Montel Jones is in his third season as women's basketball coach at Saint Augustine's University.
The Lady Falcons have showed promise on the court and in the classroom under Jones' leadership. In the 2018-19 season, they won the CIAA Highest Grade Point Average Award for women's basketball. The Lady Falcons also defeated crosstown rival Shaw University on the road for the first time since 2008.
SAU improved its win total by seven games in the 2019-20 season. Their win total included two victories against Shaw to complete SAU's first sweep in the crosstown rivalry since the 2008-09 season.
SAU has developed a reputation for defense under Jones. In the 2018-19 season, the Lady Falcons ranked 24th nationally in Division II in forcing turnovers. Teams coughed up the basketball over 20 times a game against the Lady Falcons.
The Lady Falcons increased their defensive pressure in Jones' second season. They forced 21.8 turnovers per game, which ranked 16th nationally in Division II in the 2019-20 season.
Jones has 10 years of coaching experience including two seasons (2016-18) as an assistant under SAU head men’s basketball coach MarQus Johnson. His primary responsibilities were working with the post players in addition to being the team’s recruiting coordinator and academic mentor.
He helped turn standout forward Quincy January into a three-time CIAA Defensive Player of the Year winner. January is believed to be the first player to win the award three times.
January, who ranked among the nation’s Division II rebounding and double-double leaders in points and rebounds, was a three-time All-CIAA selection and posted over 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in his stellar four-year career.
Jones also played a role in Tyrece Little earning CIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors during his two-year stint as men’s assistant coach at Virginia State University. He was part of a VSU staff which won the CIAA Championship and reached the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2016.
A Kinston, N.C., native, Jones was previously on the men’s basketball staffs at Wingate University and the University of Mount Olive before coaching at VSU and SAU. During his time at both schools, Mount Olive captured the Conference Carolinas regular-season title and Wingate won back-to-back South Atlantic Conference tournament crowns. Wingate also played in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
Before entering the coaching profession, Jones was a basketball student-athlete at Mount Olive, where he graduated in 2008 with a criminal justice degree. During his college career, Mount Olive set a school record for men’s basketball victories (101) over a four-year span. As a freshman, Jones was a member of the 2005 Trojans’ squad which won the NCAA Division II East Regional and made its first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight.
In his prep days, Jones was a standout basketball player at famed Kinston High School in Kinston, N.C. Kinston High School has churned out numerous collegiate and professional basketball players over the years.
