The Demon Deacons basketball staff is now complete
It may have taken a while, but Wake Forest’s Danny Manning finally rounded out the basketball coaching staff with the hire of Jamill Jones as the third assistant.
Who is Jamill Jones?
Jones was an assistant coach at the University of Central Florida last year under Johnny Dawkins.
He is one of the top young coaches in the country, and comes from a strong pedigree of NCAA tournament teams over the past few years, serving on the staff at Florida Gulf Coast and VCU before going to Central Florida.
It’s immediately clear that his primary strength is recruiting, as he spent five years as an assistant coach with Nike Team Takeover in the high school ranks. During that time he worked with 70 D-1 players and helped organize the 2011 and 2012 National High School Hoops Festival.
Jones was apparently courted by Patrick Ewing at Georgetown late last month, but ultimately Manning got Jones to come to Wake.
According to Will Wade, former VCU, and current LSU coach, Jones is a “tenacious recruiter, great with relationships and will outwork anyone.”
He is also known for his recruiting in the Mid-Atlantic area, which should help the Deacs recruit the Washington DC area.
What does this mean for Wake?
Jones will take over the third assistant coach spot on the staff, and immediately hit the recruiting trail running. The AAU circuit is in full blown mode right now, so it’s important that he get out there and start recruiting Wake. The good news is that he is a familiar face that everybody should know, so he’s not starting from ground zero.
While Jones is not a name that I am that familiar with, there are glowing reviews about him from a lot of coaches out there.
We talked in previous articles about what Wake was looking for in this hire, and my primary thought was that Manning would go after an older guy to help with in-game things. He has in fact done the opposite and gone after a younger guy who can help immediately with recruiting and developing relationships.
Jones appears to be a great fit at face value, and must have really impressed Manning in their discussions to land this job.
I think he will be a strong addition and help out a lot on the recruiting trail. This still leaves a hole in terms of an older coach on the staff, but the name of the game in college basketball right now is recruiting. Talent can overcome a lot of deficiencies, so this should help a lot as the staff continues to develop and expand the Wake Forest basketball brand.
