Hurricanes name Frank Jones boys' basketball coach

Frank Jones has been named boys' high school basketball coach at East Hamilton.
Frank Jones has been named boys' high school basketball coach at East Hamilton.

East Hamilton has named Frank Jones coach of its boys' high school basketball program.

Jones, who met with players Friday morning, led Howard to the state tournament three times in six seasons as that program's coach and also guided Kirkman to a state runner-up finish. He is a member of the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame.

"Coaching has always been in my blood," said Jones, already an administrator at East Hamilton. "I've still enjoyed working with kids at the school and in my church and other programs around the city, so I knew I still had that desire to coach kids and hopefully helping develop them to become better students and young men.

"When this situation presented itself, I felt like I could get back into the game. I'm motivated and excited; I feel really good about what we can do here."

Jones takes over the Hurricanes after Rodney English resigned midway through last season.

After an all-star prep playing career at Kirkman, a Chattanooga high school that closed in 1991, Jones was an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection his last three seasons at Tennessee Tech and was drafted by the NBA's Buffalo Braves in 1976. He coached at Kirkman from 1978 to '90, then coached and was the athletic director at City High through the 1993 school year. He coached girls' basketball at Tyner for two seasons before going to Howard.

"Frank is just such a role model and has been for a long time," East Hamilton principal Brent Eller said. "He brings basketball knowledge, discipline and is fair-tempered. He carries himself as a role model.

"We had more than 50 applicants, but right away we knew he was the man to beat."

Eller said Jones said he was interested in the job after the search process began.

"As we were discussing applicants, he sort of jokingly said, 'Why don't you just let me do it?' He said he still has some gas in the tank and loves being around the kids," Eller added. "I said, 'If you're serious, let's look at this.' After a short discussion, it was obvious he would be the best candidate."

Jones also served as Brainerd High School's principal from 2004 to '09. In recent years he's been an assistant principal at Central

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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