BERKELEY – Boasting nearly 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, Wyking Jones has been hired as an assistant coach with the California men’s basketball program, head coach Cuonzo Martin announced on Thursday.
“We are very pleased to welcome Wyking, his wife Estrella and children Jameel and Zoe to the Cal family," Martin said. "Wyking is a well-respected coach with proven success in developing individuals to achieve their goals in both basketball and life. We are bringing him back home to California, where he has experience as both a player and a coach. His strong relationships in not only the state of California, but around the country will continue to bolster our program’s national footprint.”
“I am very excited to join Cuonzo Martin's staff and the California basketball family,” Jones said. “Coach Martin and his staff are very well regarded amongst their peers in the coaching ranks. I'm looking forward to working with Coach Martin and learning from him. Growing up in California, I always had a great deal of respect for Cal's strong tradition of academic and athletic success. I believe that exciting times are ahead for this basketball program under Coach Martin's lead and I'm very much looking forward to being a part of it.”
Jones, a native of Inglewood, Calif., returns to his home state with 12 years of experience as a coach at the collegiate level.
Jones joins the Golden Bears’ staff after serving as an assistant coach at Louisville the past four seasons. During his time on the Cardinals’ coaching staff, UofL’s combined record was 123-30. Louisville captured the 2013 NCAA Championship and reached two Final Fours over the past four seasons. The Cardinals completed the 2014-15 season with a 27-9 record, reaching the NCAA Tournament regional final.
Prior to Louisville, Jones served two seasons on the coaching staff at New Mexico where the Lobos won 52 games in two seasons, including a school-record 30-win campaign in 2010. New Mexico finished the 2010 season ranked eighth in the Associated Press national poll.
Jones served as an assistant coach for five seasons from 2002-06 at Pepperdine, where he was the Waves’ recruiting coordinator. He got his start in coaching at his alma mater, Loyola Marymount, during the 1996-97 season.
He was a standout at LMU from 1991-95 under head coach John Olive, where his 1,076 career points rank 24th all-time in the program’s history. Jones also collected 493 career rebounds during his career with the Lions. He was a two-time All-West Coast Conference selection, highlighted by a 19.7 ppg. average as a junior. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount in 1995.
Jones played professional basketball from 1995-2001 in Italy, France, Japan, Lebanon and South Korea. He also served on the staff at Nike Elite Youth Basketball four two years from 2007-08.
Jones and his wife, Estrella, have a son, Jameel and a daughter, Zoe.
Jones replaces Jon Harris on Martin’s coaching staff. Harris was introduced as the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville head coach earlier this month. The 2015-16 Golden Bears will begin their second season under Martin in a newly-renovated Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion, where construction is underway to enhance the fan experience, including a brand new center-hung video board, upgraded sound and lighting systems, and modernized video production facilities. The project is made possible thanks to a generous $10 million gift from the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
