NORFOLK, Va. — It's no surprise this time of the year during the NCAA Tournament that Norfolk State's Robert Jones has his name pop up for various head coaching vacancies. No different this time.
Reports indicate the 43-year-old has interest from Georgia Southern, Buffalo and Temple, however there's one that's even more intriguing: St. John's.
Reached by direct message Thursday night, Jones said, "Yes those schools in the article have contacted my agent," but also added, "Nothing too deep yet but all have interest."
In his ten years at NSU, Jones has a record of 188-137, along with a 113-39 mark in the MEAC.
His teams have won three regular season titles to go with two MEAC Tournament championships.
This past season, Norfolk State (22-11) fell short in the tournament finals to Howard, 65-64.
Of all the interests, the Red Storm job seems the perfect fit for Jones, but he's up against Hall of Famer and Iona coach, Rick Pitino, according to reports.
The Red Storm job would make better sense for Jones rather than Pitino. The later has roots in Long Island, New York, while St. John's is in Jamaica, New York, in Queens, where Jones grew up.
The NSU coach also recruits heavily out of the northeast. In fact, his first ever Spartan recruit just happened to be Jamaica, New York native and former NBA player, Kyle O'Quinn.
On this day 11 years ago, the former 2nd round pick of the Orlando Magic led Norfolk State, then a 15th seed, to a first round NCAA Tournament upset of 2nd seeded Missouri.