Conference USA Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jun 18, 2020

SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 07: Chris Douglas-Roberts #14, Derrick Rose #23 and Antonio Anderson #5 of the Memphis Tigers walk off the court in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2008 NCAA Men's National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 7, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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RICHMOND, VA – DECEMBER 07: Head coach Jeff Jones of the Old Dominion Monarchs (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

10. Conference USA Basketball head coach rankings – Jeff Jones

Old Dominion (2013-2020)

Fired nearly two decades earlier by alma mater Virginia, Jones could have easily stayed as head coach at American for the rest of his career, doing solid work in the Patriot League. Instead, he took the Old Dominion job in 2013, inheriting a 5-win team that was transitioning into Conference USA from the CAA. If coaching at American had been a challenge, this would certainly top it.

Fortunately, Jones has been very successful with the Monarchs. He led the team to their first C-USA title and an NCAA Tournament bid in 2019. His team has finished top 3 in the league five times and won 25 games in four of those seasons. They were the Vegas 16 champions in 2016 and have a few other postseason bids. Even though last season was a struggle, many expect Old Dominion to reload and bounce back.

In a volatile, diverse league like Conference USA, it’s impressive to see the work that Jones has done. He inherited a squad going nowhere and very quickly rebuilt this program. Between 2014 and 2019, Old Dominion was 65-25 in conference play; not bad work for a team still adjusting to a new league. Jones is already making his mark with Old Dominion and we’ll have to see what else happens in the years to come.