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Williamsburg Superintendent Denny Byrd announced the hiring of Rick Jones as the school’s new basketball coach Monday.
Jones, a former Mr. Basketball, who starred at Vanderbilt and Murray State was an assistant coach at Murray High School before taking the position at Williamsburg.
Byrd said, “There were a number of things we liked about Rick. One was his enthusiam for wanting to come in and work with our program.”
“He emphaised the student-athlete respect of things and is strong about the academics for his players,” said Byrd. “He has worked at coach (Donnie) Butcher’s camp for a number of years and knew some of the kids in our program.”
“He is looking at a long-range plan. With Williamsburg being a small school, it is not so much about wins and losses but someone who is willing to work hard and every so often we are going to pop up,” said Byrd.
“His enthusiasm and work ethic was certainly important,” said Byrd. “We are ready to go in that direction.”
Byrd said Jones will be introduced to the Williamsburg team and fans, May 6, during the athletic banquet.
“I am very excited about coming back to the area, and having the opportunity to begin my head coaching career,” said Jones.
“It is a great opportunity to get the Williamsburg tradition back to where it has been in the past. I am just thankful that Mr. Byrd and rest of the administration chose me for this position. There are several things I want to do at Williamsburg but the most important thing is to teach the fundamentals and get the kids into the best condition that they can possibly be in. The feeder program is extremely important because these kids need to learn the fundamentals at a young age. This will be extremely important for future success,” he said.
Jones began his career at Corbin High School where he played for coach Billy Hicks his freshman and sophomore seasons. He followed Hicks to Scott County where he played and was later named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball.
He then went on to Vanderbilt in 1999 and later transferred to Murray State where he helped lead the Racers to the NCAA tournament his senior season. They lost to Illinois in the first-round.
Jones tied the SEC tournament record for most 3 point field goals made in a game (8) while at Vanderbilt .
He played in the state tournament as a sophomore, junior, and senior so he knows what it takes to win at the high school level. “It will take time to turn this program around, but these kids will work hard and we want to progress in all aspects of the game. I want these kids to never give up and represent Williamsburg with class and character, ” said Jones.
“These kids are students first, and they must perform at a satisfactory level in the classroom in order to play on this team, ” he added.
Jones is looking forward to coaching against the likes of Mike Deaton, Tony Pietrowski and Steve Wright. “It will be a priveledge to coach against these three guys. Coach Deaton was a big part of the success that I had as a player and it will be great to coach against him as well as learn from him. He is one of the best coaches around and he will prove that during his years at Whitley. I am confident he will have those Colonels improved very quickly.”
“Tony, what can I say, he was my hero as a little kid, he is without a doubt one of the best all around players to ever come out of this region. He has also proved his coaching is reflecting of what he has done during his playing days, which is win basketball games,” said Jones.
“My brother, Jason McDaniel, is also an assistant at corbin and it will be exciting to have the opportunity to coach against him. He has taught me so much over the years and it will be exciting to play against them.”
“Steve Wright has proven year in and year out why he is one the best in the business. He plays against the best competition year in and year out and continues to win ball games. I can only say that coaching against these three guys will only help me improve as a coach, and it something that I am looking forward to. ”