Derrick Jones enters his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs as the longtime Louisiana native brings a wealth of knowledge of the game from his collegiate playing and coaching experience as well as a keen understanding of the recruiting landscape in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and other areas of the southern states.
Jones is primarily responsible for coaching the forwards and centers which includes a two-time WAC All-Defensive team member in Michale Kyser.
Jones was an integral part in the Bulldogs historic 2012-13 season which concluded with a 27-7 overall record, the second most wins in the program's 86-year history, and a 16-2 mark in conference that earned the 'Dogs their first ever WAC regular season championship.
The year featured a program record 18-game winning streak, the school's first AP Top 25 ranking in 28 years and a berth into the National Invation Tournament (NIT) where the 'Dogs advanced to the second round.
This solid foundation was laid a year earlier during Jones' first year on head coach Michael White's staff when he worked closely with senior Romario Souza who often times was the only forward on the court. Souza drastically improved his game throughout the year and would go on to start the last 10 games for the Bulldogs, averaging 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in those contests.
Souza's emergence down the stretch helped lead the Bulldogs to wins in five of their last six regular season games and an appearance in the program's first ever WAC Tournament final after upsetting Utah State and Nevada in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
After coming up just 40 minutes short of making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the program's first time since 1991, the Bulldogs ended with an overall record of 18-16, a six-win improvement from the year before.
During his first year at Louisiana Tech while on Kerry Rupp's staff, Jones worked closely with the Bulldog post players, including highly-regarded forward Olu Ashaolu who was one of the WAC leaders in double-doubles.
Jones came to Ruston with an impressive resume as he spent two seasons at the University of New Orleans where he was heavily involved in recruiting, player evaluation, academics and on-court preparation for the Privateers.
Prior to UNO, Jones spent three years as an assistant coach at Samford from 2005-08 working for coach Jimmy Tillette who is the program's all-time leader in wins with over 200. During his first year with the Bulldogs, Jones helped lead Samford to a 20-win season, including wins over perennial postseason teams in Southern Miss and Murray State.
Jones started his coaching career on the high school level where he served as an assistant coach at John Ehret High School in Marrero, La. from 2003-05. After a 13-14 finish in his first year at the school, Jones helped coach the team to a 27-3 mark and a No. 2 ranking in Class 5A the following season.
Jones also has coaching experience on the AAU level as he was the head coach for the Panther Select AAU 17U team while also assisting with the 14U team. Jones worked with a number of Division I players, including Greg Monroe (Georgetown), Brandon Moore (FIU), Charles Carmouche (Memphis), Eddie Ludwig (LSU) and more. Monroe is now a star post player in the NBA.
After prepping as a player at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge where he helped lead the team to the 1995 Louisiana Class 5A state title game as a junior, Jones signed with Mississippi State where he started 12 games and led all Bulldog freshmen in scoring. Following his sophomore season in Starkville, he transferred to Samford where he led the program to an NCAA Tournament appearance as a junior. He averaged 13.8 points and earned all-conference accolades his senior season.
Jones earned his bachelor's degree in business management from Samford. He and is whife, Tiffany, have one son, Nico.
