The No. 3-seed FSU men's basketball team begins NCAA Tournament play in Nashville Friday at 2:45 p.m. ET against 14th-seeded St. Bonaventure and its talented NBA prospect.
No. 17 FSU's postseason picture starts coming into focus Friday night as the Seminoles take on Miami in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
With Stan Jones as Florida State's associate head coach, Florida State has played in a school record tying three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, reached the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, been ranked in the final national top 20 in two of the last three seasons and developed into one of the top three programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In his 10th season as the associate head coach at Florida State, Jones has helped the Seminoles build a solid program by doing what he does as well as any coach in the country: recruit outstanding talent and develop those signees into NBA level players. A total of eight Seminoles have become NBA Draft choices during his tenure at Florida State. Jones is one of the most respected coaches in all of college basketball who has an incredible ability to help young players develop into fundamentally sound basketball stars.
Jones had led Florida State to the third best record in the ACC in the last three seasons, and in 2009 he led the Seminoles to the ACC tournament championship game for the first time in school history. Along the way, the Seminoles have defeated three No. 1 ranked teams, 21 teams ranked in the national polls and has led Florida State to three consecutive top four ACC finishes. His teaching philosophies have helped Florida State become the nation's top defensive team and his ability to teach the game of basketball has allowed the Seminoles to become one of the most fundamentally sound teams in the nation.
TEAM SINCE JOINING
Since joining the Florida State coaching staff in 2002, Jones has helped produce results on the court that haven't been realized in years. In his tenure, the Seminoles have played in a school record three consecutive NCAA appearances for the first time since the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons, made a school record six consecutive postseason appearances, played in the ACC championship game for the first time in school history in 2009, won at least 19 games in seven of his nine seasons and at least 20 games in five of nine seasons, and have won 26 more conference games than the eight years prior to him coming to Florida State. Since joining the team in 2002, the Seminoles have averaged nearly 20 wins per season and have advanced to postseason play in all but two seasons in Tallahassee. The Seminoles advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2011 - the first time Florida State had advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1993.
FLORIDA STATE IN THE ACC
With Jones as an integral part of its operation, Florida State is the third winningest program in the ACC in the last six years (since the start of the 2005-06 season) in total ACC regular season and ACC Tournament games. The Seminoles have won 58 games against ACC competition. Florida State is one of only two teams in the ACC (they are joined by Duke) who has finished with double digit wins and in the top four of the final ACC standings in each of the last three seasons. Including their 11 wins in ACC during the 2010-11 season, the Seminoles average nearly 10 conference wins per year (9.7) since the start of the 2005-06 season. Additionally, the Seminoles are the third winningest program in the ACC in the last three years (since the start of the 2008-09 season) in total games played with 70 wins. The Seminoles average 23.3 wins per season with records of 25-10 (2008-09), 22-10 (2009-10) 23-10 (2010-11 season).
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
As one of the top coaches in all of college basketball, Jones has been recognized several times for his achievements. As recently as 2009, he was selected as part of the elite group of assistant coaches from the input of more than 450 head and assistant coaches from around the nation. In 2008, FoxSports.com named Jones one of the top 20 assistant basketball coaches in the country. In 2004, he was recognized as one of the top coaches in the country by Rivals.com.
POSTSEASON AND NBA DRAFT
In his 15 years as a coach at the collegiate level, Jones has helped 12 different teams into postseason play including seven into the NCAA tournament. He has also recruited and coached 13 different NBA Draft selections, including five first round picks.
TOP RECRUITING CLASSES
In his first nine years at Florida State, Jones has helped the Seminoles on the court through recruiting. His ability to recruit players has helped the Seminoles attract 18 national ranked top 100 recruits, three McDonald's All-Americans and eight NBA Draft selections. Florida State's stellar recruiting classes have become the foundation of the Seminoles' success. Jones has helped bring seven top 25 recruiting classes to Tallahassee including the nation's No. 1 ranked class in 2003. Four different recruiting services - Rivals.com, CBS - The Official College Sports Network, Hoopmasters.com and the Louisville Courier Journal - all ranked the Seminoles' 2003 recruiting class as the nation's best. It marked the first time in school history that the Seminoles' recruiting class has been ranked as the No. 1 class in the nation.
ALL SELECTIONS
Since joining the ACC, Florida State has produced four first team all-conference selections, and Jones has helped coach three of them - Tim Pickett, Al Thornton and Toney Douglas. In total, he has coached seven all-conference selections, with two second team All-ACC selections and two third team All-ACC selection on top of the three first team selections. In helping the Seminoles become the nation's most dominant defensive team, Jones has played an integral role in coaching the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in each of the last three seasons. All-American Toney Douglas was named the league's top defender in 2009 while Chris Singleton earned the honor in both 2010 and 2011. In 2011, Singleton was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the ACC's 12 head coaches.
DRAFT PICKS
With eight NBA Draft selections in the last eight years, including three first round selections, Jones has helped Florida State become one of the top producers of NBA talent since his arrival at Florida State in 2001. Florida State's three first round selections in the NBA Draft in the last five seasons are nearly as many as Florida State produced during the decade of the 1990's (four) and nearly as many as were produced in the first 50 years of the program (six). Chris Singleton was selected as the 18th overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft and joined Al Thornton (14th overall selection in 2007) and Toney Douglas (29th overall selection in 2009) as recent first round draft picks. Singleton was a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Thornton was only the second NBA Draft Lottery selection in school history and Douglas was an All-ACC First Team selection as a senior. In the 2010 NBA Draft Solomon Alabi and Ryan Reid became the first Seminole duo to be drafted in the same year since Doug Edwards and Sam Cassell were both chosen as first round selections in 1993. Tim Pickett, who earned All-America Honorable mention and All-ACC First-Team selection during his two-year career at Florida State, was a second round pick of the New Orleans Hornets in 2004, while Von Wafer was a second round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2005. Alexander Johnson was an All-ACC pick and was selected in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. With eight draft selections since 2004, Florida State is ranked third in the ACC for total draft selections and total first round picks. The Seminoles were one of only two ACC teams to have at least one player drafted each year from 2004-07, and in 2010 were one of two ACC teams (Georgia Tech) to have two players selected in the same draft.
NBA DRAFT CHOICE SOLOMON ALABI
In 2009, Jones helped sophomore center Solomon Alabi achieve all conference and All-ACC defensive honors as a third team selection, after earning Freshman All-America Honorable Mention and All-ACC Freshman honors the previous year. Jones was largely responsible for the development Alabi who led the ACC in blocked shot in both 2008 and 2009. The 7-footer came to Tallahassee with seemingly limitless potential and Jones helped Alabi reach that potential. Alabi earned All-ACC defensive team honors and became only the seventh freshman in league history to lead the conference in blocked shots with 73. In his second full season of action, Jones helped the center reach even greater heights as he improved in nearly every category including rebounds per game (5.6 to 6.2), points per game (8.4 to 11.7), blocked shots (73 to 75), and free throw percentage (.680 to .794). Alabi led the team in points and blocked shots per game as well as free throw percentage. Alabi's development allowed him to become the second round draft choice of the Dallas Mavericks in 2009.
NBA DRAFT PICKS AL THORNTON AND TIM PICKETT
Jones is also largely credited with the development of 2007 NBA Lottery Draft pick Al Thornton, who came to Florida State as a little known freshman in 2004 and finished his career as one of the top players in school history. After averaging just 2.8 points and 7.9 minutes played as a freshman, Thornton left Florida State for the NBA as an All-America Third Team and All-ACC First Team selection, the runner-up ACC Player of the Year and the eighth-leading all-time scorer in Seminole basketball history. Thornton was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in his first professional season. Jones's coaching talents have also been extolled for his work with Tim Pickett, who came to Florida State as a junior college transfer and left as a First Team All-ACC selection and an NBA Draft pick.
FSU YEAR RECORD IMPROVEMENT
Jones became an assistant coach at Florida State for the 2002-03 season and the Seminoles have realized a marked improvement in their overall play which is clearly illustrated in its record improvement on an annual basis. From the 2006 to 2011 seasons, the Seminoles experienced more 20-win seasons (five) than in the previous 16 seasons (four). The Seminoles' 20 wins in 2006 marked the first time in a decade that a Florida State team had reached that milestone. The Seminoles 25 wins in 2009 represented the first time since 1993 the team had won that many games, and became only the third time in school history (1972, 1993) the team had won 25 games. The Seminoles' current steak of 20 or more wins in three consecutive seasons marks the first time since the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons that Florida State has won 20 or more games in three straight years.
FSU TEAM STATISTICAL IMPROVEMENT
Not only has Jones helped the Seminoles improve their win-loss record, but he has also helped the team become the nation's top defensive team and nationally renowned in multiple statistical categories. Jones helped Florida State finished the 2010-11 season as the field goal percentage defense national statistical champion with a .363 mark - the second consecutive season they have led the nation in the most telling defensive statistic kept by the NCAA. The Seminoles are the first team to repeat as the field goal percentage national champions since Marquette in the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Florida State's .363 mark ranks as the fourth lowest mark by a leader in the category since the NCAA began compiling the statistic in 1977. It also marks the lowest field goal percentage defensive mark by an ACC team since 1960 - a span of 52 years - and was the seventh lowest mark in ACC history. The Seminoles became only the sixth team in NCAA history to repeat as the field goal percentage defensive national champions. In addition to ranking first nationally in the field goal percentage defense category, the Seminoles ranked first nationally in field goal percentage defense (.363), fifth in blocked shots (6.0 bpg), 15th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.306), 24th in steals per game (8.3 spg) and 27th in rebound margin (+4.9 rpg) and were the only team in the nation to finish the season ranked in the top 30 in each of those five statistical categories during the 2010-11 season.
WINS OVER RANKED TEAMS
With Jones coaching the Seminoles, the team has been able to produce on the biggest of stages. In his time at Florida State, Jones has led the team to 21 wins against teams ranked in the AP Poll, for an average of more than two wins per season versus teams in the top 25 of the national polls. Florida State defeated four nationally ranked teams during the 2010-11 season (No. 15 Baylor on Dec. 25, 68-61, No. 1 Duke on Jan. 16, 66-61, No. 20 Texas A&M on March 18, 57-50 and No. 5 Notre Dame on March 20, 71-57). Florida State has defeated at least one ranked team in each of Jones' nine seasons on Florida State's bench. The Seminoles' four wins over ranked teams in 2010-11 marked the second time since the start of the 2002-03 season that Florida State has defeated as many as four ranked teams in the same season. With two wins over nationally ranked opponents in the 2011 NCAA Tournament (No. 5 ranked Notre Dame and No. 20 ranked Texas A&M), the Seminoles are the third winningest team in the ACC against ranked teams in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments since the beginning of the 2009 ACC Tournament. The Seminoles have three wins over ranked teams in postseason play including two over top ranked opponents (No. 1 North Carolina in the semifinals of the 2009 ACC Tournament and No. 5 ranked Notre Dame in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
FSU CONFERENCE
In Jones' tenure at Florida State, the Seminoles have experienced great success in one of the most competitive conferences in all of college basketball. In his nine seasons at Florida State, Jones has helped coach the team to 68 ACC wins (7.6 per season), which is a stark improvement over the 47 conference wins recorded in the previous nine seasons (5.2 per season). In the past three seasons, the Seminoles have recorded double digit ACC wins for the first time in school history. After finishing fourth in the ACC in 2009 - the teams' best finish since 1993, when they finished second - Jones helped build upon that success by coaching the Seminoles to third place league finishes in both 2010 and 2011. Florida State is the third winningest program in the ACC in the least six years in terms of ACC regular season and ACC Tournament wins (58) and is the third winningest team in the ACC in terms overall wins since the start of the 2008-09 season (70).
FSU POSTSEASON
Florida State has played in a school record tying three NCAA Tournaments and a school record six consecutive postseason tournaments. In 2009, Jones helped the Seminoles return to the NCAA tournament - a position the team had not been in for over a decade. The Seminoles earned a No. 5 seed in the tournament -- the highest seed earned by Florida State since the 1992-93 season, when the Seminoles earned a No. 3 seed. In 2010, Jones helped the team reach the NCAA tournament, marking the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons that the Seminoles had played in two consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Florida State advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2011 marking the first time since 1993 and the fourth time in school history the Seminoles advanced to the Sweet 16. Jones has also coached the team to four NIT appearances. He also helped Florida State reach the ACC Tournament championship game in 2009 for the first time in school history after defeating the No. 1 ranked and eventual National Champion, North Carolina in the semifinal game.
CAREER NCAA TOURNAMENT
Jones has coached seven teams and three programs into the NCAA tournament in his 15 years as a coach in the collegiate ranks. Jones has led Florida State to the NCAA tournament in a school record three consecutive seasons (2009, 2010 and 2011), helped coach Miami into the NCAA Tournament during three consecutive seasons (1998, 1999 and 2000) and coached Mississippi State into the NCAA Tournament during the 2002 season. In all three instances, Jones helped the three programs return to the NCAA tournament after lengthy absences. Florida State earned a No. 5 seed in 2009 marking the first time the Seminoles reached the NCAA Tournament in ten years. In 1998, the Hurricanes made their first tournament appearance since reviving the program in 1985 and had not been to the Tournament since 1960. Mississippi State, which also won the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship in 2002, had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1996, a span of six years.
SUCCESS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
Jones helped lead Mississippi State to a school-best No. 3 seed in the 2002 NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs also captured the school's second SEC tournament championship with victories over No. 11-ranked Florida and No. 8-ranked Alabama in the title game of the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State also recorded the school record for most wins in a single season with 27 in his only season in Starkville.
IN THE NBA WITH THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Jones was also an assistant coach to Leonard Hamilton with the Washington Wizards in 2001.
MIAMI
Jones began his collegiate assistant coaching career at Miami under Hamilton in 1996. During his career at Miami, he helped guide the Hurricanes to a 95-54 record for a .638 winning percentage and three NCAA Tournament appearances. The 95 wins (19.0 wins per season) were the most in a five-year period for the program since the 1959 through 1964 seasons. Miami won 23 games in both 1999 and 2000 to mark only the third time in program history (and first time since 1964) that the program had won at least 20 games in consecutive seasons.
MIAMI POSTSEASON
In his final four seasons at Miami, Jones helped guide the Hurricanes to four postseason tournament appearances, a regular season Big East championship and the school's first ever NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" appearance in 2000. Miami won a then school record 23 games in 1999 on its way to the school's first ever top-10 national ranking. The Hurricanes were ranked No. 10 in the season ending Associated Press poll.
PERSONAL
The 51 year-old Jones is married to the former Olga Campos. The couple has a daughter, Shannon (29), a son, Adam (27) and a son-in-law Kass Botini. Shannon and Kass welcomed the family's first grandchild, Kaleb, into the world right after the Seminoles' run in the ACC Tournament championship game and the NCAA Tournament in March of 2009 as well as a second grandchild, Jacob, just after the Final Four in 2011.
