella” in the postseason? Matchups and confidence.
In 2015 CBI you had a 7-PT loss to Vermont: what do you think your team learned from that game that can help them this year? After playing great in a win over Delaware State in the 1st round, we knew that playing in that environment at Vermont was going to be a great experience for our players. We learned that there is very little margin for error against a good team on their home court in a hostile environment.
Your non-conference schedule includes road trips to Georgetown/VCU to start the season: how are you preparing to face such a daunting duo? Our schedule has gotten tougher and tougher each year. We have to play good teams to challenge ourselves to get better. We played Georgetown last year so we know them a little bit, but we will concentrate more on ourselves than our opponents early in the season.
You lost your top-2 scorers from last year (Javonte Green/RJ Price): how will you try to replace all of that offense? We have other players coming back who are very capable scorers. They showed some of what they are capable of last season, but we have to keep helping our players get better.
You have 7 seniors on your roster: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? Senior leadership is very crucial to everything we will do this year. It is their last go-round so I know they will all be highly motivated.
Your father Jimmy was a 6-time ABA All-Star who was named to the ABA All-Time Team in 1997: what made him such a great player, and what impact has he had on you either on or off the court? My dad was a great player because he had a high IQ and could really score. He taught me the importance of honesty, integrity, and hard work. Those things are a part of me and now I am passing them along to my kids and my players.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? My goals are to compete for a regular season and tournament championship. I expect our players to work harder and smarter than they ever have and for us to improve every day.