Mike Jones “Frequently Asked Questions” (October 27)

Mike Jones, UNCG Head Basketball Coach

Frequently Asked Questions

Mike Jones is the 10th head coach in UNCG men’s basketball history. He was hired on April 19, 2021.

Jones, who served as the head coach at Radford (Va.) University since 2011, has led his teams to Big South championships, the NCAA tournament, and has seen his players go on to success in the NBA. His mentors include George Felton at the University of Georgia and Shaka Smart at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Jones was named Big South Coach of the Year and NABC District 3 Coach of the Year (2017-18), after leading the Highlanders to a Big South championship and playing in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. For his success on the court and his high moral standing beyond it, he was also named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award following the 2018-19 season.

The 2018 and 2020 Big South Coach of the Year, Jones won 174 games as the head coach at Radford. Some of the notable victories included triumphs over Northwestern, Richmond, Notre Dame, and Texas. In his final two years on Smart’s staff at VCU, the Rams posted 55 wins, the highest of any two-year span in program history and advanced to the Final Four.

He led Radford to appearances in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Tournament in 2014 and 2015. The Highlanders won the 2019 and 2020 Big South regular season championships. Radford won at least 20 games under Jones in five different seasons.

Prior to VCU, Jones was on Dennis Felton’s staff at Georgia for six years. In 2008, Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs won four games in three days to win an SEC Championship.

A four-year standout at Howard University, Jones developed a lifetime friendship with fellow Howard alumnus George Felton (’85), who he calls the biggest influence on his coaching career. Jones’ father Jimmy was a star guard in the ABA from 1967-74 and signed with the Washington Bullets in the NBA in 1974, where he remained until 1977.

Jones is married to Dr. Sharon Blackwell Jones. He has two sons, both of whom played collegiately. His oldest son, Nate, played at Bucknell and his youngest son is a member of the Radford program.

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