RI native helps bring North Dakota into D-I
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Eric Page | Wednesday, January 09, 2008 |
You’ve heard the phrase lost in translation, right?
Brian Jones has been found in transition, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
Jones, a former all-state performer at Rock Island who went on to play at Northern Iowa in the early 1990s, is in his second season as head men’s basketball coach at the University of North Dakota.
The Fighting Sioux, who play Saturday at Iowa State, are in the first year of a six-year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. That puts Jones, an Iowa assistant under Steve Alford from 1999 to 2006, in the unique position to truly build a program from the ground level.
“I was just at a point in my career where I wanted to try to be a head coach, and I wanted to be somewhere where I could learn at my own pace while being the boss for the first time. It was exciting for me, because I can put my thumb print on it,” said Jones, whose North Dakota squad has won 10 straight since an 0-3 start.
“That’s our whole recruiting pitch — there are a lot of things people are going to say you can’t play for, but you’re going to be a part of something that is way bigger than yourself, a part of history, of tradition.
“We’re building this thing right now, and already in a year and a half, we’ve already set some tones.”
Jones went 11-17 — 3-10 in the North Central Conference — in his first season at North Dakota, the Grand Fords school better known for its hockey program.
This will be the last season in which the Fighting Sioux will compete for an NCC championship and a Division II tournament berth. Next year, they’ll be considered a Division I team, though they won’t be eligible for postseason play for three seasons. They’ll then be able to qualify for the NIT for two years before gaining full Division I status in 2013.
They’ve yet to land a conference invite and won’t count towards an opponent’s RPI ranking for a year, which will make scheduling difficult.
Jones said North Dakota is working on securing a place in the Summit League, the former Mid-Continent Conference, which welcomed North Dakota State and South Dakota State, both of which are making the leap from Division II.
Jones is committed to seeing things through.
“If we can get in the Summit League, we’re definitely more than capable of competing early,” he said. “That league is looking hard at us right now. Hopefully, it’s just a matter of time.”
Iowa State (9-5), which has won seven of nine games, is the only Division I opponent the Fighting Sioux will face this season. So, Saturday is a golden opportunity for Jones and his players.
“This is a chance to reward our guys and put them on a big stage,” Jones said. “It’s all about educating them that this is where we’re going. It helps to teach them the type of bodies, the type of athletes they’re going to be playing against in the future. It’s a good teaching tool for our staff, too.”
Eric Page can be contacted at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
Familiar face
Former Pleasant Valley standout Josh Boyle, the Mississippi Athletic Conference and Quad-City Times area player of the year in 2003, is a senior on the University of North Dakota basketball team, which will play at Iowa State on Saturday.
Boyle, a 6-foot-1 guard, has been limited this season after suffering a season-ending injury midway through his junior year.
He ranks third on North Dakota’s all-time list for 3-point percentage (42.1 percent) and free-throw percentage (87.1 percent). He also ranked eighth in school history in 3-pointers made (112) and attempted (266) coming into the season.
Doyle started 24 of 26 games as a sophomore and averaged 10.3 points per game. Last season, before being injured, he started 10 of 16 games, averaging 7.4 points.
He twice has been named to the North Central Conference’s Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll.
— Eric Page
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
reddit» More College Stories
- Indiana's Gordon likely a handful for Hawkeyes
- Bryant's return bolsters St. Ambrose backcourt
- RI native helps bring North Dakota into D-I
- Freshman Kelly to start for Hawkeyes
- Carver-Hawkeye Arena donor was Illinois grad
- Future looks brighter, bigger for Carver-Hawkeye
- Around the Big Ten: Notes, quotes and fast facts from around the league
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- Professional CAD Drafting Services
- Professional drafting services specializing in metals fabrication. 2-D drawings and 3-D models including solids.
- www.cad-drafting.com
- Download CAD to PDF Trial
- CAD & Windows to PDF quick and easy. Includes PDF Editor. Try Now.
- www.bluebeam.com
- Complete CAD/CAFM Services
- National CAD Services is a full service CAD/CAFM bureau est. 1992. Services include field verification, as-builts, commercial/residential construction documents, HVAC and electrical plans.
- nationalcad.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
