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Mike Jones, an 11-year veteran of college coaching
and a former teammate of Dennis Felton's at Howard
University, is in his third season with the Georgia
program, having joined the Bulldogs' coaching staff
as an assistant coach in May of 2003.
It hasn't taken long for Jones to make his mark on
the recruiting trail. His tireless efforts and
perseverance have paid dividends in the signing of
several highly-regarded prospects. Rivals.com, an
Internet-based authority on college basketball
recruiting, included Jones last June on its list of
the nation's top 25 recruiters.
For Jones, 40, Georgia is his fifth Division I
school. He came to Athens after one season at West
Virginia, where he had moved with first-year coach
John Beilein. The two had served the previous two
seasons together at the University of Richmond,
where the Spiders made consecutive appearances in
the National Invitation Tournament.
Jones' other two prior collegiate coaching stops
included his alma mater, Howard, from 1994-97 and
Furman University from 1997-2000.
The Silver Spring, Md., native was a four-year
starter at Howard, where he earned a degree in
zoology in 1990. The 1985-86 Bison squad enjoyed the
nation's longest winning streak during the season.
Before matriculating to Howard, he was an All-Metro
guard at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville,
Md.
After his collegiate career Jones played in a summer
professional league in California and earned a
tryout with the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He began
coaching in 1990 as the junior varsity head coach
and assistant varsity coach at Sidwell Friends
School in Washington, D.C.
Jones is married to the former Sharon Blackwell of
Brookline, Mass. They have two sons: Nate, 8, and
four-year-old Miles. |
