Stan
Jones has been an Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach at
Florida State University since 2002. In that short time he
has been able to bring FSU basketball from an afterthought
to the forefront of the ACC. With Jones on Florida State's
bench the Seminoles have averaged almost 18 wins per
season and they have advanced to the NIT in four of his
six seasons in Tallahassee. The Seminoles have won at
least 19 games in four of his six seasons. In his six
years at Florida State, Jones has brought 13 National Top
100 recruits to Florida State and four players who were
selected in the NBA Draft. He has coached two of the three
All-ACC First-Team selections in FSU history: Tim Pickett
and Al Thornton. Florida State's 2008 recruiting class is
one of the top 10 classes in the nation and will be the
cornerstone of the Seminoles' program for the next few
years.
He has been a successful coach at the highest levels of
basketball for more than 20 years and is one of the top
bench coaches and recruiters in college basketball. Jones
has been consistently recognized as one of the top coaches
in all of college basketball throughout his career.
FoxSports.com named him one of the top 20 assistant
basketball coaches in the country in 2008. He was also
recognized by his peers as one of the nation's top coaches
in 2004 by Rivals.com.
With all of Florida State’s recent success on the court,
the 2008-2009 season might actually be the Seminoles’ best
yet. The Seminoles have opened the season with a 15-4
record. Along the way they have defeated the likes of
Florida, California, Cincinnati, North Carolina State and
Maryland. Their four losses have come at the hands of top
teams in Duke, Pitt, Northwestern, and Miami. This year’s
team is being led by a strong performance from Senior
Guard Toney Douglas. He is averaging 18.9 points per game
and 2.1 steals per game. Although FSU is a young team,
they have sought leadership from Douglas and a strong
effort from Freshman top recruit Chris Singleton who was a
McDonald’s All-American recruited by Jones.
If there’s one area where Stan Jones excels, it’s his
ability to adapt. Coach Jones definitely prefers an
up-tempo style of play. He believes it’s what the fans
want to see and how the players want to play. More
importantly, however, he believes in building an offense
around a team’s strengths and creating an offensive style
around those strengths. FSU’s offensive tempo has been a
bit slower so far this season while the young squad
continues to figure things out.
They’re still adapting to moving off the ball and
understanding their offensive sets, but as the season
progresses the offense is slowly beginning to come
together. With Singleton and Douglas opening things up on
the wing with their perimeter play and shooting abilities,
Florida State’s big men have started to see more touches
in the paint. Hamilton, a former NBA coach, has grown
accustom to a “Motion Offense,” in which his players are
allotted the freedom on the offensive end to create what
the defensive gives them. And while this unrestrictive
play has its strengths, Coach Hamilton and Coach Jones
know it is their play on the opposite end that wins
basketball games. Stan Jones spends a lot of practice time
teaching Florida State’s defensive philosophy: swarming
offensive opponents, creating turnovers, rushing the
passing lanes, and help-side defense. With solid coaching
from Head Coach Leonard Hamilton and his 2nd in command in
Stan Jones, the Seminoles are poised to make a run in the
NCAA tournament this season.
In his 12 years as a coach at the collegiate level, Jones
has helped nine different teams into postseason play
including four into the NCAA Tournament. He has also
recruited and coached nine different NBA Draft selections
including three first round picks. Florida State has
earned 11 wins over nationally ranked teams in Jones's
tenure at Florida State. It is no coincidence that Florida
State has vastly improved their play in the last six
seasons. Jones's arrival and tireless recruiting efforts
for the Seminole basketball program have made them a
legitimate threat. His recruiting knowledge and efforts
have helped attract the nation's top talent to play for
the Seminoles.
Stan has certainly been paying his dues over the last two
decades. His coaching abilities are proven, but he has
also proven his ability to attract elite players from all
over the nation. Coach Jones is a hot commodity and well
on his way to being at the helm of a D-I program. It is
only a matter of time before he gets his opportunity.
Stan
Jones has been an Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach at
Florida State University since 2002. In that short time he
has been able to bring FSU basketball from an afterthought
to the forefront of the ACC. With Jones on Florida State's
bench the Seminoles have averaged almost 18 wins per
season and they have advanced to the NIT in four of his
six seasons in Tallahassee. The Seminoles have won at
least 19 games in four of his six seasons. In his six
years at Florida State, Jones has brought 13 National Top
100 recruits to Florida State and four players who were
selected in the NBA Draft. He has coached two of the three
All-ACC First-Team selections in FSU history: Tim Pickett
and Al Thornton. Florida State's 2008 recruiting class is
one of the top 10 classes in the nation and will be the
cornerstone of the Seminoles' program for the next few
years. 
