Tommy Jones has been hired as the head men's coach at Texas Lutheran, TLU athletics director Bill Miller announced Friday.
Jones brings 27 years of coaching experience to TLU. Jones was the head coach at Houston Baptist from 1984-88 and has served as a Division I assistant at Houston, Rice, Houston and Texas-El Paso.
“I am excited to be the next men's basketball coach at Texas Lutheran,” said Jones. “My profound thanks go to the screening committee, to president (Jon) Moline and to athletics director Miller. I am thrilled to death, and I am looking forward to getting started.”
Jones will coach at the university where his son Josh played four years and earned his bachelor's degree. Josh Jones played at TLU from 1993-97 and scored 949 points for the Bulldogs.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to coach at Texas Lutheran because I have some ties there, and I am drawn to the small college atmosphere and to working at a Christian school,” said Jones. “But above all, I am just looking forward to working with the kids again.”
Jones follows Tom Oswald as the Bulldogs' head men's coach. Oswald resigned after seven seasons. He compiled a coaching mark of 74-99 at TLU. This past season, the Bulldogs finished 4-20 overall with a 4-17 mark in the ASC.
“Tommy Jones brings a wealth of experience to Texas Lutheran, and we are truly proud now to call him our men's basketball coach,” said Miller. “I am excited about
moving forward with coach Jones. I know that coach Jones will provide quality leadership for our men's basketball program.”
Jones also was a head coach at the high school level and at the junior college level. He coached at Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Texas from 1993 to 1995 and at Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs, Fla., from 1969 to 1974. Jones was the head coach at Panola Junior College in Carthage, Texas, for one season, 1975-76.
At Lamar Consolidated, Jones compiled a two-year coaching record of 47-18 and played for a Class 4A regional title in 1995.
Jones led Houston Baptist, then a member of NCAA Division I, to one Trans America Athletic Conference title and to two second-place finishes in that league.
As an assistant coach at Houston with Pat Foster, Jones and the Cougars averaged 22 wins per season, received two bids to the NCAA Tournament, and received two bids to the National Invitational Tournament. Houston won the 1992 Southwest Conference Championship and finished second twice.
In Jones' time as an assistant at Houston Baptist, from 1982-84, the Huskies went to the D-I NCAA Tournament in 1984. In that season, HBU led the nation in field goal percentage and in field goal percentage defense.
Jones has a bachelor of science degree from Florida State and a master of science degree from Troy State. He has worked with 17 players that have played either professional basketball or football. He has coached five NBA players and 10 international league basketball players.
Since his coaching time at Lamar Consolidated ended in 1995, Jones has stayed in the game. He has worked with the United States Basketball Academy as a coaching consultant. With the USBA, Jones has worked the Chinese Basketball Association Camp and Draft in Eugene, Ore.