Summer School Coaches Tour: Old Dominion Head Coach, Mike Jones

the college basketball experience summer coaches tour for the Old Dominion monarchs head coach Mike Jones edition of the sports cic podcast network is brought to you by Underdog fantasy use that promo code T cgpn to score up to $11,000 bonus in cash Underdog fantasy promo code TC gpn and we're also brought to you by Rhythm get your s-day free trial today by going over to sports gambling podcast.com rthm that is the sports gambling podcast.com r i t hmm today [Music] and welcome everybody into the college basketball experience summer coaches tour I know we're getting closer to fall Labor Day on Horizon football season is here which means basketball is right around the corner uh special guest on the show today Co the new head coach of the Old Dominion monarchs right down the road for myself uh in in Virginia Beach uh coach Mike Jones takes over the program and when we talked about it broke down The Hires from this last coaching care sale this is one I really liked uh he played there he knows the tradition there this is a winning program year in and year out um and he's going to do a great job and he's going to talk about the vision of his program different stops his days at D Matha uh and we'll get right to that here in a minute but first off I am money L Mack aka the former former video coordinator for Bob Huggins and Frank Martin [Music] cheers everybody hope everybody's having a great Monday and uh yeah Ma tonight over here at the college basketball experience uh we'll get right to it but we got to pay the bills on the front side because over here at the college basketball experience we're brought to you by Underdog fantasy right there promo code TC gpn to claim your special pick and first time deposit offer up to $1,000 bonus and cash it's football season Underdog fantasy promo code TC gpn all right let's get right to it the head coach of the Old Dominion monarchs head coach Mike Jones and we continue our summer coaches Tour on the college basketball experience with the head coach of the Old Dominion monarchs coach Mike Jones coach how are you doing I'm I'm doing great Ryan how are you I'm doing great and uh welcome back home you returned to your Alum mod for your first season just talk about how crazy the first four months have been getting back to your Alma Moder um it crazy just in a sense of busy but uh it's been a blessing um you know every day it feels like there's a list of tasks to get done and we make sure we complete all of them before we get out of here for the day but uh in the in the grand scheme of things U I think everybody is just excited uh for November to get here um so we can actually put a product on the floor so um very excited happy to be home and uh can't wait to get going absolutely November is coming very quickly um so I I do this with every coach I always talk about their playing career or if they came from the manager ranks you're easy because you played at where you're coaching ODU from 91 to 95 just talk about your playing career um obviously we can sense it in your voice how special that place is you got you're part of the team that beat Villanova in the NCAA tournament but just your memories and and also when you knew you wanted to get into the coaching industry so I'll answer that part first um I knew once I stopped playing that I wanted to coach I knew that at a pretty young age um I just thought I'd be playing 15 years in the NBA first uh yeah obviously that didn't happen um I did play a little bit I played uh I signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers in Fall of 95 uh didn't make it played overseas came back tried out again didn't make it went back overseas and uh uh had a a good career uh playing in Europe and then um got into coaching uh got hurt my last season in uh Portugal uh came back played a little bit uh in the IBA in North Dakota went to Hong Kong uh that summer and my injury just wasn't right and uh uh it was it it we made a decision to you know what this isn't going to be something that's goingon to be prolonged so uh got into coaching so um my four years here uh and the one thing that I'm going to try to draw on as much as I possibly can with the rest of the staff is you know we were used to going to the postseason every year um you know four years here two NCAA tournaments two nits uh you know all but one of those uh postseason runs we won a game uh except for my freshman year we lost to Kentucky uh in the first round of the tournament the same Kentucky team that Christian lner beat on that shot uh in the Elite 8 so um but I'm I'm used to wearing a ODU Jersey being on the ODU sideline and having success so uh we're trying like hell to to build that um that is what we know um and and that's what we're trying to do yeah and I'm a I'm a Virginia guy um so I I know ODU as a winning program like you talked about so I'm looking forward to seeing you get this thing back on track and in the right direction but they always say you don't want to follow the legend well you definitely followed the legend at D MAA uh you worked for Coach wooden for a couple years and then you took over just talk about the four years that you work for him um and then just the transition and leading that historic uh damata program for almost two decades oh it it was a blessing uh being able to play for coach was a blessing in and of itself um he taught the game and the game of life so well and they like they went together so well I mean he was he was a teacher at heart I mean he's a world history teacher and he took very much a lot of pride in that so uh him going into you know what we his court was his classroom um and him him teaching us me having the opportunity to play for him was was unbelievable and affected me in so many different ways not just basketball wise uh and then having the privilege to be able to come back and Coach with him so you know being player coach getting that Dynamic but then assistant coach to head coach and literally soaking up just as much as I possibly could on a daily basis I just think back there so many dinners and meetings and things like that I would have that I literally would sit there for a couple hours and not speak just listen and just try to just soak up all the knowledge that he had but then his communication with his friends you know um you know red rback and Coach Wen would have lunch every Tuesday uh uh uh at a DC restaurant uh just being able to be around things like that was just unbelievable so um I I could not have had a better Mentor um and then uh right place right time when he retired um I had worked for him for four years and me and a couple of other coaches we were trusted with continuing a legacy that he had built so strongly and uh it wasn't easy at first but we kind of got our feet under us andh the rest is history as I say oh absolutely and you guys had so much success there in the wcac the best conference in America for high school basketball so let me ask you you were you were on the other side where everybody wanted wanted to recruit your players because you were at tataa so you guys had had some dudes now you go to the other side Virginia Tech Maryland before coming back home to ODU just talk about that kind of transition over to being in the ACC the Big 10 for a couple years and just uh being on the other side of it yes definitely different uh you know guys that you know would call you two three times a day and definitely call you you know quite a few times times during the week and if they ever saw you out somewhere big hugs and you know when you had players that that's kind of divide like you know you walk in the room and you got everybody's attention uh when I went over to the college side you know some of that changed for some so um it was interesting I say to just watch how the dynamic between my relationship with some college coaches uh shifted immediately and understandable um now we're competing for the same players so that Vibe is different but I have definitely uh embrace the relationships that I've had with people that I call true friends um in the business that have helped me along the way and uh I always wanted the opportunity to come back and be the head coach at ODU and the last three seasons my two at uh Virginia Tech and my one at Maryland uh were all intentional and definitely preparing me for um and I could not have had two better bosses to work for in Mike young and Kevin Willard and uh learned so much from both of those uh coaches and uh again like I said I'm just excited to be here and ready to get going absolutely and so take take me back to that process you get you get the job I I think what early April um I'm sure the process was late March what was the process like once the job opened I know coach Jones stepped down um and and trying to get this job to come back to your Alma Moder so strangely enough I got hired March 1 so o Dominion season was not over yet um uh uh Maryland season was not over yet so it was it was unique um from my understanding like that doesn't happen um I remember we played on a I'm going to say it was a Saturday or a Sunday at Ruckers uh I think it was a Sunday we played on Sunday at Ruckers um and literally I had driven up because I had gone to the wcac uh quarterfinals on Saturday night um uh to recruit um so I'm recruiting there for Maryland uh the bus we practice the bus goes up um and then I am going to the quarters so I watch all four games and then I get in my car and I drive up uh meet the team had pregame meal with them Saturday uh we go excuse me Sunday we go to the game and then after the game they get on the bus and I get in my car to drive back and as soon as I sat in the driver seat of my car my phone starts blowing up with people telling me that there's rumors about Jeff Jones retiring um and like it was kind of eerie because I wasn't on the bus so I actually could answer the calls and actually have real conversations uh in the you know three-hour ride back home so um I got a heads up the day before and then obviously the the press conference was the very next day Monday and some point in time on Monday I got a call saying hey uh would you be interested interviewing for the job and of course I said yes so my interview was Tuesday um we have a game at Marland on Wednesday uh I can't remember who we played maybe Northwestern or somebody I can't remember exactly who but um we're to play on Wednesday uh I am preparing for Wednesday's game I get a call from the search firm that's running the search asking for a second interview like literally right after we left shoot around for our game Wednesday coaching the game Wednesday night and my followup Zoom was uh Zoom interview was Thursday morning and Thursday morning after uh a lengthy conversation I get offered the job um so I accepted and I immediately start scrambling on okay like how is this going to work uh press conference was Friday so uh I so if we go back so the 29th is when I of of of February I get hired the 29th and the 27th where the two days I interviewed and the press conference is at 10:30 a.m. I think on March 1st so and we had a game the next day uh for the University of Maryland so I drove back um met with Coach will Willard and uh you know thank God for him and his grace and his understanding the situation um agreed to go ahead and let me let me go then uh I did want to finish the season with Maryland because I did want to finish what I started uh with them um but it was mutually agreed that it will be best that I get going um because I did have the advantage of a little bit of a head start on all the other coaches that would be starting their job so um I was very thankful for that that's great especially to hear from coach Willard um coach let me ask you this you've you like we we've talked about you've been on both sides of it you coach High School you're different you're dealing with different personalities a different Dynamic they're trying to get to the next level I guess you could say the same thing with college to the NBA how have you changed and evolved as a coach over the last 20 years so pretty cool uh couple weeks ago jiren Grant who played for me at the MAA uh got married and uh invited to his wedding my wife and I went out to his wedding and at his wedding it was almost like a reunion that's so many players that play for me um that are still so close to this day I'm so proud of that but uh literally the conversation kind of morphed into the coach I am now versus the coach I was when I coached them and it was very humbling but very interesting to hear their explanation of me through their careers uh at the math so um I definitely think I'm a much better coach now uh I I think I understand relationships a lot better than I did early on um you know even though coach Boon taught us not to do this I was so like locked into how are we going to win how are we going to win how are we going went um that early in my career I think I lost the purpose in being a basketball coach and working with young people and through a lot of different things my players being one of them their families being a huge part of it I was led back to what this is supposed to be about and I think I have evolved into a coach that truly values genuine relationships with his players and I surround myself with coaches that have that same vision so um I definitely think that's the biggest thing I I recognize that uh you know being a faithfield person that I am those relationships are what the job is winning and losing yes you're going to be measured by that understand it um but you have a better chance to win when you guys all pulling in the same direction no matter what no doubt and and Coach let me ask you you mentioned your staff what did you this is your inaugural staff at ODU what did how did you go about hiring your staff what what were some of the things you valued in in bringing in your inaugural staff well just to be clear like I I've been thinking about this forever so the people that I brought on uh are people that first of all I trust and that is the most important thing um but people that I've been talking about doing this with whenever this opportunity came uh unfortunately for however you want to look at it like I've been having conversations with you know probably a dozen people knowing that I couldn't hire a dozen people um but so there's a couple people that um I was looking forward to coaching with that it just didn't work out for them to be with me at least not initially so uh but the guys that are here with me um I knew all of them for a good period of time before hiring except for one um and that one is probably I I should not have been able to hire him he was an associate head coach at a division one school before we hired him and uh he agreed to join our staff here um as our operations person and he's been wonderful that's Matt Hamilton um and then everybody else on staff I had a prior relationship with so I've surrounded myself with people that I can trust people that share the same vision I have um and I guess most importantly our extremely talented coach absolutely and it's uh I'm sure uh your phone was was ringing nonstop because everybody wants to be friends with uh with the new head coach and wants a job so kind of kind of flash back to your damaad days a little bit but coach I think you're the perfect guy to answer this what makes the Old Dominion job a special job oh I I definitely think I'm the perfect person to answer that because uh you know in my career again it was always a goal to get this job not just to be a college coach not just to be a college head coach not just to be a division one college head coach but I wanted to be the head coach at Old Dominion University um if you're going to talk about this job at the top of the list is our fan base uh we are in a community that loves us when lose a draw they love us obviously they love you a little bit more when you win um but we are I believe the stat says we are the largest city in America without a professional franchise uh at from the big four you know whether that be you know baseball basketball football or uh uh hockey I guess um we have a minor league hockey team here we have a minor league baseball team here but Old Dominion University is the team of norfor um and the the the community Embraces us uh so I think that is at the top of the list we have a very passionate fan base we've got incredible facilities uh we're geographically located where we have access to a tremendous amount of talent there's a great amount of talent here in the 757 area we're you know not too far from the state of North Carolina the hoop State uh we're not too far from Richmond Virginia and you know the middle of the state of Virginia where there's a ton of talent and then you know we're 2 hours and 45 minutes to 3 hours and 15 minutes from DC so we have a very great geographical footprint that we get to recruit from um and then we have an Administration that I have found to be incredibly easy to work for that again we're all like-minded we're all pulling in the same direction um if you just go through just the aspects of a job and what makes a job a good job we have that and then you throw into the fact that we we are a proud tradition of winning here um we we have won we've experienced it we've been to the tournament um may have been on rough times you know recently but you know this is a program that know what knows what that looks like um and then the fact that I wore that Jersey and I bleed this place um that's just you know kind of icing on the cake so perfect job and I'm so glad to be the head coach l absolutely and I'm excited for you one last question you taking a bunch of your time and I appreciate it um I always this more so open-ended year one of the Mike Jones era back at ODU what's your message for the Monarch fans coming into this season um well first and foremost have your rear ends in a seat on November 4th when we open up against Buffalo like that is that is going to be like a holiday um you know it's going to be coach hovic at at Buffalo U they're trying to build a program there we're trying to build our program here uh that will be our first measuring stick we're not playing any exhibition games so that will be the first time uh the public gets a chance to see old milon men's basketball the way it is uh going to go uh for years to come so that is the first message and then secondly stay with us come to that first game scream your head off you know will us to a victory and then come back um we are going to put a product on the floor and I've said this many times that I our fan base can be proud of that this University can be proud of uh we're going to get this place rocking we're going to have guys that are going to play professional basketball that is who we're recruiting but we're going to have great young men that come from great families uh that are going to be led by a group of people that truly live and breathe this thing so um show up November 4 and keep coming back is my message you got me fired up can't wait to get back to the 757 for a game this year coach uh thank you for stopping by the college basketball experience really happy for you to be back at your Alma monor best of luck in your first season and definitely look forward to having you back on yes sir appreciate you Ryan thanks jo head coach Mike Jones of the Old Dominion monarchs back at home uh it's going to do a great job there he's won wherever he's been uh obviously wanted to Matha uh one of the most wored programs high school programs in in all the country uh work for Coach wooden his mentor um and yeah he's gonna do a great job he played there uh in the 90s he was he they won an NCAA tournament he's used to winning there and he's got a bunch of ODU guys with him ready to get this program back to where it belongs and uh that's at the top of the Sun Belt so right man for the right job and looking forward to seeing him build his program up and uh can't wait for November 4th right around the corner when they out open up with Buffalo uh you heard him OD you fans get your get your butts in those seats so uh let's pay the bills on the way out because over here at the college basketball experience we're brought to you by Rhythm uh get your s-day free trial today by going over to sports gobling podcast.com Rhythm you can get your models created left and right over there college football's here the Monarch's open up I think in uh in uh Columbia they're at South Carolina this weekend so make sure you subscribe to the college football experience and uh that's Sports podcast.com rmn back over here at the college basketball experience want to thank Coach Jones for taking the time thank you ODU um I know I will be at a couple games like I said right down the road from Richmond Virginia Beach area norol can't wait they got the right man for the for the job and uh they will they'll get this program back to where belongs like I said at the top of the Sun Belt so um we continue our tour tomorrow and the rest of the week tomorrow we got I gotta look at the schedule uh coach naggie of the Southern Illinois Salukis Wednesday coach Ritter just taking the job over there at Mercer Billy Taylor at Elon coming on later this week and many more headed into the Labor Day weekend can't thank everybody enough make sure you uh are subscribed to all the channels over here at the college experience we all come together on youtube.com theol experience uh college football experience ODU fans go check out that we got your season preview over there college baseball experience odu's got a good team over there as well um and yeah make sure you're subscribe to all the channels and uh that's all I got on a Monday night November 4th is coming this has been another edition [Music] of M tonight signing off over here at the college B basketball experence can't wait for November November 4th can't talk and we are out of here oh [Music]