Maryland assistant Mike Jones was recognized at DeMatha Catholic High School on Sunday after naming the court the Michael K. Jones Court.
With several former players and local coaches in attendance, the longtime head coach was honored after leading the Stags to dominance for nearly two decades.
“I think the biggest thing for me is the name Jones. The one thing that will never, ever be able to be duplicated is the bar that coach [Morgan] Wooten set for us, our willingness to chase it knowing that we’d never catch it but to chase it, that gave us all the motivation we ever needed,” Jones said.
DeMatha named their basketball court after legendary coach, Mike Jones! @DeMathaCatholic @DeMathaHoops @Terp_CoachMJ @wusa9
Here's what Coach Jones and some of his former players had to say….. pic.twitter.com/cX66DUcSe8
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) August 13, 2023
Jones led DeMatha to dominance during his 19 years with the program, finishing 511-119 (.811) with a national title, nine WCAC regular season titles, eight WCAC Tournament championships along with four Maryland Private School Tournament championships. While DeMatha has produced NBA greats for decades including Adrian Dantley, Adrien Branch and Sidney Lowe, Jones coached six athletes who went on to play in the NBA including Jerami Grant and Victor Oladipo.
Maryland didn’t have much recruiting success out of DeMatha under Jones, but head coach Kevin Willard will look to change that tune. After Tony Skinn was announced as the next head coach at George Mason, Jones left Virginia Tech’s staff for Maryland in June to give head coach Kevin Willard his local recruiting ace. Jones also joins Jahmir Young, who coached him at DeMatha, in College Park this fall.
“Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, while having so many connections in the area that will help us in recruiting,” Willard said of Jones at the time of his hire. “His success at DeMatha as well as USA Basketball shows his ability to teach and develop young players. He is an outstanding mentor and connects with players in ways that positively impacts them on and off the court.”
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