AUSTIN, Sept. 28, 2010 - Spurs Sports and Entertainment today announced that Brad Jones has been hired as the head coach of the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team owned and operated by Spurs Sports and Entertainment.
“We are excited to have Brad join our organization,” said RC Buford, president of sports franchises for Spurs Sports and Entertainment. “We are confident that Brad will provide outstanding leadership and instruction for the Toros players. His coaching style will provide our fans with an outstanding experience while still focusing on the Toros main mission, which is player development.”
Jones spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Utah Flash. He was named the head coach of the Flash on May 24, 2007. As a D-League expansion team the Flash enjoyed a successful inaugural campaign under Jones, finishing the 2007-08 season with a 24-26 mark. During the 2008-09 season the Flash posted a 32-18 record and advanced to the 2009 D-League Finals. Utah posted a 28-22 record in 2009-10, making a second straight playoff appearance. Jones was relieved of his coaching duties in July of 2010.
Prior to joining the Flash, Jones served as a regional scout for the Utah Jazz for six years.
A 1990 graduate of Lambuth University, Jones obtained his master’s degree in health and physical education from the University of Memphis. As a senior at Lambuth he was the captain of the basketball team and was named the school’s Male Athlete of the Year and the Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Jones served as the head coach at Lambuth from 1995-2001. During his tenure he was twice named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year and led the school to a pair of conference championships. In 2001 he was hired as a scout by the Utah Jazz.
In addition to his work in basketball, Jones served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Jones and his wife, Lori, were both inducted into Lambuth Hall of Fame in April of 2010. The couple has three children, Justin, Isabella and Jackson. Lori Jones is in her ninth season as the head women’s basketball coach at Southeastern Louisiana.
The Toros open training camp on November 9 and tip-off the 2010-11 season in Maine on November 19.