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After 14 years, Ron Jones has developed one of the top women’s basketball programs in the nation. His Lady Chap teams average 26 wins per season. This year’s version of the Lady Chap Basketball Team has been honored with a Pre-Season #6 National ranking. Additionally, the Lady Chaps have been to three NJCAA “Final Fours” and finished in 5th place in 2008. He is also responsible for the development of 31 NCAA Division I student-athletes and five NJCAA All-Americans. Recently, Coach Jones witnessed for the first time, the drafting of a former player into the WNBA, when former Lady Chap Amisha Carter was drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty. Carter, formerly of the Detroit Shock, completed her playing career at Midland College in 2002.
Jones’ collegiate coaching resume includes a 403-125 (.763) overall collegiate career record, a 369-98 (.790) overall record at Midland College, six conference titles, 14 NJCAA Region V Tournament appearances, seven Region V Finals appearances and four NJCAA National Tournament Appearances (3rd place in 1999, 2nd place in 2001, 3rd place in 2003, and 5th place in 2008). His 369 victories at Midland College place him as the school’s record holder for basketball. Over the course of his entire coaching career (high school and college) Jones’ record is 480-150 (.761).
Jones hails from Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he earned all-state honors as a high school basketball player. Following his high school graduation Jones was signed to a letter of intent by Coach Chester Story to play for Midland College. Ron played for Story, Delnor Poss and finally Jerry Stone. After completing his playing career at MC, Jones signed to continue his playing career at Pan American University (now named the University of Texas – Pan American).
He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Central Oklahoma. After completing his studies at UCO, Jones began his coaching career at Guthrie, Oklahoma High School, winning three-consecutive conference, regional and area titles with an impressive 69-9 record over the three seasons. Guthrie won the Oklahoma state title in 1990, with Coach Jones earning Oklahoma Coach of the Year honors that year.
Next for Jones was his first collegiate coaching job as the head coach at Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas in 1992. As the coach at WTC, Jones and his Lady Duster team recorded a 34-27 overall record over two seasons. In his second season at WTC, the team chalked up a 19-12 record and qualified for the Region V Tournament.
Jones left Western Texas in 1994 to accept the challenge of starting the new basketball program at Midland College. Meeting the challenge head on, Jones not only recruited a team, but also fielded a contender in his first season at Midland College. The Lady Chaps recorded a 23-8 overall record (8-4 in the WJCAC) and finished in second place.
Coach Jones would be the first to say that his coaching achievements come second to his commitment to his family. He would also freely admit that having Melanie, his wife, beside him makes the coaching successes possible. Ron and Melanie are the proud parents of three daughters, Jenny, 25 who lives in San Antonio and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Kinesiology, Shelby and Katie, who are 15 and 10 years old respectively.
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