The Fresno State men's basketball team will play its only exhibition on Friday at home against the NAIA's Fresno Pacific.
Last Updated: July 10, 2012
Byron Jones enters his second season as an assistant coach on the Fresno State men's basketball staff, primarily responsible for recruiting, skill development and summer camp coordination.
Jones came to the San Joaquin Valley via Winston-Salem State University where he was an assistant coach for the 2010-11 season. He helped lead the program to a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Southern Division Title and a berth in the 2011 NCAA Division II Tournament. The Rams also went undefeated in their non-conference schedule en route to a 19 win season, the most in the past six seasons.
Prior to joining the Winston-Salem State coaching staff, Jones spent four years as the Director of Basketball Operations at Premiere Basketball, Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri and head boys coach at Saint Mary's High School in Independence, Mo. It was at Saint Mary's that Jones led the team to its best finish in 10 years, and with K.C. Premiere Basketball, he sent over 50 athletes to play collegiate basketball.
His last collegiate coaching experience came at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington where he helped guide the Seahawks to an 83-40 record over a four-year period with the program and helping to guide the team to a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles and two appearances in the NCAA tournament. Using his strong recruiting ties, Jones helped bring some of the top players in the history of UNC-Wilmington basketball into the program, including guard T.J. Carter and Vladimir Kuljanin. Both players took home All-CAA honors during their careers.
Jones' collegiate coaching career has also included stints at the University of Denver, Eastern Kentucky, and Central Oklahoma. During his tenure at the University of Denver, Jones helped elevate the program from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I. Also a leader in building stars in the classroom, Jones helped the University of Denver men's basketball become one of the top academic programs in the Sun Belt Conference. Before heading to the University of Denver, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Eastern Kentucky and helped land two of the top recruiting classes in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Central Oklahoma where he spent two seasons with the Broncos and helped guide the team to a top 20 finish and a bid to the 1995 NCAA Division II Tournament.
As a player, Jones spent one season at Eastern Kentucky after starting off at Northern Oklahoma College. He was a member of the EKU team that advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championship game in 1990. During his career at Northern Oklahoma College, he helped lead the team to a 24-8 record and a Bi-State West Conference title, taking home first team All-Conference and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Jones enjoyed a stellar career at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A four-year letter winner, Jones was named the Oklahoma City Player of the Year and earned first team All-State honors following his senior season. During his high school career, Jones was also named to the Oklahoma Rams Junior Olympics national championship team alongside future NBA players Richard Dumas, Byron Houston and Brent Price.
Jones, an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native, currently holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports and Recreation Management from Central Oklahoma (1993) along with a Master's degree in Physical Education (1995). He has three children, Antigone, Tannah and Bryton.
