Tirade inspires ODU
After Jones’ first ejection of career, team more resolute
NORFOLK — Jeff Jones stopped short of kicking dirt on the officials Saturday, but that might just be because basketball courts are made of wood.
He was that kind of mad.
The veteran Old Dominion coach did his best impression of an irate baseball manager early in the second half of an eventual 81-68 loss at Northeastern, getting himself abruptly ejected after arguing about a foul that wasn’t called.
Monarchs guard Chaunce Jenkins made a contested layup with 15:23 left in the game. Jones thought he was hacked. Three seconds later, one official slapped Jones with a technical foul. Five seconds after that, another official gave him the thumb.
The TV broadcast crew reported in real time that a police officer had been summoned to the court as Jones continued to argue. It’s not the way he remembers it.
“I never even saw any cops, so I don’t know where that came from,” Jones said before Tuesday’s practice. “I think the security people probably understood what was going on. The referee, certainly in that case, overreacted. But the bottom line was I was going to get my money’s worth. They want to give me the quick ejection. I wanted to make sure that they knew that I wasn’t really pleased. I think I got my point across.”
The often fiery Jones, a college coach since 1982, had never been kicked out of a game, a fact his players found hard to believe.
“I ain’t gonna lie. I did not know that,” said Jenkins, who had received a technical of his own earlier in the game. “That is very surprising.”
Asked why he found it surprising, Jenkins spoke with a straight face.
“I mean, we all know him,” he said before breaking into laughter.
A 63-year-old former star point guard at the University of Virginia, Jones had been the head coach in 975 college games before his first heave-ho.
Like many coaches, Jones routinely wears his investment in his team on his sleeve during games, never hesitating to let the officials know when he has a beef.
It’s hard to argue that this one wasn’t justified. The Monarchs (3-4) shot nine free throws compared to Northeastern’s 51.
Jones was left to wait in the locker room as he strained to hear the P.A. announcer, occasionally getting updates on the game from a staffer.
As baseball managers often do by design, Jones’ ejection served to fire up his players.
“It means a lot,” said sophomore guard Bryce Baker. “It shows that he’s got our back as long as we’ve got his back.”
Jenkins, who at least got to finish the game, agreed.
“It just makes me want to play with even more heart, just to know that we’re all so bought-in and we all want to win so bad,” said Jenkins, a former star at Menchville High in Newport News. “When you see stuff get emotional like that, it just makes you want to go harder. It just makes us want to play harder for him.”
The Monarchs will need that extra juice this week. They visit William & Mary on Wednesday and face No. 18 James Madison at home Saturday.
William & Mary (3-6) has lost a handful of close games while battling injuries. Jones said he hasn’t even mentioned JMU to his players yet, calling William & Mary “very, very dangerous.”
“We’ve got to play better than we played at Northeastern,” Jones said. “A whole lot’s been made about the free-throw discrepancy, but we didn’t play well enough to really get a road win. So we’re really, really focused on us and making sure that we’re ready to bring the type of energy and competitiveness that you have to get a road win anywhere.”
Jenkins said he looked forward to suiting up against some players he faced in high school.
“For me, it’s always fun, honestly,” he said. “Just being a Virginia kid, it’s fun playing Virginia schools. It always attracts a good crowd here, so it’ll be fun to play two Virginia schools this week.”
After nearly 1,000 games without an ejection, Jones will look to start a new streak.
If nothing else, he hopes both he and the normally evenkeeled Jenkins were sufficiently reminded of the value of keeping their cool.
“I’ve got to be better. He’s got to be better,” Jones said. “And we’ve got to make sure that we’re in there for 40 minutes doing whatever it is that we can to help the team.”