M. Basketball’s Jones Named An Impactful Coach

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Seminole Associate Head Coach Stan Jones, who was inducted into the College Basketball Assistant Coach Hall of Fame in 2019, has been named as one of the most impactful high-major coaches in Division I by Silver Waves Media. 

For more than 20 years, Jones has been an integral part of raising Florida State’s program to elite status in the ACC and across the nation.  The Seminoles are one of the most respected programs in the nation who have won two ACC Championships, played in eight NCAA Tournaments and had 22 players as NBA Draft Picks or players who have played in the NBA since Jones became one of the architects of the program in 2002.

With Jones working alongside Head Coach Leonard Hamilton at Florida State, nine players have been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft with five earning NBA Draft Lottery status. 

Said the Silver Waves editors: “The longest tenured assistant coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Stan Jones enters his 21st season at Florida State. Jones’ 20+ years in the ACC has earned him the reputation as one an elite strategist, developer, and recruiter. His veteran leadership has carried the Seminoles to a laundry list of consistent national success. During his time in Tallahassee, the Seminoles have accomplished an ACC Tournament Championship, ACC regular season championship, eight NCAA National Tournament appearances, including four sweet 16s. In 2019, CoachStat.net named Jones as the top assistant coach in college basketball. Jones has helped over 50 Seminoles become professional players. Jones’ career record as assistant coach at FSU is 417-242 (.633).”

Florida State is the fourth winningest program in the ACC since 2012, when the Seminoles won the first ACC Championship in school history. 

Entering the 2022-23 season, Florida State has produced an ACC record four consecutive ACC Sixth Men of the Year (Mfiondu Kabengele, 2019; Patrick Williams, 2020; Scottie Barnes, 2021; Matthew Cleveland, 2022) – with Kabengele, Williams and Barnes being first round picks in the NBA Draft.  Barnes was named the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year, while Kabengele led the Rio Grande Vipers (affiliate of the Houston Rockets) to the NBA G League Championship in 2022. 

Barnes, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, was named to the All-NBA Rookie Team while Barnes (Toronto Raptors), Williams (Chicago Bulls), Malik Beasley (Minnesota Timberwolves), Trent Forest (Utah Jazz), Terance Mann (Los Angeles Clippers), and Devin Vassell (San Antonio Spurs) led their teams to the NBA Playoffs.

Jones has also been instrumental in Florida State’s incredible graduation rate, with 72 of 74 (.973 percent) Seminoles who have played their four-year careers as Seminoles earning their degrees from Florida State University.  Junior Caleb Mills (Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences) and Harrison Prieto (Master’s degree in Meteorology) will earn degrees at FSU commencement exercises on July 29. 

Seminole fans interested in purchasing season tickets for all home regular season games at the Donald L. Tucker Center can learn more here, or are encouraged to call to the Florida State Ticket Office at 1-888-FSU-NOLE.