DELAND, Fla. - Even on a "lighter" practice schedule, Stetson men's basketball head coach Donnie Jones patiently watches his players run drills. For him, they're occupants of his sanctuary.
- Jones is in first season at Stetson
- Hit with sanctions while head coach at UCF
- Hatters are 1-1 in conference play thus far
“I’ve always had that passion and that love for the game and love for building teams and love for developing people,” Jones said.
Two national championships as an assistant on the Florida Gators staff made him a sought after commodity in college hoops, with a stop as head coach at Marshall eventually leading him to take the same job with UCF. But soon after, the NCAA found jones guilty of recruiting violations, which made building a successful program a major challenge. Jones produced just one winning season after the NCAA penalties, and was fired by the school in 2016.
“It’s always hard when it is something you love has been taken away," he said in reflection. "It gave me a chance to really self-evaluate a lot. Not many times do we get a chance to evaluate ourselves, because we’re really caught up in helping the next situation where we’re at.”
He'd spend the next few years bouncing around as a scout in the NBA, and an assistant on the Wichita State and Dayton staffs. But now he's here at Stetson refreshed and renewed in his first season, coming off the heels of his signature win.
Dec. 30, Stetson marched into Colonial Life Arena, and took down a South Carolina team just a few years removed from a Final Four appearance with a 63-56 win. After the game, Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin praised Jones, claiming the latter had been set up to fail at UCF.
“They tried to railroad him and his career, " Martin said. :It was the biggest bunch of crap I’ve ever seen in my life. But he’s one of the classiest, most genuine human beings. He's a winner, and I'm really happy for him and his program."
An unlikely, but powerful endorsement.
"It was very humbling after a tough loss for him and his program that he had a enough class to be thinking of me, which is something that I wasn’t expecting," Jones said. "But I’m very thankful, and I appreciate his kindness.”
It was validation that his unconventional journey to Stetson, a team that still searches for its first NCAA Tournament bid, has brought him here for a purpose: to serve others in his sanctuary.
“Our steps of struggle is part of our growth," Jones said. "A championship is obviously what you strive for. But it’s really changing and helping people. We’ve got great kids here, we’re here to impact a community and a bunch of individuals here to a place and teach them to dream and reach their goals here.”