Joe Jones (basketball) facts for kids
![]() Jones in 2025
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Current position | |
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Title | Head coach |
Team | Boston University |
Conference | Patriot League |
Record | 234–207 (.531) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Ronkonkoma, New York, U.S. |
November 9, 1965
Playing career | |
1983–1987 | Oswego |
Position(s) | Point guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1994–1997 | Hofstra (assistant) |
1997–2003 | Villanova (assistant) |
2003–2010 | Columbia |
2010–2011 | Boston College (assistant) |
2011–present | Boston University |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 320–315 |
Tournaments | 0–1 (NIT) 1–2 (CIT) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Patriot League regular season (2014) Patriot League tournament (2020) |
Joseph Fernal Jones, born on November 9, 1965, is a well-known basketball coach. He is currently the head coach for the men's basketball team at Boston University. Before this, he coached at Columbia University and was an assistant coach at other big schools like Hofstra University, Villanova University, and Boston College.
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Early Life and Playing Basketball
Joe Jones grew up in Ronkonkoma, New York. He finished high school in Dix Hills, New York in 1983. He then went to SUNY Oswego. There, he played basketball for four years as a Point guard. He earned two degrees from SUNY Oswego. Joe is still one of the top players in his school's history for assists and steals.
Joe Jones' Coaching Journey
Joe Jones started his coaching career at a middle school on Long Island. He coached the boys' basketball team there. Later, he became the head coach for the high school team for two years.
Assistant Coach Roles
In 1994, Joe joined Jay Wright's coaching team at Hofstra University. Three years later, he moved to Villanova University to work as an assistant coach for Steve Lappas. When Jay Wright took over as head coach at Villanova in 2001, Joe stayed on the team. His job involved finding new players, planning for games, and teaching players on the court.
Leading the Columbia Lions
After the 2002–03 season, Joe Jones became the head coach at Columbia University. The team had a tough season before he arrived. In his first year, the Lions showed great improvement. They had one of the best turnarounds in their league's history. By the 2006–07 season, Joe led the Lions to their best record in many years. He coached at Columbia for seven seasons.
Coaching at Boston University
After leaving Columbia, Joe Jones spent one season as an associate head coach at Boston College. Then, in 2011, he accepted the head coaching job at Boston University.
Before his second season at Boston University, the school decided to move to a new league, the Patriot League. Because of this move, Boston University's teams were not allowed to play in their old league's postseason games for one season. Even so, Joe led the Terriers to their first postseason tournament under his coaching.
In 2020, Joe Jones achieved a big goal. His Boston University team won the championship game of the Patriot League tournament. This win would have sent them to the big NCAA tournament for the first time with him as coach. However, the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Family and Other Interests
Joe Jones has a brother named James. James is also a head men's basketball coach, leading the team at Yale University. Joe has also shared his basketball knowledge as a commentator for online halftime shows during the NCAA tournaments in 2008 and 2009.