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”. For those of you who thought the history of UMBC basketball began in the 2018 NCAA tourney: think again. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our 7-part series of Joneses past and present by chatting with Billy Jones about becoming both the 1st African-American basketball player in ACC history and the winningest coach in UMBC history.
You led Towson High School to a state basketball championship in 1963 and a runner-up finish to Allegany in 1964: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what did it mean to you to lose a title? As far as winning a title it does not get any better than that. We lost in the state semifinals during my sophomore year and were committed to winning it all during my junior year. It really meant a lot to the whole community because a Baltimore team had never won the state title. I thought we were good enough to win it again my senior year but 1 of our best players (Ralph Williams) was suspended from the team.
You played forward for Coach Bud Millikan at Maryland: why did he put you in the frontcourt if you were only 6’2”? I played PG in high school and relinquished that duty as a senior because we had a shorter team. I do not know if Bud knew what to do with me: I never questioned him but I was the only Black kid on the team as a sophomore. I just did what I was told and played as hard as I could. Nowadays you just put your best players on the floor like Golden State does but in my mind I was not going to complain.
In December of 1965 you became the 1st African-American basketball player in ACC history: how big a deal was it at the time, and how were you received by ACC fans? It was a big deal but I shared it with my roommate Pete Johnson. I was a 19-year old kid so quite honestly I was naive enough to believe that every other team would be doing the same thing very soon. I was just trying to get an education. Some schools took a long time but it became a bigger deal when I had a chance to look back on it. I was very proud of it back then but am even prouder now. The ACC was no different than the town where I grew up: there were things I could not do in Towson that I still could not do in the ACC. Some motels were pretty abusive with their language and it was rough in some arenas where the only 2 Black people were myself and the guy who was sweeping the floor. I felt a little alone/isolated but just did whatever I had to do. Sometimes I had to have my radar up but the other players did not. There were some road trips where Bud made us all leave the hotel because they would not let me stay there.
You played 2 seasons alongside future Terps coach Gary Williams: what was he like as a player, and could you have ever imagined that he would become a Hall of Fame coach? Gary was tenacious and played very hard. He was very smart so I knew that he could become a good coach because he knew where everyone needed to be on the floor. He was intense enough to motivate other people.
In 1967 you were named team captain: what is the secret to being a good leader? Just to be yourself: I never set out to be captain but just did the right stuff and was honest with the people around me. Some guys are only captains because they are seniors but I did not pull any punches. Rich Drescher was another teammate who was my roommate on the road during my sophomore year. He was from Cambridge, MD, and could not have been a better roommate/teammate. He did not realize how much of a help he was to me.
In 1974 you were hired as head coach at UMBC: how did you get into coaching, and why did you take the job? My high school coach Randy Walker took me under his wing and taught me the rules of the road. I watched him mold teams with all different kinds of players and I wanted to be like him. I was offered the opportunity to become a coach at American and had a 5-year plan to become a head coach. There were not very many Black head coaches at the time but I made a plan to check off every box they could come up with: coming from a good college, having practical experience, coaching the freshman team, etc. I was on a recruiting trip from California, stopped by the UMBC campus, and did not think about it after that. However, once the AD called me back, it felt like a natural fit.
You had 5 straight winning seasons from 1978-1982: how were you able to be so successful for such a long period of time? We had some serious students and found kids up and down the East Coast who were maturing and bought into what we were doing. We had some nationally-ranked teams and worked really hard at it. The key is to get kids who want to play together and play team basketball.
In the 1979 D-2 tourney you had a 3-PT loss to Cheyney State: what was it like facing future Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, and what was the atmosphere like in the UMBC Fieldhouse that night (featuring a school-record 3,600+ fans)? John is a Hall of Famer but we had a taste of them during the regular season after playing at their place. Looking back I think that if we made 1 adjustment we could have won the game. They started shooting the crap out of the ball after we switched to a zone defense: I kept us in a zone and they kept making shots. It was great for us to get some recognition in the community and was good for our psyche. I have been to several games since then but that night it was jumping and the loudest I have ever heard it.
After retiring from coaching you spent several years in the private sector: what kind of work did you do, and what do you hope to do in the future? I never planned to be a coaching lifer and move my kids all over the country. I met with some human resources people to get their insight and they said that my coaching background would help me in HR. I worked for Lockheed in Orlando and then moved to Tupperware before ending up at Disney.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? It depends on who is remembering! In terms of teammates/coaches associated with the game I just want them to say that I played hard and made Maryland proud and represented the school well both academically/socially. They gave me a scholarship and I gave them my commitment. I want to be remembered for more than just basketball and helping to pave the way for other kids who looked like me. As far as my grandson, I hope he remembers me as Superman and the best player ever! Maryland nominated me for the Legends Hall of Fame, which was a great honor. We are so statistically-based these days so only the record-breakers get the attention, but the guys who play hard and filled their roles are also a big part of the team. To be called a competitor is all that I want.
