Former Vols hoops coach Jones savors Knoxville comeback
John Adams
Tony Jones loves coaching basketball. And he loves Knoxville.
So, it’s not surprising he returned this past summer to the area where he had so much success coaching basketball.
He’s an assistant coach at Johnson University, formerly known as Johnson Bible College. Jones was hired by Logan Sharp, a former Alcoa High School player whom Jones once encouraged to enter coaching when he was coach of the Tornadoes. How’s that for a career coming full circle?
“We stayed in touch the past 10 years,” Sharp said. “When I got the Johnson job last April, I was searching for an assistant coach. And Tony wanted to be back in Knoxville. He loves it here.
“Hiring him was a no-brainer. I didn’t even have to interview him.”
Together, they are part of Johnson University’s relatively new sports venture. The Royals, who compete at the NAIA level, have nine newcomers on their basketball team. The school also fields a baseball team, led by former Tennessee coach Dave Serrano.
Jones isn’t just coaching. He’s also a substitute teacher, willing to fill in wherever he’s needed in the Knox County schools. Math and English are his favorite subjects, but he can teach just about anything.
Every weekday is a full day, but he’s enjoying every minute of it.
“I catch up on my sleep on weekends,” he said with a laugh.
But before getting into a more detailed account of Jones’ Knoxville comeback, I can’t resist revisiting his first go-round in Knoxville, and all the highs – followed by the epic fall – that made up Tennessee basketball’s Bruce Pearl era
in which Jones played a prominent role.
Success was immediate. A month into the 2005-06 season, the Vols upset No. 6 Texas in Austin – not just winning but winning by 15 points. Two seasons later, No. 2-ranked Tennessee knocked off No. 1 Memphis before a sellout crowd at the FedEx Forum. In the 2009-10 season, the Vols came within one possession of beating Michigan State for a berth in the Final Four.
A year later, the Pearl era ended badly. He was given a three-year showcause penalty from the NCAA for recruiting violations. Jones and fellow assistant coaches Steve Forbes and Jason Shay got a one-year show-cause penalty.
Before that staff became a part of Tennessee basketball history, Jones became an SEC coach. At the time, while
Pearl was serving a suspension, there was still hope.
“I coached eight games, won five straight SEC games,” Jones said. “And I was the most scrutinized person in Tennessee because I was taking over for Bruce.
“I tried to compartmentalize everything. The administration was talking to me about the do’s and don’ts of being a head coach. And there was anxiety among the players. They didn’t know what the status would be of the staff that had recruited them.”
While the pressure was mounting, Jones got an unexpected break. ESPN’s GameDay came to Knoxville, and he visited with celebrated basketball analyst Dick Vitale.
Jones and Vitale shared a Detroit connection. Jones grew up there, and Vitale coached basketball there. He was the guest speaker at Jones’ high school banquet.
Jones can easily recall such memories from his coaching days at UT. He can name Texas’ starting lineup from that 2005 game in Austin. He can break down the final, crucial possessions in the Elite Eight loss to Michigan State. And he talks about the Memphis victory that elevated the Vols to No. 1 in February 2008 as if it were yesterday.
“We were coming out of our locker room, and Memphis was coming out of their locker room to start the game,” Jones said. “We were going out of the tunnel for our last warmup. They said, ‘We ain’t going to play a game. We’re going to fight right now.’
“Police had to break it up. Memphis was trying to intimidate us.” The strategy didn’t work. “We had some tough guys on our team,” Jones said. “They thought, ‘Those (Memphis) guys are scared of us.’
“People still talk about that game. Memphis went on to the Final Four where they lost to Kansas in the finals. We were the only other team to beat them.”
Jones didn’t leave Knoxville right away after leaving UT. He coached two years at Alcoa while his two daughters finished getting degrees at Tennessee.
He later served as an associate head coach to Pearl for a season at Auburn, was a head coach in a Canadian pro league, and coached six seasons as an assistant coach at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
“No matter whom I’m coaching, as long as I’m coaching individuals who are willing to work and love the game, I would coach middle school,” Jones said. “God guided me to help grow and develop young people.”
He seems to like coaching basketball better in Knoxville than anywhere else.
“I can’t go out to eat with him without somebody coming up to talk to him,” Sharp said. “And he has been gone from here about 10 years.
“He’s still a Knoxville legend.”
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com . Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.