Former Central standout shines as coach
Rachel Jones was no longer in basketball and was working in finance at Windstream Communications in Little Rock for six years.
Then, in 2018, the 2005 Little Rock Central graduate realized how much she missed the game after playing at St. Mary’s College in Texas and overseas in Israel, Germany and Estonia.
“I really enjoyed finance,” Jones said. “I loved it. But I felt like there was something missing. I needed to give back to basketball.”
Jones’ brother Ray, who is an assistant coach at Utah State-Eastern, helped her get into the coaching profession along with Jason Martens, her coach at St. Mary’s College.
In August 2018, Jones got her break.
Hill College, located in Hillsboro, Texas, hired Jones, 33, for the 2018-19 season. After completing her second season earlier this month, Jones was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s assistant coach of the year for two-year colleges.
Jones was one of six coaches honored by the WBCA along with
Maryland’s Karen Blair (NCAA Division I), Ashland’s Stephanie Gehlhausen (Division II), Tufts’ Jamie Insel (Division III), Marian College’s Vicky Volonaki (NAIA) and Paul Gardner of Bishop Lynch High School in Texas.
Hill College Coach Scott Hyland nominated Jones for the award and said she has been a great addition to the program.
“It’s been very enjoyable to work with her,” Hyland said. “She’s very energetic. She’s very knowledgeable, since she’s played at the Division II level and overseas. She’s very easy to work with and always has great suggestions.”
After coaching for two years, Jones is appreciating her new career.
“I’ve learned a lot in these two years,” Jones said. “At the junior college level, you’re getting almost half a new team every year. The players are different. We had to figure out who we were and get the best out of them.”
Jones has used her finance career to help her coaching career.
“I was going to work harder than everyone,” Jones said. “It was always my mindset.”
Jones played three years at Joe T. Robinson before transferring to Little Rock Central for her senior season in 2004-05 when she helped the Lady Tigers reach their first state tournament in four years.
“It was one of my favorite memories,” Jones said of playing in the state tournament.
This past season, Hill College went 20-11, advancing to the NJCAA Region 5 Tournament first round. Hill College was 11th in the NJCAA Division I level in scoring defense, allowing 55.1 points per game.
Hill College had a rotation of 10 players, Jones said. Throughout each game, the team would go 1 1/2to 2-minute stretches with five players, then sub them out for a new group of five.
“It worked for us,” Jones said. “We ended up where we had one group playing 20-22 minutes a game, then the other group about 18 minutes.”
Hyland said having Jones’ support for the team’s style of play was important.
“She was fully behind it,” Hyland said. “Being that supportive was really big for me. She’s been a great, great help to our program.”
Jones’ responsibilities with Hill’s basketball staff include recruiting, scouting and individual workouts with the team’s guards. She said Hill recruits at least seven new players each season. Also, Jones is in charge of the team’s study halls.
Working with Hyland and assistant coach Wanda Talton has been beneficial for her, Jones said.
“They’ve won at different levels,” Jones said. “They are super giving. They allow you to do things. They trust you. I’ve learned a great deal from them.”
For now, Jones is not looking at being a head coach or moving up in her career. She said she is happy to be at Hill College.
“I honestly haven’t given it a whole lot of thought,” Jones said. “For me, it’s about the ability to have an impact on young people. It’s about the players. I’m enjoying the process. I know how volatile the business is.”
Hyland believes the future is bright for Jones’ coaching career.
“I think in time she will become a tremendous head coach,” Jones said. “I’ve spoken with her about her future. But she’s said that her focus is on our program and she wants to learn and grow as a coach.”
“I really enjoyed finance,” Jones said. “I loved it. But I felt like there was something missing. I needed to give back to basketball.” Hill College women’s assistant coach Rachel Jones