RE: Poll: pick your top 3 hoops candidates
Not sure on how this will come out, please post bio:
UTsports.com 53
Associate Head Coach Tony Jones the staff
Tony Jones is in his sixth season as an associate
head coach at Tennessee and his 10th year on
Bruce Pearl's coaching staff.
Jones' responsibilities include recruiting,
scheduling and working with the Vols' perimeter
players. An instrumental force in landing some
of the influential players in his team's successes,
he has made in-roads to signing a number of the
top players in the nation. Three times during his
tenure at Tennessee, Jones helped the Vols sign
recruiting classes ranked among the top 10 in the
nation. Those classes have included the likes of
first-team All-SEC performer Wayne Chism and
McDonald's All-Americas Scotty Hopson and Tobias
Harris.
"Tony has prepared himself to be a head
coach," Pearl said. "His experience provides him
with a wealth of knowledge, and his ability to
communicate has made him an effective teacher."
With Jones helping to build its annual slate
of opponents, Tennessee's schedules have ranked
among the nation's toughest. The Vols have
faced—and beaten—many of the country's premier
programs, including teams such as Memphis,
Gonzaga, Texas, Ohio State and Kansas.
Along with such ambitious scheduling—Tennessee's
average year-end RPI over the last five
seasons is an SEC-best 12.4—comes prominent
national exposure, as UT has played 74 games on
national television over the past five years.
Jones came to Tennessee with 12 years of collegiate
coaching experience after spending four
seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
(UWM) as an associate head coach. Prior to joining
the UWM staff, Jones spent five seasons at
Toledo and three years at Buffalo.
In his 17 seasons of collegiate coaching, Jones
has helped direct his teams to 10 postseason tournament
bids, including seven NCAA Tournament
appearances the last eight years. Four times (2005,
2007, 2008 and 2010) in the past six years he has
coached teams appearing in the Sweet 16 of the
NCAA Tournament—and the Vols advanced to
the Elite Eight for the first time in program history
last season.
Tennessee has experienced unprecedented success
during the five years with Jones on the bench.
The Vols have averaged 25.2 wins during those
seasons and have won three SEC Eastern Division
championships. The 2008 team captured the
overall SEC title outright for the first time in 41
years, won a school record 31 games and earned
the first No. 1 ranking in school history.
Each of his five seasons at UT has resulted in
NCAA Tournament appearances, including three
trips to the Sweet 16. Two times the Vols have
received No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament—
the highest in school history.
After helping sign a class that was ranked sixth
nationally in 2006, Jones was named one of the
top recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com. In
2007, Rivals.com ranked Jones as one of the topfive
assistant coaches in the nation.
Jones got his first taste of coaching at his alma
mater, Detroit Southwestern High School, where
he served as an assistant varsity coach while also
serving as head junior varsity coach from 1986-
91. During this time he coached future NBA stars
Jalen Rose (Phoenix Suns), Howard Eisley
(Denver Nuggets) and Voshon Lenard (Portland
Trailblazers), leading them to the mythical
USA TODAY national title in 1991. He also
served as head coach of Team AAU Michigan for
three years (1991-93), posting a 35-1 record and
capturing two AAU state championships.
Jones was an All-City star at Southwestern and
went on to earn All-Conference honors at Fisk
University in Nashville. He earned a bachelor's
degree in health care administration from Concordia
(Mich.) University.Jones and his wife, Pam, have four children—
Tony II, Jamaal, Mercedes and Porscha. His
brother, Bill, played for the NBA's New Jersey
Nets.
(This post was last modified: 04-07-2011 10:19 AM by emu79.)
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Poll: pick your top 3 hoops candidates
