Tony Jones Position: Associate Head Coach

Tony Jones is entering his fifth season as an associate head coach at Tennessee and his ninth on Bruce Pearl's coaching staff.

Jones' responsibilities include recruiting, scheduling and working with the Vols' perimeter players. An instrumental force in landing some of the influential players in his team's successes, he has made in-roads to signing a number of the top players in the nation. In two of his three seasons at Tennessee, Jones helped the Vols sign recruiting classes that have been ranked among the top 10 in the nation and have included the likes of All-SEC performer Wayne Chism and McDonald's All-America Scotty Hopson.

"Tony has prepared himself to be a head coach," Pearl said. "His experience provides him with a wealth of knowledge, and his ability to communicate has made him an effective teacher."

With Jones helping to build its annual slate of opponents, Tennessee's schedules have ranked among the nation's toughest. The Vols have sought to face some of the country's premier programs, including teams such as Memphis, Gonzaga, Texas, Ohio State and Kansas.

Along with such ambitious scheduling--Tennessee's RPI has been in the top-25 each of the last three seasons--comes prominent national exposure, as UT has played 52 games on national television over the past four years.

Jones came to Tennessee with 12 seasons of collegiate coaching experience after spending four seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) as an associate head coach. Prior to joining the UWM staff, Jones spent five seasons at Toledo and three years at Buffalo.

In his 16 seasons of collegiate coaching, Jones has helped direct his teams to nine postseason tournament bids, including six NCAA Tournament appearances the last seven years. Three times (2005, 2007 and 2008) in the past five years he has coached teams appearing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee has experienced unprecedented success during the four years with Jones on the bench. The Vols have averaged 24.5 wins during those seasons and have won three SEC Eastern Division championships. The 2008 team captured the overall SEC title outright for the first time in 41 years, won a school record 31 games and earned the first No. 1 ranking in school history.

Each of his four seasons at UT has resulted in NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the Sweet 16. Two times the Vols have received No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament--the highest in school history.

After helping sign a class that was ranked sixth nationally in 2006, Jones was named one of the top recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com. In 2007, Rivals.com ranked Jones as one of the top-five assistant coaches in the nation.

Jones got his first taste of coaching at his alma mater, Detroit Southwestern High School, where he served as an assistant varsity coach while also serving as head junior varsity coach from 1986-91. During this time he coached future NBA stars Jalen Rose (Phoenix Suns), Howard Eisley (Denver Nuggets) and Voshon Lenard (Portland Trailblazers), leading them to the mythical USA TODAY national title in 1991. He also served as head coach of Team AAU Michigan for three years (1991-93), posting a 35-1 record and capturing two AAU state championships.

Jones was an All-City star at Southwestern and went on to earn All-Conference honors at Fisk University in Nashville. He earned a bachelor's degree in health care administration from Concordia (Mich.) University.

Jones and his wife, Pam, have four children--Tony II, Jamaal, Mercedes and Porscha. His brother, Bill, is a former member of the NBA's New Jersey Nets and is currently the head coach of the Premier Basketball League's Detroit Panthers.