June 2, 2010

RUSTON - Louisiana Tech head coach Kerry Rupp completed his coaching staff this week announcing the addition of Louisiana native Derrick Jones to the Bulldog staff.

Jones, a native of Erwinville, will serve as an assistant coach for Rupp after the departure of former associate head coach Nikita Johnson following the season.

"Derrick has strong ties to the state of Louisiana and will be instrumental in helping us recruit the state and region," Rupp said. "His time as a high school, AAU and collegiate coach in the state will prove to be invaluable to our program as we move forward.

"He is a proven winner, and he will be a great mentor to our players. He is an outstanding family man, and we are very happy to have him and his wife Tiffany and son Nico as part of the Bulldog family."

Jones comes to the Bulldog program with plenty of Louisiana ties and an impressive resume as he spent the past two seasons on staff at the University of New Orleans where he was heavily involved in recruiting, player evaluation, academics and on-court preparation for the Privateers.

In addition to a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Samford, Jones served as the assistant coach at John Ehret High School in New Orleans from 2002 through 2005 where he helped lead the Patriots to a 27-4 record and a No. 2 ranking in the state his final season.

Jones signed out of high school at Mississippi State where he played for two years before transferring to Samford for his final two seasons. He helped lead the Samford Bulldogs to the 2000 NCAA Tournament and averaged 13.8 points per game as a senior in 2001.