“This is something that you can’t really dream of. It’s just that big, in my opinion,” Jones mentioned. “I’m so looking forward to the opportunity.”
In 5 seasons as the top coach in Alexandria, the 47-year previous Jones led St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes to a few Interstate Athletic Conference titles and propelled the Saints to a brand new degree of native recognition.
“I’m proud of the culture that was built there by my coaching staff and I,” Jones mentioned. “We had 100 percent buy-in from the parents and the administrators. We tried to bring in guys that were great for the community, and I felt we were able to do that … Every day we tried to show up and work extremely hard to let the boys know that we love them and that we believe in them.”
The choice might come as a shock to those that anticipated the Stags to rent a DeMatha alum or former assistant. After Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten made DeMatha a family title throughout a dominant 46-year profession, the Hyattsville college has boasted an completed and proud community of basketball minds.
“My attitude has always been to control what I can control,” Jones mentioned. “I wanted to go in there and be myself, and if they liked me they liked me.”
Bishop O’Connell Coach Joe Wootten, Morgan’s son and a former Stags assistant, was amongst these interviewed for the place, in line with sources near the search.
The hiring marks the top of an prolonged interval of uncertainty inside the esteemed program, one which started final spring when Mike Jones left after 19 years to turn out to be the highest assistant for the Hokies. The college named Pete Strickland, a former school coach and Stags alum, the interim coach for this previous season.
That transfer was met with some public frustration, as mother and father and alumni questioned the varsity’s decision-making and hiring course of. Despite this and some different early stumbles, the Stags completed 21-7 underneath Strickland, ending their season with a championship victory on the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational in March.
All the whereas, the DeMatha administration reiterated its want to have a full hiring course of to search out Jones’s full-time successor. In late January, the varsity introduced that the seek for a brand new coach had formally begun. It ended greater than two months later with the choice of Jones.
“We are grateful to Pete Strickland for stepping up and leading the team this past year and we are thrilled to welcome Coach Jones to DeMatha. His experience, reputation and ability to find the best in players both as individuals and athletes are very consistent with our DeMatha philosophy of academics and athletics,” Father James Day, DeMatha’s president, mentioned in a news launch.
Before St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, Jones coached at Perry Street Prep within the District earlier than working within the video division for the Brooklyn Nets for 2 years. He was a standout basketball participant at TCU and performed for 11 years abroad.
As a coach at St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, Jones mentioned he loved enjoying within the annual summer time league at DeMatha and seeing the photographs of all of the well-known basketball alumni that lined the halls close to the health club. Now, he has been handed a chance to search out and lead the next crop of well-known Stags.
“The tradition, the history, the players, the league — I’m so excited at this wonderful opportunity to put together something special there,” Jones mentioned.