Rice University Athletics
Men’s Basketball Hires Mike Jones as Assistant Coach
8/14/2026 10:58:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HOUSTON — Rice Men's Basketball Head Coach Rob Lanier has announced the hiring of Assistant Coach Mike Jones Friday morning.
"When the position opened, I never imagined I'd be able to fill it with someone of Mike's caliber," said Lanier. "I've known Mike for over 30 years, and I've always had the upmost respect for him as a man and as a coach. I couldn't be more excited about the impact he will have on our program."
A 15-year head coaching veteran, Jones comes to South Main after spending the last five years as the head coach at UNC-Greensboro. Jones led the Spartans to four winning seasons, including three 20-win plateaus. While at UNCG he coached nine All-Southern Conference players, including Kobe Langley, who earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He led the Spartans to a berth in the Roman College Basketball Invitational.
In 2023-24, he led the UNCG to a 78-72 victory at No. 14 Arkansas, its first-ever over a ranked opponent. A week later, the Spartans won he Baha Mar Nassau Championship. The previous year, he was named the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading UNC Greensboro to a 20-12 record, including 14-4 in conference. Jones closed his tenure with a 93-69 record, including 57-33 in the SoCon.
Prior to UNCG, Jones spent 10 years as the Head Coach at Radford, where he became the second winningest coach in school history. A two-time Big South Coach of the Year, he finished with a 174-150 record, including 99-77 in the Big South. led the Highlanders to three postseason appearances and the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Jones coached 18 players to All-Big South honors, and 10 players were tabbed VaSID All-State. Under Jones, both Javonte Green (2014-15) and Ed Polite Jr. (2018-19) were named Big South Defensive Player of the Year while Carlik Jones earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors in 2017-18 and claimed the Big South Player of the Year award in 2019-20 season.
The Highlanders won 20 games five times under Jones. The 2018-19 squad went 22-11, with wins over Notre Dame and No. 17 Texas, the first ranked win in school history. For his success on the court and his high moral standing off of it, he was also named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.
In 2017-18 season was one of the most memorable in program history. Radford won a school record 23 games, earning a pair of tournament championships, starting with the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. It then began a postseason run in the Big South Tournament, culminating in a 55-52 victory over Liberty in the title game to win the Big South Championship.
Jones and the Highlanders earned a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were selected to play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. It was there on March 13, 2018 that Radford won its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory – a 71-61 win over LIU Brooklyn. Their run came to an end at the hands of eventual national champion Virginia.
During his tenure, the Highlanders defeated opponents such as Northwestern, Texas, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Penn State. Jones laid the framework in the first season with Big South All-Freshman selections Javonte Green and R.J. Price. Green, who was Jones' first All-Big South performer, and Price spearheaded the Highlanders' resurgence to the top of the league.
Under Jones' tutelage, Green developed into one of the all-time greats in Radford men's basketball history, finishing his career second in scoring, first in rebounding, first in steals, second in free throws made, second in field goals made and first in games played. He became the Highlanders' first NBA player when the Boston Celtics signed him for the 2019-20 season, becoming a seven-year NBA veteran.
Jones spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons at VCU, which included a run to the 2011 Final Four with wins over USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas. While on Shaka Smart's staff, the Rams posted 55 wins over the two seasons Jones was on the staff, the highest total over any two-year span in program history.
Jones served a six-year stint on Dennis Felton's bench at Georgia from 2003-09. In 2008, Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs won four games in three days to complete the most improbable SEC Championship run in conference history, which included a tornado striking the Georgia Dome and the tournament being moved to the Georgia Tech campus.
While at Georgia, Jones made a name for himself when Rivals.com selected him as one of the nation's Top-25 recruiters in 2005. Jones also previously worked under John Beilein at Richmond from 2000-02 and during the early stages of Beilein's rebuilding project at West Virginia in 2002-03.
Jones was a four-year standout at Howard, where he graduated in 1990.
"When the position opened, I never imagined I'd be able to fill it with someone of Mike's caliber," said Lanier. "I've known Mike for over 30 years, and I've always had the upmost respect for him as a man and as a coach. I couldn't be more excited about the impact he will have on our program."
A 15-year head coaching veteran, Jones comes to South Main after spending the last five years as the head coach at UNC-Greensboro. Jones led the Spartans to four winning seasons, including three 20-win plateaus. While at UNCG he coached nine All-Southern Conference players, including Kobe Langley, who earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He led the Spartans to a berth in the Roman College Basketball Invitational.
In 2023-24, he led the UNCG to a 78-72 victory at No. 14 Arkansas, its first-ever over a ranked opponent. A week later, the Spartans won he Baha Mar Nassau Championship. The previous year, he was named the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading UNC Greensboro to a 20-12 record, including 14-4 in conference. Jones closed his tenure with a 93-69 record, including 57-33 in the SoCon.
Prior to UNCG, Jones spent 10 years as the Head Coach at Radford, where he became the second winningest coach in school history. A two-time Big South Coach of the Year, he finished with a 174-150 record, including 99-77 in the Big South. led the Highlanders to three postseason appearances and the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Jones coached 18 players to All-Big South honors, and 10 players were tabbed VaSID All-State. Under Jones, both Javonte Green (2014-15) and Ed Polite Jr. (2018-19) were named Big South Defensive Player of the Year while Carlik Jones earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors in 2017-18 and claimed the Big South Player of the Year award in 2019-20 season.
The Highlanders won 20 games five times under Jones. The 2018-19 squad went 22-11, with wins over Notre Dame and No. 17 Texas, the first ranked win in school history. For his success on the court and his high moral standing off of it, he was also named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.
In 2017-18 season was one of the most memorable in program history. Radford won a school record 23 games, earning a pair of tournament championships, starting with the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. It then began a postseason run in the Big South Tournament, culminating in a 55-52 victory over Liberty in the title game to win the Big South Championship.
Jones and the Highlanders earned a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were selected to play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. It was there on March 13, 2018 that Radford won its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory – a 71-61 win over LIU Brooklyn. Their run came to an end at the hands of eventual national champion Virginia.
During his tenure, the Highlanders defeated opponents such as Northwestern, Texas, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Penn State. Jones laid the framework in the first season with Big South All-Freshman selections Javonte Green and R.J. Price. Green, who was Jones' first All-Big South performer, and Price spearheaded the Highlanders' resurgence to the top of the league.
Under Jones' tutelage, Green developed into one of the all-time greats in Radford men's basketball history, finishing his career second in scoring, first in rebounding, first in steals, second in free throws made, second in field goals made and first in games played. He became the Highlanders' first NBA player when the Boston Celtics signed him for the 2019-20 season, becoming a seven-year NBA veteran.
Jones spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons at VCU, which included a run to the 2011 Final Four with wins over USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas. While on Shaka Smart's staff, the Rams posted 55 wins over the two seasons Jones was on the staff, the highest total over any two-year span in program history.
Jones served a six-year stint on Dennis Felton's bench at Georgia from 2003-09. In 2008, Georgia advanced to the NCAA Tournament when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs won four games in three days to complete the most improbable SEC Championship run in conference history, which included a tornado striking the Georgia Dome and the tournament being moved to the Georgia Tech campus.
While at Georgia, Jones made a name for himself when Rivals.com selected him as one of the nation's Top-25 recruiters in 2005. Jones also previously worked under John Beilein at Richmond from 2000-02 and during the early stages of Beilein's rebuilding project at West Virginia in 2002-03.
Jones was a four-year standout at Howard, where he graduated in 1990.
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