Robert Jones - Sustained Winning, Culture, and Speaking Truth on MEAC Basketball

3x HBCU Coach of the Year, Robert Jones joins this week's episode of ​⁠. After another year leading Norfolk State to a MEAC title and NCAA tournament appearance, Coach Jones still has high expectations going into his 13th season as head coach of the Spartans.Jones is from Queens, New York and played his college basketball at SUNY New Paltz (D3). He was dominant during his career and was awarded all-american his senior season. He began his coaching career at multiple levels including high school and division 3 institutions before getting an assistant coaching job at Norfolk State. Coach Jones became the head coach at Norfolk State in 2013 and since then has only had one below .500 season. He's been awarded MEAC Coach of the Year 3x in his career along with many other coaching awards. He's brought in some of the most successful players in NSU history including Joe Bryant Jr., Brian Moore, and Kyle O'Quinn. Hear about Coach Jones journey leading up to NSU, his thoughts regarding the controversial 2024-25 MEAC MBB awards, his opinions surrounding MEAC vs. P4 schools, and more. This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to the podcasts YouTube channel ​⁠ for more sports content. Enjoy the episode!Sneak Peak- 00:00-00:20Intro- 00:20-08:11Coaching "Friends" Around the Country, Relationship with Son, Mindset Behind Giving his Son Scholarship- 08:11-13:262025-26 NSU Roster & Preseason, Players Searching for in the Portal- 13:26-18:12Adapting with the Evolution of Basketball, Playing Career at SUNY New Paltz, D3 Basketball & We Are D3 TBT- 18:12-29:50Narrative behind MEAC vs. P5 Schools, P5 Schools Avoiding Playing Norfolk State- 29:50-36:36Approach to Developing Players, Maintaining Success Year to Year- 36:36-41:00Break- 41:00-41:08Opinions on 2024-25 MEAC MBB Awards, HBCU Event Challenges- 41:08-50:46NYC Background, Balancing Swagger vs. Professionalism as a Head Coach- 50:46-01:02:48Rapid Fire (Favorite Away Arenas, Favorite Things about NYC/VA, Funniest Players Coached)- 01:02:48-01:08:30Starting 5: Best Players Coached- 01:08:30-01:12:12Outro- 01:12:12-01:12:47