Virginia Tech associate head coach Mike Jones is reportedly leaving Blacksburg to be an assistant at Maryland according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Sources: Maryland is hiring Virginia Tech assistant Mike Jones. He’s the longtime DeMatha High School coach and USA Basketball staff linchpin who brings deep ties to the DMV area.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 3, 2023
Jones was the top assistant for the Hokies the past two seasons after an illustrious tenure as the head coach at high school powerhouse DeMatha Catholic while also serving as the US U-16 head coach in 2019.
There's no doubt that this is a significant loss for the Hokies as Jones played an important in multiple DMV recruitments including talented freshman PG Rodney Rice. Additionally, Jones is very highly-regarded in the DMV and who helped open doors for Tech on the recruiting trail in those areas beyond guys he coached at DeMatha Catholic.
With Jones heading to Maryland, it seems likely that strong DMV ties may be a priority for Mike Young in replacing Jones though Christian Webster also has some good DMV connections. We saw a DMV emphasis previously after Chester Frazier left for Illinois and was replaced by Jones.
We will have more as this story develops.
