Derrick Jones joined the Vanderbilt men’s basketball staff in May of 2014.
Jones is responsible for recruiting, scouting, and player development with the Commodores.
Jones arrived in Nashville after spending four seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he helped the Bulldogs to a historic run in his time in Ruston and a record 56 wins in the last two seasons. Louisiana Tech won 27 games in 2012-13 and 29 in 2013-14 and captured two regular season conference championships, the WAC in 2012-13 and Conference USA in 2013-14. The 2012-13 season featured a program record 18-game winning streak, the school’s first AP Top 25 ranking in 28 years and a berth into the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) where the `Dogs advanced to the second round, and in 2013-14, Louisiana Tech was one win away from advancing to the NIT semifinals in New York.
Jones was primarily responsible for coaching the forwards and centers with the Bulldogs, which included a two-time WAC All-Defensive team member in Michale Kyser who recently signed a free-agent contract with the Toronto Raptors.
This solid foundation was laid a year earlier during Jones’ first year on former Bulldog and current Florida coach Michael White’s staff in 2011-12 when he worked closely with senior Romario Souza who often times was the only forward on the court. Souza drastically improved his game throughout the year, and would go on to start the last ten games for the Bulldogs, averaging 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in those contests.
Souza’s emergence down the stretch helped lead the Bulldogs to wins in five of their last six regular games and an appearance in the program’s first ever WAC Tournament final after upsetting Utah State and Nevada in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
After coming up just 40 minutes short of making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the program’s first time since 1991, the Bulldogs ended with an overall record of 18-16, a six-win improvement from the year before.
Jones came to Ruston with an impressive resume as he spent two seasons at the University of New Orleans under current University of Arizona Associate Head Coach Joe Pasternack, where he was heavily involved in recruiting, player evaluation, academics and on-court preparation for the Privateers. Prior to UNO, Jones spent three years as an assistant coach at Samford, his alma mater, from 2005 through 2008 working for coach Jimmy Tillette, who is the program’s all-time leader in wins with over 200. During his first year with the Bulldogs, Jones helped lead Samford to a 20-win season, including wins over perennial postseason teams in Southern Miss and Murray State.
Jones started his coaching career on the high school level where he served as an assistant coach at John Ehret High School in Marrero, La. Under Coach Al Collins from 2003-2005. After a 13-14 finish in his first year at the school, Jones helped coach the team to a 27-3 mark and a No. 2 ranking in Class 5A the following season.
After prepping as a player at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge where he helped lead the team to the 1995 Louisiana Class 5A state title game as a junior, Jones signed with Mississippi State where he started 12 games and led all Bulldog freshmen in scoring. Following his sophomore season in Starkville, he transferred to Samford where he led the program to an NCAA Tournament appearance as a junior. He averaged 13.8 points and earned all-conference accolades his senior season.
Jones earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Samford in 2001. He and his wife, Tiffany, have two sons, Nico and Max.