Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 17, 1990 TAG: 9004170038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Jim Copeland, the UVa athletic director, admitted as much Monday after introducing Jeff Jones as the new basketball coach.
The quest of nearly 10 months for Terry Holland's replacement has been advertised as a one-man show - Copeland's.
In truth, Copeland relied partly on the advice offered initially by Holland - "If you don't hire within, hire Rick Barnes" - and punctuated by the beseechments of a few privileged athletic boosters.
They also wanted Barnes, the Providence coach who jilted UVa 10 days ago after initially accepting the Copeland offer.
And why was Barnes the recipient of such support, especially since the alumni didn't even know him?
Because Barnes carries with him the reputation of being a five-star recruiter.
If there was one negative about Holland during his 16 primarily successful years here, it was that he wasn't a forceful recruiter.
That may have been more perception than fact, but it was enforced when a lot of notable Virginians, including the likes of Alonzo Mourning and J.R. Reid, went elsewhere to play.
Jones, the personable 29-year-old, is certain to do more recruiting than many head coaches, including Holland. After all, he's got to hit the ground running.
And, Copeland acknowledged, "I think the best recruiting is when the head coach is heavily involved."
Long before Copeland settled on Jones - he was just about out of options - he had said, "We've got to get somebody who can keep the Mournings and Reids in-state."
A skeptic might ask, when the next superstar comes along, and an eager Jones makes a home visit after John Thompson and Dean Smith have been there, will enthusiasm for the task be sufficient?
Jones has a coach's credentials. His father's a coach, a man who led Kentucky Wesleyan to the Division II national championship in his first year.
But no matter the interest, no matter the desire, teachers don't become principals at the start; the first job in a bank is teller, not president.
And nobody 29 years old ever has started his head-coaching career in the high-rent district of the ACC without benefit of additional experience.
That is not to say Jones will not succeed. He has the attributes to make it. And every high-profile, millionaire coach started somewhere as an assistant.
Some even have been elevated, successfully, within the ACC, with Smith being the most notable. And, a generation ago, Duke hired Vic Bubas from N.C. State.
Jones knows Virginia. If there is any problem, it might be that Jones knows only Virginia. He played here; he's coached only here.
He admitted Monday that he's only once considered leaving, and that was "five or six years ago when I was a part-timer." That opportunity wasn't a head coaching job.
So, through a convoluted set of circumstances and the mistaken belief that Barnes was the closest thing to the second coming, Jones was around while the other contenders were eliminated. Or eliminated themselves.
"Obviously, I got a little lucky," Jones said.
In fact, had he not been hired as No. 1, he almost certainly would not have been kept as an assistant coach.
Not by Barnes, not by Pete Gillen, not by Mike Montgomery, not by Jeff Mullins, just to mention some established coaches who might well have been presented by Copeland.
"[Wife] Lisa kept asking about that," Jones said.
Jones and Craig Littlepage, the assistant who didn't get the job, would have been kept on salary for 12 months, until April 1, 1991.
There were promises of administrative positions, something Littlepage might explore.
But, two months short of his 30th birthday, Jones was, is, and will be, a basketball coach.
His resumes would have been in the mail, but none of them would remotely have been as attractive as a head coach in a preeminent basketball conference.
Indeed, he got very lucky.
Now, it will be up to Jones, and a veteran team that won 20 games last season, to make a good initial impression.
Thus far, the only loser has been Copeland. "My credibility has been damaged," he conceded.
That can be repaired, but that's up to Jones. If he's the next bright coaching star, Copeland will have made the right choice.
The selection process was flawed, no matter the result, but there will be no complaints if Jones wins big.
The new coach, and he alone, will determine the extent of damage control. Not for himself, but his boss.
by CNB