Head coach Kevin Willard will now officially have at least one spot to fill on the coaching staff this offseason as assistant Mike Jones is expected to be named the next head coach at Old Dominion. Jones replaces Jeff Jones, who announced he would permanently step away from the program this past week after suffering a heart attack in the Diamond Head Classic back in December.
Jones has been a consistent candidate for the vacancy through February and drew buzz over the past week as the primary candidate for the role where the former DeMatha head coach now returns to his alma mater. Jones led the Monarchs to a pair of NCAA Tournaments during his time as a player as he now prepares for his first college head coaching job.
Jones, who reunited with his former DeMatha guard Jahmir Young in College Park, was also tasked with bolstering Maryland’s local recruiting efforts and led the way with both Matt Hodge, a Villanova signee, and Jaeden Mustaf, a Georgia Tech signee, in the 2024 cycle
Jones now leaves Maryland after just one season with the program, where he left Virginia Tech after two seasons as an assistant Tech, his first job in college basketball. Before joining the Hokies, Jones spent 19 seasons as the head coach at DeMatha where he posted a 511-119 (.811) record and won nine WCAC regular season titles, eight WCAC Tournament championships, four Maryland Private School Tournament championships. Jones also led DeMatha to a 2006 national title, along with spending time as an assistant with USA Basketball. Jones was named the USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year back in 2019 and helped lead America to a gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
Kevin Willard was tasked with replacing a pair of assistants last season after Tony Skinn and Grant Billmeier were named the head coach at George Mason and NJIT, while former director of player personnel Tevon Saddler is now in his first season as the Nicholls State head coach.
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