University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- djones@louisiana.edu
- Phone:
- (337) 482-5168
- Sport Administration:
- @UL_CoachJones
Deacon Jones enters his 11th season at Louisiana, and his seventh as Associate Head Coach. A member of head coach Garry Brodhead’s staff since day one, Jones helped turn around the Ragin’ Cajuns program with the team having four straight winning seasons from 2014-18, the first time that's happened in school history, and 20-plus win seasons in 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-17.
Jones also helped guide the Cajuns claim Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament Championships following the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and saw the team make its first appearance in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in 2020-21.
Continuing his role as the team’s defensive coordinator, Jones saw the Ragin’ Cajuns rank first in the league and 19th nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.7) during the 2021-22 season.
The strong defensive output was aided by Ty’Reona Doucet, who won her second consecutive Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honor and was named a First Team All-Conference performer after finishing the year with 44 shots on the year, averaging 1.76 per contest.
Coached by Jones, Louisiana’s defense ranked 36th nationally in scoring defense during the 2020-21 campaign, holding opponents to just 58.0 points per contest.
Doucet continued to lead the way defensively under Jones, becoming the first player in program history to pick up Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors.
A First Team All-Conference selection, she owned 33 blocks on the year, the second most in the league and the 68th most nationally. She notched three or more blocks in four games, including a season-high five blocks against Arkansas State on Feb. 5. Additionally, she recorded 20 steals on the year.
Having worked with the forwards since the 2017-18 season, Jones helped Doucet to a breakout year during the 2019-20 season in which she was named Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference, becoming the 12th Cajun in program history to earn All-Conference honors and the first to garner the honor since 2017. During the season, she recorded 39 blocks, tied for seventh in a single season in school history, upping her career total to 80 swats, the third most in a career. On top of her stellar defensive play, she led the team in both scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounds (7.6 rpg).
Doucet was just as impressive during her sophomore campaign, when she set a school-record in rebounds in a single game (22) and had 10 double-doubles on the season, including six straight to start the season. He also helped senior forward Simone Fields earn 2018 Third-Team All-Sun Belt Conference and 2018 Honorable Mention All-Louisiana recognition.
Following the 2016-17 season, Jaylyn Gordon was named First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Louisiana Women. In the past, he helped coach Keke Veal and Kia Wilridge to All-Conference and All-Louisiana honors, while also helping Brooklyn Arceneaux receive All-Sun Belt Conference honors following the 2013-14 campaign.
A native of Lafayette, and a 1999 graduate of the University, Jones maintains many of the administrative duties for the program, including player housing and setting schedules
Prior to joining Brodhead as an assistant coach, Jones spent four seasons as an assistant coach at St. Thomas More High School, posting a 120-13 mark over those four years and winning back-to-back state titles in 2011 and 2012. He assisted in the daily operations of the girls basketball program, which included coaching, practicing, scheduling, fundraising and scouting.
Jones served as the head coach of the Acadiana Stars AAU team, instructing the team from 2009-2011. Winning three-straight state titles with Louisiana 14U (2009), Louisiana 15U (2010) and Louisiana 16U (2011) and placing third in AAU Division I Nationals (2011). In 2005, he founded and served as the director and coach of the Acadiana Lady Hoops until 2009. He also co-founded the Acadiana Hoops boys AAU teams who appeared in the Division I National Tournament every year from 1998-2005.
Jones lives in Lafayette with his wife, Tassala, and their two daughters.
