We are still a couple of months away from the tip-off of the college basketball season this fall, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Virginia Tech associate head coach Mike Jones, who talked about winning the ACC tourney last March and his expectations for this season.
You played basketball at Old Dominion and were #2 in the CAA in 1995 with 1.8 SPG: what is the secret to playing good defense? Having a good game plan and doing your preparation/film work to know your opponent’s tendencies. A lot of my success was based on anticipation such as stealing a pass.
In the 1995 NCAA tourney you scored 19 PTS in 51 minutes in an 8-PT 3-OT win over Villanova: how exhausted were you by the end of the game? I was exhausted. When we got back to the hotel they gave us Domino’s pizza…and when I woke up the next morning there was only 1 slice left! It was an experience that none of us will ever forget.
After playing professionally in the CBA/overseas you spent almost 2 decades as head coach at DeMatha Catholic High School, where you won a national title in 2006: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is up there: that 2006 team is actually getting inducted into the DeMatha Hall of Fame next month. It was 1 of the best teams that I have ever coached: I am hesitant to say they were the best…but we were 34-1 and won a national title. I played on an undefeated team myself at DeMatha in 1991 so I can use that as trash talk! There are so many teams that claim they are the best but it is nice to have a valid argument: DeMatha has several of them.
You coached several high school players who ended up in the NBA including Victor Oladipo/Jerami Grant/Markelle Fultz: can you look at a teenager and tell if he is good enough to make it to the highest level? Jerami had an NBA-type body even at age 12 and loved to be in the gym so as long as we did not screw it up we knew that he would make it. Markelle was only 5’9” as a freshman and Victor played on the freshman team and did not even start every game so they both had to work hard. 1 thing that gives me an advantage is that I am used to seeing the growth of a player from age 13-17. Now as a college coach I can look at a young guy and realize his potential, which gives me an advantage.
In the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Brazil you were coach of team USA: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and how do you think that your former player Jabari Smith is going to do with the Rockets this year? Representing our country is 1 of the biggest honors that I have ever received. I have been a part of USA Basketball since 2010 so being the coach after Don Showalter (8-time gold medalist), just like coaching at DeMatha after Morgan Wootten (Hall of Famer), is something that I took great pride in. Winning a gold medal was unbelievable and hearing the Star-Spangled Banner play with your hand over your heart was a memorable experience. Jabari will be just fine: he is nowhere near his potential but you can tell how hard he is going to work. It will not happen overnight but in 5 years I think that he will be 1 of the best players in the NBA.
Last year you became an assistant to Coach Mike Young at Virginia Tech: why did you take the job, and what was the hardest part of year #1? I took the job because of Mike. Don/Morgan are 2 of the best basketball minds I have ever been around and I got to see them grow their programs from A-Z. I wanted to work for someone like that who I could learn from and Mike checked every single boss…twice! I get a crash course in how a college program should be run and it is awesome. Winning an ACC title showed that it was the right decision. The biggest “challenge” was not being where the buck stopped. I did not struggle with it: it was just something that I was not used to. I just tried to soak up as much as I possibly could, which almost became a distraction, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
Take me through the 2022 postseason:
You started the season 10-10, then won 9 of your final 11 regular season games, followed by 4 wins in 4 days to win the ACC tourney: how on earth were you able to beat a pair of Final 4 teams back-to-back (UNC in the semifinal/Duke in the final)?! Mike Young! We went through some hiccups/speed bumps during the regular season but none of us ever wavered from what works because Mike kept telling us that we were THIS close. Most other teams would have splintered or pointed fingers but not 1 person in our locker room did that, which validated my thoughts about Mike. We stuck together and knew that we were capable of winning and he gave us the confidence to believe that we could.
In the NCAA tourney you had an 8-PT loss to Texas: what did your team learn from that game that you think will help them this year? The biggest lesson is that there was a target on our back so we had Texas’ undivided attention. When you get punched in the mouth you need to be ready to punch back. We are all hungry to do it again so there will be no relaxation: we will keep grinding. We have a really good team and need to be ready for everyone’s best shot.
Last year your team was #3 in the nation with 39.2 3P%: how crucial is the 3-PT shot to your team’s offensive philosophy? Our motto is, “If they cannot shoot, do not recruit.” We put a premium on floor-spacing and give our guys a lot of room to operate. We want guys who can make open shots and also take advantage of open space. If you want to play for Mike then you have to be able to shoot the ball and make great decisions.
1 of your senior leaders this year will be Justyn Mutts, the 2022 ACC Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year who already has his 2nd masters’ degree: what is it like to coach a player who seems to be as amazing on the court as he is in the classroom? He is a true Hokie and represents the university/the community/our team. I almost do not want a recruit to take a campus visit here unless they get a chance to talk to him. If you sit down with him you do not want him to stop talking. Nothing about him is fake: he will tell you what the truth is and if ever decides to become a coach he will be tremendous because his players will trust him and want to play for him. That is the kind of coach I want to be.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? I come from a background of goals such as winning gold medals/championships so it is hard for me to give any other answer. I know the ACC is the ACC and it is not easy to win, but if we do not go into it with the goal of playing the best that we can every single night then I am not sure we should be doing it. We will put a team out there that wants to win and will stay out of trouble and make a whole lot of baskets. It is a long season but we are built for it.