Jones Introduced As Marshall Basketball Coach

Former Florida assistant Donnie Jones formally introduced

April 7, 2007

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -Marshall officially introduced former Florida assistant Donnie Jones as its new basketball coach on Saturday.

The move was hardly a surprise. Florida coach Billy Donovan announced the hiring a day earlier during a celebration of the Gators' NCAA championship.

Speaking at a morning press conference, Jones said he's glad to return home and pledged to make the basketball program a point of pride.

"We've got to get behind the team we have right now," said Jones, a native of Point Pleasant. "We've got to make them dream again, we've got to start setting our goals high."

Jones replaces Ron Jirsa, who was fired after going 43-74 in four seasons. Jones hasn't experienced many losing records. At Florida, he helped coach the Gators to consecutive NCAA titles.

"Our team went to a national championship last year and it wasn't only because of talent," Jones said.

Rather, he credited a culture that focused on a "we" mentality and encompassed the entire university, not just the basketball program.

Jones said the Thundering Herd will resemble Florida by pressing, running and playing as a team. He said five or six scholarship players under consideration will add depth and talent.

Jones started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Marshall in 1990 and spent four years as an assistant coach. Two were spent under Donovan, whom Jones followed to Florida in 1996.

Jones said he cried along with his wife, Michelle, while watching the movie "We Are Marshall," about the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people, including most of the football team and coaches.

"The people in this community make this school special," Jones said. "There's no reason that we can't have the same kind of success that they've had in the past really quick."