VCU hires men’s basketball assistant coach

New Virginia Commonwealth University basketball coach Shaka Smart is hiring Mike Jones to fill out his staff, Rams athletic director Norwood Teague said.

Jones had been an assistant at Georgia under Dennis Felton since 2003. Felton was fired during the season, and Jones was let go when Mark Fox was hired.

Jones is familiar with the Richmond area. He served as an assistant at the University of Richmond under John Beilein from 2000-02, then followed Beilein to West Virginia for a season.

Smart had an unexpected opening when Bill Courtney left after less than two months to become an assistant at Virginia Tech under Seth Greenberg. -- Tim Pearrell