Beachwood's College Prep Academy of Basketball

Darren Jones brings an understanding of both the high school and college game to the Bison girls' basketball program, which is why he stresses that academic success is paramount in attaining a successful future in basketball.

“If you go into college with a 3.5 and an ACT score of 26, you’re going to get a lot of academic money,” Jones said. “Then on top of that if your basketball skills are very good, you’ve got a full package going into college basketball.”

The Board of Education Jones' one-year, $6,669 contract to coach the Lady Bison this season. He replaces Melvin Burke,  after he breached district policy by soliciting donations without administrator permission.

Jones’ 15-plus years of coaching experience should ensure the girls are well taught on the basketball side. He started in the late '90s at Lutheran East High School as an assistant before moving to Laurel in the early 2000s. After spending one year with the Bison as an assistant in 2003, Jones made the jump to the college level, spending a year at Ursuline and the last seven at Lake Erie College, an NCAA Div. II school.

Jones' main goal at Beachwood is to teach the girls the fundamental skills necessary in order to achieve success at the college level.

“I found myself having to teach the girls on things they should have learned in high school,” Jones said. “That’s one of the reasons I came back to Beachwood, so I could implement those things at this level.”

Jones will utilize a man-to-man defense because it is the preferred method for most colleges. Many college athletes he’s coached have little trouble playing zone, but struggle with man-to-man.

“I am going to teach them the correct way,” Jones said. “My post players will know how to do hook shots, drop steps and up and unders. My guards will know how to penetrate to the basket, pull up or kick it to the corner. My point guard will be a floor leader.”

Jones is also going to stress community service to his kids and ensure that they donate their time to help out local Beachwood community centers, mainly the JCC. Jones knows that in order to get the support of the community during game day, the team must reach out.

“Anything that the girls and my coaching staff can go out and start developing a relationship with the Beachwood community, we’ll do,” Jones said. “We want to let the community know that we are there to help them.”

Jones is inheriting a strong squad, coming off the strongest season in Beachwood’s history. He intends on continuing that not just for a year or two, but to implement a plan focusing on academics, leadership, community service and basketball fundamentals that insure the Bison have a strong program for the next decade.

“I want to establish a culture of leadership and winning,” Jones said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to have fun. We’re going to win and they will learn the game.”