This was supposed to be a big month for the Jones family. We have seen other coaching brothers make the NCAA tourney in recent years (Archie/Sean Miller, Bobby/Danny Hurley, etc.), but this was going to be the year of the Jones. Yale coach James Jones made the tourney last year and had a legendary upset of Baylor in 2016, and after 16 years as a head coach his brother James finally made it this year as head coach at BU. Then the NCAA tourney was canceled and we were left to wonder “what if”. Dana Jones did a little of everything at Pepperdine: he graduated as the school’s all-time leader in PTS/REB/STL and was #2 in FG%. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our 7-part series of Joneses past and present by chatting with former Pepperdine assistant coach Marty Wilson about all of Dana’s conference awards and what he has accomplished since retiring from pro basketball.
Dana grew up in Los Angeles: what made him choose Pepperdine? He went to school out in the Valley and was not a heavily-recruited player but our staff fell in love with everything that he did. He was a great teammate and really good at everything. He had a breakout performance in the city championship game and was close to his family so he wanted to stay close to home.
He averaged 10 PPG/8.2 RPG as a freshman and was named WCC ROY: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? He was a perfect fit as a complement to guys like Doug Christie/Geoff Lear. He was very unselfish and did not care about the spotlight but took advantage of all his opportunities. It allowed us to do more and more things for him and help develop him.
In 1993 he was named conference POY: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? I thought that he should have won it as a senior as well but my gut tells me that they did not want to give it to us 4 years in a row (after Christie won it in 1991 & 1992). He just decided that he would prove everyone wrong in the 1994 conference tourney by winning MVP!
Take me through the 1994 postseason:
He led the team to 3-PT wins over San Francisco/San Diego to clinch the WCC tourney and was named tourney MVP: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? Part of it was having a chip on his should from not being named regular season MVP so he just took it to another level. He is not an overly vocal guy who would brag/boast: he just led by example.
In the NCAA tourney he had 15 PTS/5 STL and played all 45 minutes in a 4-PT OT loss to Michigan: how close did you come to beating the Fab 4 (Fab 5 minus Chris Webber)? We were only 1-2 possessions away. I listen to Jalen Rose on TV quite often and I recall Dana having a better game than Jalen (13 PTS/2-13 FG) while going head-to-head: Dana kind of gave it to him on both ends. I do not know if they took us for granted but a number of our guys played their tails off.
He remains #1 in school history with 1031 REB/211 STL: how was he able to balance his rebounding with his defense? I think he took the most pride in those things because he knew that he did not have to shoulder the scoring burden. Dana and I came in together: I had not seen him play live a whole lot but I got to face him at a camp when I was about 24 years old at the time. I went in for what I thought was an easy layup but he blocked my shot! I later worked for Wyking Jones, who was a heck of a player at LMU, and he said that the reason he struggled against Pepperdine was because Dana guarded him so well.
His scoring increased every single year that he was on campus: how was he able to keep improving every single year? Part of that was just him getting better and part of it was his increased expectations each year to do more. He wanted to help the team win and the guards around him knew how valuable he was so they would get him the ball more and motivate him to rebound/defend. He had great pride in being a winner: even in practice he tried to win every line drill/rebounding drill because he knew that it would become a habit during games.
He spent several years playing pro basketball in Japan: how did he like being overseas? He really enjoyed it. We are still close and talk every so often. We had a guy go to Japan a couple of years before who did not have a good experience so I was unsure how it would work out for Dana, but I later talked to his agent and the Japanese team said they would take a guy like him every year.
After his playing career was cut short due to injuries he became a physical therapist who helps young athletes recover from their own injuries: how proud are you of his post-basketball career? I am proud of everything that he has done but am proudest of him being a father. I have been able to spend some time with his kids after a game or on campus and that is the biggest part of his legacy: as a role model to his kids and doing things the right way. His injuries opened his mind to life after basketball during the rehab process: he teaches kids the right way to run/jump/cut without causing further injuries. As a coach that is what you want when all is said and done: he has had a lot of kind words for me as well.
He was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame in 2010: where does that rank among the highlights of his career? Other than having kids I think it has to be #1 because it is the accumulation of all the success that he has had. When I called him to say that he was being inducted he just could not believe it because he is so humble/respectful. He knows that it was not about him but rather the team’s accomplishments. He was a conference MVP/tourney MVP and people noticed what he did so when he looks back at the games he played it just brings back chills for him.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? Personally, I think that he should be viewed as 1 of the top 3-4 players who ever played at Pepperdine. I worked for the school for a long time but I do not think most people will view it that way unless they saw him play. He had great stats and great success: he was the common denominator.