How former Maryland assistants fared in year one as head coaches

Head coach Kevin Willard has another vacancy on his coaching staff after Mike Jones was named the next head coach at Old Dominion, giving him a chance to return once again to his alma mater. While Willard works to finalize his next hire, how did the other former Maryland assistants fare in their first seasons as head coaches? We take a look.

Tony Skinn: George Mason

19-11

Skinn has been able to put together an impressive year one at his alma mater. George Mason will close out the regular season against Richmond on Saturday afternoon, but they enter the weekend 13-3 at home this season. The highlight came two weeks ago when Mason picked up a four-point win over a ranked Dayton squad, marking the highest regular season win in school history. Dayton also became the highest-ranked team to lose to George Mason since the Elite Eight matchup vs. UConn in 2006—Skinn’s final season as a player with the Patriots. In a game of former Maryland assistants squaring off, it was Mason who defeated NJIT, 86-68, back on Nov. 29. George Mason enters Saturday’s regular-season finale eighth in the A-10 standings.

Grant Billmeier: NJIT

7-21

Billmeier and his team were humbled in their first two tests of the season after falling by 41 points at Miami (FL) then 28 vs. Saint Peter’s at home. NJIT was able to pick up its first win vs. Delaware State back on Nov. 20 in a nine-point win, but it was a tough season in Newark. After opening the new year on a six-game losing streak, NJIT showed signs of a turnaround after defeating UMBC on the road in what would be their first of three wins in their next four games. But it hasn’t gone much better since then as NJIT ended the regular season on another six-game losing streak.

Tevon Saddler: Nicholls

18-13

An impressive year one for Tevon Saddler after guiding Nicholls to a 18-13 finish in the regular season, and it was a season that opened with a bang. After a season-opening loss at Tulane, Nicholls went down to the Bayou to hand LSU a two-point defeat, giving Saddler his first career win as a head coach. Nearly three weeks later, Nicholls picked up its sixth loss of the season after Baylor dominated in a 108-70 finish. Nicholls gave Maryland a scare on the road before the Terps pulled out a 73-67 win in College Park back on Dec. 19, but they’ve hit their stride into the new year. Since Jan. 1, Nicholls is 13-5 and has won five of their last six games heading into the Southland Conference Tournament as a three-seed.

Now just 29 years old, Saddler became the youngest head coach in D1 basketball after his lone season at Maryland as the director of basketball operations.

“I took the interview (at Nicholls State) thinking I was going to get the job,” Saddler said in a recent interview. “I didn’t know that (Athletic Director Jonathan Terrell) would hire me the day after I left. But I knew I had a chance. I’m not a dude that gets nervous but it was a lot. It was my first time going through the interview process.”

Mike Jones: Old Dominion

7-25

Note: Jones will become a first year head coach in 2024-25 as we take a look at how ODU fared this season.

Jones will get a chance to start fresh at his alma mater now that ODU’s season is officially over. The Monarchs fell to Texas State, 92-83, in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament. Old Dominion lost six of its last seven games in the 2023-24 in a difficult season for the program after former head coach Jeff Jones placed on medical leave. He’ll have his hands full, but after stints as an assistant at both Maryland and Virginia Tech, Jones gets a chance to run his own program once again.

“I am out recruiting. I am preparing for what is going to be a crazy transfer portal season and I am respecting the current staff, so I’m not doing anything with [the] staff until their season ends and I’m able to have a conversation with the men that have led that team this year. And I believe I owe them that much,” Jones said on the Junkies. “Obviously, there’s going to be some things that are going to have to change, but I do owe that to that staff because it’s been a tough season on them. It’s been a tough season on those young men and I believe that’s the least I can do. The benefit of the timing of this is I didn’t get hired on March 16th with the portal opening in two days. We do have a little time, but I don’t have much time.”

How former Maryland assistants fared in year one as head coaches

Ahmed Ghafir