BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball program, under the direction of Head Coach Scott Padgett, has started a new in-depth "Where Are They Now?" series, which will highlight a number of its former student-athletes. The Bulldogs boast many successful players in their long, rich history and Samford would like its fans to be able to recognize their accomplishments.
 
The third installment of Samford's "Where Are They Now?" series features former Bulldog great Derrick Jones.

 
"Derrick was obviously a great player during his time at Samford, but his pride in Samford is unmatched," said Padgett. "He has been very helpful with the program since I took over. He helped put Marc Salyers and I together which led to Marc being on our staff last year and graduating.
 
"He also helped us get the word out to former players when we were putting together our first alumni game. Derrick is a great example of the success a Samford University player can have after school. He is definitely a riser in the college coaching ranks and I'm happy he is still actively involved with Samford University."
 
Jones starred at Samford from 1999-2001 and was a member of both of the school's NCAA appearances in 1999 and 2000. As a senior in 2001, Jones averaged 13.8 points and earned all-league accolades in the Trans America Athletic Conference. He also averaged 4.6 rebounds per contest and shot 38.6-percent from 3-point range.
 
After prepping at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, La., where he helped lead the team to the 1995 Louisiana Class 5A state title game as a junior, Jones signed with Mississippi State out of high school where he started 12 games and led all Bulldog freshmen in scoring. Following his sophomore season in Starkville, Miss., he transferred to Samford.
 
"I just wasn't a good fit at Mississippi State," said Jones. "I made a basketball decision out of high school and neglected to take into account academics, social life and life beyond basketball. I knew a lot of the guys that were at Samford, and Assistant Coach Paul Kelly actually coached me in high school and I had a great relationship with him."
 
Jones' connection with Kelly played a huge role in his life, and he credits their relationship as a reason he's been able to be so successful in collegiate coaching.
 
Former Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette, along with Kelly, who was the associate head coach at the time, asked Jones to join the Bulldogs' coaching staff in the summer of 2005.
 
Jones spent three years as an assistant coach at Samford and learned the coaching business under the watchful eye of Kelly. During his first year with the Bulldogs, Jones helped lead Samford to a 20-win season, including wins over perennial postseason teams in Southern Miss and Murray State.
 
"Being an assistant coach at Samford was huge for me," said Jones. "Paul Kelly took me under his wing and really taught me how to be an assistant coach. Coach Kelly has had as big of an influence on my life as anybody else on this planet. I really owe him a lot for being a great mentor and a great friend. He taught me how to recruit, how to present myself professionally and countless other lessons from him during my time at Samford."
 
Kelly was Jones' junior varsity coach in ninth grade and was actually the person who turned him into a guard, after he spent his middle school years as a post player.
 
"Paul Kelly was a father figure to me," said Jones. "In high school he would work with us after practice and one day, he saw me shooting and said that I needed to be a guard and not a post player. He said, 'From now on, you're going to be a guard'. I was 6-foot-3 at the time, but I ended up being 6-foot-5, his vision really propelled my playing career."

 
Once realizing that Mississippi State wasn't the place for him, Jones contacted Kelly at Samford and talked about the possibility of transferring to be a Bulldog. Jones also competed against Samford star Mario Lopez in high school and played with future Bulldog Will Daniel in the 1996 Louisiana All-Star game.
 
Jones ended up choosing to transfer to Samford despite having offers on the table from in-state schools LSU, Tulane and UNO.
 
"When I visited Samford, I watched Marc Salyers, Reed Rawlings, Mario Lopez and Will Daniel play and I realized that we would have as much if not more talent than Mississippi State," Jones said. "In my first two seasons at Samford, we were definitely a better team than Mississippi State and we made the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons."
 
In the 1998-99 campaign, Jones attended Samford University, but was forced to redshirt due to NCAA transfer rules. The Bulldogs concluded the season with a 24-6 overall record and cruised to the championship title of the 1999 TAAC Tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
 
"Playing in the NCAA Tournament was one of the most exciting moments of my playing career" said Jones. "The first year that we made the NCAA Tournament was my redshirt season, but it was just as important to me even though I couldn't play. The coaching staff really encouraged me to take on a leadership role, so I stepped it up in practice, at meetings and in the dorm rooms.
 
"We were actually losing a game once and Coach Tillette allowed me to take over the huddle during a timeout. I challenged my teammates and tried to hold them accountable for their poor effort in the game. They ended up responding and we won the game. I've always thought that as a player it's important what your coaches think of you, but it's so much more important to have the respect of your teammates."
 
One of Jones' best friends is former teammate and Samford standout Marc Salyers. Salyers and Greg Monroe, who currently plays in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucs, are godfathers for Jones' oldest son, Nico.
 
"There were so many people that impacted my life at Samford," said Jones. "Obviously, the coaches and my teammates were instrumental, but the professors and staff were all great to me as well. I remember Bill Service in particular always going out of his way to offer his help or advice. Every time I went to the café for lunch or dinner Mrs. Dot would make me feel like she cared about how my day was going as if I were her own grandson. One of the all-time greatest moments of my life was seeing the look on my mother's face on my graduation day.
 
"One of the main things I learned at Samford was that I didn't have to become a professional basketball player to be successful in life. With a degree and hard work, I could be successful in life, no matter what field I wanted to go into."

 
Jones remembers his first team meeting at Samford University where he showed up three minutes early, but still got chewed out by Tillette.
 
"If you're early, you're on time," said Tillette. "If you're on time, you're late, and if you're late, you're selfish. "Nobody's bigger than the team and time is important."
 
Jones still lives by these mantras to this day. He said he constantly shows up 15-20 minutes early for team meetings and practices, and these lessons have helped him grow throughout his coaching career.
 
"Coach Tillette is an outstanding offensive mind and a model disciplinarian," said Jones. "He really knows how to push the guys, both on the court and in the classroom."
 
In the best game of his career, Jones scored two points, and his lone bucket occurred on a 2-on-1 break following a steal.
 
The game was against Georgia State in the semifinal round of the 2000 TAAC Tournament and Jones was tasked with guarding the Panthers' big scorer, Anton Reese. Jones only attempted three shots in the game, but limited Reese on the defensive end and Samford earned the victory.
 
"I didn't even want to shoot the ball in that game," Jones said. "I knew we were going to have enough scoring, but we really needed a great defensive performance. Marc ended up scoring 29 points or so and I think Reed had like 27. We won the game and eventually advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and that was all I cared about. We had a bunch of guys that were willing to sacrifice their own ego and accepted playing their role for the betterment of the team."
 
Jones has definitely excelled at playing his role throughout his coaching career. He has already been tasked with being a defensive coach, recruiting coordinator and disciplinarian.

 
Now a high-rising assistant coach under the tutelage of Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt University, Jones is in the midst of his second season in Nashville, Tenn.
 
"Coach Stallings is amazing," Jones said. "He is like all of the best coaches that I've ever met wrapped into one. He is unbelievable with parents and recruits, has a brilliant offensive mind, and does a great job of maximizing our players' effort. The reason that I came to Vanderbilt was to learn how to be a head coach from one of the best in the business and to try to help win a national championship."
 
Jones spent the previous four seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he helped the Bulldogs to a historic run in his time in Ruston, La., and a record 56 wins in the last two seasons on staff under current University of Florida head coach Michael White.  
 
In Jones' first year on White's staff in 2011-12 when he worked closely with senior Romario Souza who often times was the only forward on the court. Souza drastically improved his game throughout the year, and would go on to start the last ten games for the Bulldogs, averaging 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in those contests.
 
During his first year at Louisiana Tech, while on Kerry Rupp's staff, Jones worked closely with the Bulldog post players, including highly-regarded forward Olu Ashaolu, who was one of the Western Athletic Conference's leaders in double-doubles.

 
"Kerry Rupp was outstanding working with big guys," said Jones. "I really learned a lot from him in that regard and it was huge for my career. Mike White is a dynamic and relentless recruiter and relates extremely well to his players. He was great to work with and learn from and is one of my best friends in the business. I remember telling recruits our first year together that he would be the next Billy Donovan, crazy!"
 
Jones came to Louisiana Tech with an impressive resume as he spent two seasons at the University of New Orleans where he was heavily involved in recruiting, player evaluation, academics and on-court preparation for the Privateers. Prior to UNO, Jones spent three years as an assistant coach at Samford.
 
"My coaching foundation was definitely laid at Samford and I learned a lot during my time there," said Jones.
 

Jones married his wife, Tiffany, in May of 2006 in Homewood, La., at his good friend, Will Gardner's, parents' house. His son Nico is eight and his younger son, Max, is 21-months old. Jones and his family live in Franklin, Tenn., just outside of Nashville.

"Where Are They Now?" - - Joey Davenport

"Where Are They Now?" - - Travis Peterson