TSU Basketball: Johnny Jones' Contract Extension, Women's Coaching Vacancy Remains
On Tuesday, April 12, 2022, Texas Southern University and VP of Intercollegiate Athletics Kevin Granger announced that head men's basketball coach Johnny Jones agreed to a contract extension to remain with the university. "The extension, which is pending the approval of the Texas Southern University Board of Regents, will keep Jones as head coach of the Tigers through the 2026 season," per the TSU announcement.
The extension was an easy call to make for Texas Southern. The Tigers claimed their second-straight SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship after routing Alcorn 87-62. Also, Coach Jones led the Texas Southern (19-13) team to consecutive NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament trips.
Mar 14, 2022; Dayton, OH, USA; Texas Southern Tigers head coach Johnny Jones on the court with the team during practice the day before the start of the First Four of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The TSU defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-12) in the NCAA First Four game at the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 15, inside the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
Unfortunately, the Tigers fell to No. 1 seeded and eventual National Champions Kansas Jayhawks in the opening round, 83-56.
TSU hired Jones in 2018, and the basketball program has seen tremendous progress under his leadership, with three-straight postseason tournaments with five postseason victories. He's also notched his 350th career win as a coach.
During his tenure, Johnny Jones recruited solid players and attracted transfer portal athletes like Brison Gresham and PJ Henry to the program.
In front of millions of viewers, Gresham participated in the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game on April 3 in New Orleans and could have been a game's MVP candidate. The talented forward performed well and may have garnered interest from several NBA teams.
THE VACANCY AFTER COOPER-DYKE'S RETIREMENT
After finalizing Jones' extension, Kevin Granger must turn his attention to filling the women's head basketball coaching vacancy left by Cynthia Cooper-Dyke after her unexpected retirement. Some alumni clamored for Texas Southern to go after a big name in the coaching ranks like Jackson State's Tomekia Reed.
Mar 19, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Jackson State Lady Tigers head coach Tomekia Reed talks to the referee on a time out against the LSU Lady Tigers during the first half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Why? Texas Southern rests inside of the fourth-largest city in the United States and has a deep alumni support remaining in the area. Asking a young recruit to join the program in Houston, TX, has advantages and could provide more exposure for HBCU talent vying for the WNBA.
On Monday, Reed's disciple, Ameshya Williams-Holliday, was drafted by the Indiana Fever as the 25th overall selection in the 3rd round of the 2022 WNBA Draft. Williams-Holliday became the first HBCU player drafted by the league in 20 years.
Reed would be an excellent addition to a basketball program filled with successful tradition. She led the JSU Lady Tigers within minutes of upsetting Kim Mulkey and LSU in Baton Rouge during the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Pursuing Reed makes sense after her teams have "three-straight SWAC regular-season titles (2020, 2021, 2022), and two-straight SWAC tournament titles and NCAA appearances (2021, 2022)."
JSU's AD Ashley Robinson could be working on offering an extension to retain Reed's services in Jackson. It's been two years since Reed received an extension from Jackson State in July 2020.
The institution has not provided insight on the direction and progress of its coaching search. Still, the TSU faithful are hopeful the school's lands a "big fish" to replace Cooper-Dyke.
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