Jones to take over the Spartans men’s basketball program
GREENSBORO, N.C. (BVM) — After their season came to an end, the UNCG Spartans’ former head coach Wes Miller left for the Cincinnati Bearcats’ vacant position. Miller, who was with the program for 10 years, was due for a bigger job after putting Spartans basketball back on the map. He put together a 185-135 overall record and twice led the team to the NCAA Tournament.
Those 2017-18 and 2020-21 appearances were the first since the early 2000s when now-Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery was the face of the program. To continue trending in the right direction following the loss of Miller, UNCG has brought new head coach Mike Jones on board.
Jones spent the last 10 seasons at Radford University in Virginia where he also accumulated a winning record at an overall mark of 174-150. The Highlanders did make the NCAA Tournament once during his tenure, losing in the first round.
The former Howard Bison four-year player has been in the coaching business for over two decades, with Radford being his first head coaching gig. He had assistant stints at Furman, Richmond, West Virginia, Georgia and Virginia Commonwealth.
His resume includes two Big South Coach of the Year awards and the development of two standout players. One being Javonte Green who is a former Highlander and Boston Celtic, and the other being Carlik Jones who was first team All-ACC in his first year at Louisville since transferring from Radford.
The hiring seems right given his track record at Radford and the fact that it’ll make history. Jones will be the first ever black head coach for UNCG men’s basketball. UNCG joins Eastern Tennessee State University and Western Carolina as other SOCON schools to hire new men’s basketball head coaches this offseason.
