Joe Jones, the associate head coach of the Boston College men's basketball team, has been hired to be Boston University's new head coach, according to multiple outlets after it was first reported by Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com.
"We are thrilled to have Joe Jones take over the reins of a BU basketball program that is on the rise," BU athletic director Mike Lynch said in a statement. "Joe comes with impressive credentials and past head coaching experience that will help take the program to the next level."
Jones just finished his first year at BC under new Eagles head coach Steve Donahue, but was previously the head coach at Columbia University for seven years where he compiled a 86-108 record with no Ivy League championships. However, Jones' final graduating class at Columbia totaled 26 Ivy League wins, the most conference wins for any Lions graduating class since 1994. Jones voluntarily left for the position in Chestnut Hill in 2010.
He also served under Jay Wright as an assistant coach at Hofstra University (1994-97) and Villanova University (2001-03), while also working as an assistant at Villanova from 1997-01 under then-Wildcats head coach Steve Lappas. In 1999, Jones was named one of the nation's top recruiters by the magazine Eastern Basketball and was a member of the staff that helped bring in heralded recruits like Allan Ray, Randy Foye and Curtis Sumpter, a nucleus that helped lead Villanova to a No. 1 seed and an Elite Eight appearance in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
A press conference is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. at Agganis Arena to unveil Jones as BU's next head coach.
The news comes approximately three weeks after Patrick Chambers left BU to be the head coach at Penn State University, and just one day after Chambers said BU interim head coach Brian Daly would interview for the position today.
The Indianapolis Star also reported that Butler University assistant coach Matthew Graves was a finalist for the position with the Terriers.
Below is a link to the press release on the BU athletics website, complete with quotes from Jones, Lynch and BU president Robert Brown:
http://www.goterriers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062311aaa.html
6 comments:
No problem with this hire. I am blocking out the last year while he was at BC. I figure one year there shouldn't totally ruin him as a human being.
They say he's a good recruiter...let's see how he does right off the bat with DJ.
btw, whats the next steps for john holland...europe? or go undrafted...d-league?
I'm not excited by this appointment. It appears his best credential was being from Jay Wright's coaching tree, as was Patrick Chambers. Jones' time at BC doesn't bother me, but his tenure at Columbia does. Only Penn offers more 'academic reaches' for basketball recruits in the Ivy League than Columbia, and Jones was unsuccessful there. He also had long enough to place his stamp on that program.
Hopefully Jones learned some valuable lessons at Columbia. But this is certainly not a hire to be excited about, at least initially. If the current players/recruits stay at BU, he plays an up-tempo style and challenges for the top of a weak AE conference, then it will work. Anything less will end up a disappointment.
A few things regarding Jones:
- He was there seven years and went 86-108. In the seven years prior to his arrival, Columbia went 65-123, including a 2-25 season right before Jones got there. It's a tough place to win, especially considering it's not as lenient with athlete admissions as Penn, Princeton and now Harvard.
- He promises to play an 'up-tempo' style, but his teams weren't particularly high scoring at Columbia. Nobody, not even Bo Ryan or Brad Stevens, would boast about playing a slow style of basketball. Almost any coach will promise to play an exciting brand of ball, even if they don't. Chambers said similar things and his teams regularly scored less than 60 points even in wins.
- From what I've heard, players have been receptive to the hire thus far.
Also, thanks for the comments and conversation everyone. We'll keep you updated as news comes in, especially with the presser on Monday.
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