NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head men's basketball coach Dan Muller has announced that University of North Dakota head coach Brian Jones has been named the associate head coach for the Redbird program starting in the 2019-20 season.
"I'm excited about this opportunity," said Jones. "This is a chance to work with a good friend of mine in Dan Muller, who is someone I have tremendous respect for. I think it is a privilege that I can come down and to not only serve a group of young men, but also work with Dan as he continues his program at a strong MVC level."
Jones comes to Illinois State after spending 13 seasons as head coach at North Dakota and helped lead the Hawks to the 2016-17 NCAA Tournament and in doing such was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year.
"I couldn't be more excited to add Brian to our staff," said Muller. "I've known Brian for a long time and I've always respected the level of coach and person that he is. With his experience and success, he will add tremendous value to our staff and program."
Jones was at the helm of the program when the athletic department made the difficult transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I. He helped lead the Hawks to six post-season appearances, including the 2017 NCAA Tournament, and three appearances in Big Sky Conference Championship games.
"I grew up in Illinois, and this is a chance for me to be closer to family and friends," said Jones. "From a personal side we are extremely excited but are equally excited from a professional standpoint. The Valley is a conference that I hold true to my heart having played and coached in it. I am very excited that he thought of me and thought highly enough of me to take on this opportunity."
During his first two seasons in Grand Forks his teams were a member of Division II and Jones helped the school through the transition to Division I. North Dakota was a NCAA Division I independent for the 2008-09 season in which the program went 16-12 in its inaugural campaign in the highest level of basketball. Over the next three seasons, he helped guide the Hawks to two winning campaigns as members of the Great West Conference.
In just his second season in the Big Sky Conference, he helped guide his team to the championship game and a berth into the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Two years later he duplicated his feat with an overtime loss in the Big Sky Tournament championship game, and an overtime loss to UC Irvine in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
The following season in 2016-17, Jones helped lead the Hawks to a 22-10 overall record and a 14-4 mark in conference play, sweeping through the Big Sky Tournament with an overtime win over Weber State in the championship. For his efforts he was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year and the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 6 Coach of the Year.
In all during his time at UND he coached four Lou Henson Mid-Major All-Americans, 13 All-Conference performers, two Reserves of the Year, and nine All-Tournament Team honorees.
Prior to his time with the Hawks, he spent seven seasons with the University of Iowa under Steve Alford, including five as assistant coach. During his time as an assistant coach in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes went 98-64, won a pair of Big Ten Tournament titles, and received three NCAA Tournament invitations.
Jones got his start with Alford at Missouri State where he worked as an administrative assistant for the Bears during the 1998-99 season. That year the Bears advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and had a top-20 national ranking.
Immediately following his graduation from UNI he worked for two seasons at Alleman High School as an assistant coach, before he began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he worked as an assistant coach while working on his master's degree in athletic administration.
A native of Rock Island, Illinois, Jones was a four-year letterwinner at UNI and went on to play professional basketball in Australia and Portugal.
A 1994 graduate from UNI, Jones will be joined in Normal by his wife Danna and sons Jaxson, Jonah, and daughter Jersey.
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