Nelson T. Jones begins his first year as an assistant coach with the Patriot men’s basketball program. 

A native of Columbia, S.C., Jones is a 2008 graduate of Francis Marion University, where he earned a B.B.A. in business marketing and was a member of the 2006-07 basketball squad. He is currently pursuing a M.B.A. in sports administration from St. Thomas University.  Prior to attending FMU, he attended Claflin University and was a member of the 2005 EIAC championship squad.

Before joining the FMU staff, he served as athletic director at the AC Jackson Wellness Center (2018-present) in Columbia.  Jones served as head men’s basketball coach at Allen University (2015-18) in Columbia for three years and at Denmark Technical College (2013-15) for two seasons.  He was also an assistant coach at Benedict College (2012-13) for one year and an associate head coach at Denmark Technical (2010-12) for two seasons.

While at Allen, the Yellow Jackets reached a Top-25 ranking in the NAIA during his final season, and he registered double-digit wins in each campaign. Jones earned Hoop dirt’s NAIA National Coach of the Week during the 2017-18 season.  He led the Yellow Jackets to their first NAIA Division I A.I.I. Tournament championship in 2016. During his two seasons as head coach at Denmark Tech, he became the winningest coach since the institution declared conference affiliation in Region X.  In his one year at Benedict, the Tigers captured the SIAC regular-season and tournament championships and earned an NCAA Division II regional tournament invitation and a No.12 national ranking.

Nelson has a daughter, Skyler.

https://www.fmupatriots.com/sports/mbkb/coaches/Jones_Nelson?view=bio