Kevin Jones enters his third season as an assistant coach on the Norfolk State men’s basketball staff in 2017-18 after helping lead NSU to a pair of second-place finishes in the MEAC during his first two years with the program.
Norfolk State has posted identical 17-17 overall and 12-4 conference records each of the last two seasons. The Spartans finished second in the regular season standings both times, and in 2017 they advanced to the MEAC Championship title game for the third time ever.
NSU tallied its sixth straight .500 or better record in 2016-17 in Jones’ second year with the program, while also competing in the postseason for the sixth straight time. After taking part in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2017, NSU is now the only program in the MEAC to compete in the postseason each of the last six years.
The Spartans had a pair of first-team All-MEAC performers during Jones’ two years with the program. Guards Jeff Short and Jonathan Wade earned the distinction in 2016 and ’17, respectively. Guard Zaynah Robinson was a second-team honoree in 2017, while the year before forward Alex Long was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team.
In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Jones’s other duties include organizing the team’s workout and practice schedules, serving as the program’s liaison for the athletics academic department and NSU Housing & Residence Life, handling community outreach initiatives, and helping run the program’s summer camps.
A native of Baltimore, Jones spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach at Coppin State before coming to Norfolk State. At CSU, he helped lead an Eagle team that averaged better than 71 points per game and paced the league in scoring. CSU also ranked first in the conference and seventh in the nation with 9.5 3-point field goals per game, as well as third in the MEAC in 3-point field goal percentage.
Prior to his time at Coppin State, Jones spent two seasons as an assistant varsity coach at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. During his first year with the program, St. Frances went 30-4 during the regular season and reached as high as No. 18 in the ESPN national rankings and No. 1 in the state of Maryland. He also served as the assistant athletic director during his time there.
Jones coached at the AAU level for six years from 2009-14. He also worked as the assistant director of intramural recreation and sports at his alma mater Bowie State from 2004-06 and spent two and a half seasons as the student coordinator for the men’s basketball team from 2003-05. The Bulldogs reached No. 1 in the NCAA Division II rankings during his time with the program.
Jones graduated in spring of 2011 with a bachelor’s in sociology from Bowie State.
