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Jeff Jones says it's his Eagles, not his return to Virginia, that has his attention this week.
The current troubles Virginia coach Dave Leitao (center) |
During Jeff Jones' 20 years in the Virginia men's basketball program, University Hall was always the Cavaliers' home.
But when Jones returns to Virginia tonight as the head coach of American University, he'll walk into the luxurious brand-new John Paul Jones Arena.
Jones and his Eagles (7-4) will visit the Cavaliers (7-3) tonight at 7:30 p.m.
It's the first time Jones has faced his old team since he was fired as the Cavaliers' head coach following an 11-19 season in 1997-98.
Jones, who took over American's program in 2000, got his first glimpse of John Paul Jones Arena when his team practiced there yesterday.
"It's a beautiful facility," he said in a telephone interview last night. "I heard from quite a few people that they had done everything in a first-class manner. It certainly fits that description."
Jones isn't overly emotional about tonight's game.
The Owensboro, Ky., native said he views the game as an opportunity for his Eagles to pick up a win over a quality opponent. American is looking to become the first visiting team to get a win in John Paul Jones Arena's short history.
"We're just concentrating on the game," Jones said, downplaying the significance of his return. "And they're in the mix of their season, so I'm sure they're doing the same."
Jones began his college basketball career at Virginia as a point guard from 1979-82.
He was a member of the 1981 Final Four team and was the captain of the 1982 squad that won a school-record 30 games.
Jones then served as an assistant coach under Terry Holland for eight seasons before taking over head coaching duties in 1990-91.
With such a lengthy background at Virginia, Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said Virginia fans should give Jones a warm welcome tonight.
"I think [tonight's game] is a very good way to bring somebody back who means so much to the history of this program," Leitao said yesterday.
Dirk Katstra agrees.
Katstra is a former Virginia player, who played his senior season with Jones as the team's head coach.
Katstra is now the executive director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation and the associate athletics director for external affairs. He remains close friends with Jones, and he said he's looking forward to seeing American in action for the first time under his former coach.
"I think he'll be received well," Katstra said. "He was a great player here and a very successful coach. It didn't end here the way he hoped, but people remember him fondly."
Katstra said Jones has experienced success as a coach partly because of his point guard background.
Jones' teams were known for gritty defense during his eight years as Virginia's head coach.
He compiled a 146-104 record. He led the Cavaliers to five NCAA tournament appearances, four seasons with at least 20 wins, an Elite 8 appearance and an NIT championship.
However, late in his tenure, a few of Jones' players and recruits had off-the-court issues. The Cavaliers went on to have two losing seasons in Jones' final three years and that was enough for him to lose his job.
"That's the way the profession works," Jones said. "It's 'What have you done for me lately?' It was just an unfortunate thing. It wasn't the way anybody wanted things to work out, and it doesn't diminish all the great memories I have there."
Since Jones departed, the Cavaliers have made just one NCAA tournament appearance, a first-round loss to Gonzaga in 2001.
Virginia has had two losing seasons and two other years where they finished exactly .500.
Pete Gillen, who replaced Jones, was fired after the 2004-05 season when he failed to reach the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Leitao was hired to replace Gillen, and he went 15-15 in his first season. This season, the Cavaliers started off 6-1 before suffering embarrassing blowout losses to Appalachian State and Utah in the San Juan (Puerto Rico) Shoot-out last week.
Jones, who is 95-91 at American while winning two Patriot League regular season championships, doesn't bask in the Cavaliers' struggles.
"I can't really say," he said of the reasons Virginia hasn't had success since he left. "Every situation is different. I had certain things as a coach that I needed to deal with, Pete Gillen had things and now Dave does."
Former Virginia standout Jason Williford, who played under Jones from 1992-95, is an assistant coach on American's staff.
While it may seem likely that American's coaching ties to Virginia set up tonight's game, Leitao said that wasn't the case.
He said the game was arranged like all other nonconference matchups.
"It was normal scheduling procedures," Leitao said. "In talking to Jeff over the last year, he expressed some interest. We got on the phone, it worked out date-wise and it worked out monetarily. It was nothing special or over the top that we don't do with any other team."
But no other opponent's coach will get as strong a reaction from fans as Jones will probably receive tonight.
"I certainly recognize that we were able to do some good things at Virginia," Jones said. "I was fortunate enough to play and coach with some great people. I have a lot of terrific memories there."
To reach TAFT COGHILL JR.:
Email: tcoghill@freelancestar.com
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (7-4) John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville |
