Indiana University Athletics
Legette-Jack Announces Coaching Staff
6/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
June 2, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana women's basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack announced the hiring of Vera Jones and Marc Wilson as assistant coaches and Jeana Finlinson as director of basketball operations on June 1.
Jones arrives in Bloomington after she spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Dayton. Jones also has an extensive background as a WNBA and college basketball television color analyst for ESPN, Fox Sports Net and the Madison Square Garden Network.
Legette-Jack and Jones have already proven to be a productive playing duo, and they hope to be just as effective as coaches. Legette-Jack and Jones were the top-two scorers at Syracuse from 1985-88, and the pair currently ranks second (1,526 points) and 11th (1,113 points) respectively in Orange history. Collectively, the duo led Syracuse to its first Big East Tournament title in and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1985 and followed that with a regular season league crown and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1988.
After leading Syracuse to one of its most heralded, four-year eras in school history, Legette-Jack and Jones are confident that they can help lead the Hoosiers to similar success.
"Not many people get blessed to have the opportunity to work with one of their best friends," Legette-Jack said. "To add Vera's accolades as a recruiter and analyst to the equation, my cup overflows. Vera has done a superb job at the University of Dayton's women's basketball program in a short time. I am not surprised. Knowing Vera for over 20 years she has always been detailed, hard-working, committed to success and driven to be the absolute best. She has jumped into recruiting with both feet and she will definitely help bring the best student-athletes in the country to Hoosierland. I am overjoyed that I have rejoined with my friend to pursue championships at IU."
Jones could not be more excited to reunite with her former college teammate.
"It's a huge opportunity, as well as a huge thrill, to be at Indiana," Jones said. "Of all the people that I have ever known, there is not a harder worker than Felisha Legette-Jack. Her energy is contagious, and the opportunity to work with someone of her enthusiasm and magnitude will prove invaluable to the players and staff. Plus, she is my No. 1 laughing buddy. As much as we will work hard, we'll have fun doing it. And that is icing on the cake."
Jones has already shown her ability to impact a program. In two years as an assistant coach at Dayton, Jones was instrumental in one of the nation's top two-year turnarounds from 2004-2006. In Jones' first season with the Flyers, UD won 12 games, a nine-game improvement from the previous season. Dayton closed the 2005-06 campaign with a 17-12 record, its first winning season since the 2000-01 season. The 17 wins are the Flyers' third-most since 1984-85, and their 8-8 league mark is the second-best in school history.
A 2002 inductee into the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame, Jones is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in school history. Her .353 (41-of-116) shooting from beyond the arc ranks third in SU annals and earned her the nickname "Sweet V from Top of the Key." The 1988 Big East Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year earned her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, and she served as the team's graduate assistant in academic advising while she completed her master's in television and radio.
Upon completion of her master's degree, Jones began her broadcasting and coaching careers. She served as an assistant girls' coach at Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, S.C., from 1994-95, interim head women's coach at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Fla., from 1998-99 and a consultant for River Hill High School in Columbia, Md., from 2002-03.
Jones has been an on-air personality or DJ at several radio stations during her broadcasting career and earned South Carolina Broadcaster's Association "Personality of the Year". She received a Silver ADDY Award for commercial writing and production in Florida, and over the last seven years, she has been an analyst for Big Ten and Big East games for Fox Sports Net, a color analyst for the WNBA New York Liberty and Indiana Fever and covered the WNBA Draft for NBATV.
Jones has an eight-year-old son, Andrew.
A veteran assistant and a well-known recruiter, Wilson makes his return to the Big Ten Conference after successful stints at Kent State, Rhode Island and Minnesota.
Wilson joins the Indiana staff after serving as an assistant coach at Kent State the past two seasons. Wilson was instrumental in leading Kent State to back-to-back Mid-American Conference title games during his tenure. Last season, the Golden Flashes finished with an overall record of 21-9 and a 12-4 ledger in conference play.
Under long-time Kent State coach Bob Lindsay, Wilson helped mentor the development of guards Melissa DeGrate and Malika Willoughby, who both earned All-MAC honors in 2005. Willoughby is also a two-time Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Legette-Jack believes that Wilson's extensive background and Big Ten mindset will pay immediate dividends to the Hoosier program.
"Marc Wilson and I have been colleagues for over seven years," Legette-Jack said. "We both are very serious recruiters that have very high standards of student-athletes. Marc takes recruiting to another level. No one in the country will outwork him and with the great tradition of Indiana University, Marc will spearhead our recruiting to national prominence.
"Marc has been on every level of college basketball. He has paid his dues. He played high level basketball at the University of Minnesota, coached at the junior college level, the mid-major level and the major level. He brings an assortment of knowledge to IU. I am over the top that Marc has agreed to join me here at Indiana University to help us build a nationally recognizable women's basketball program."
Wilson shares Legette-Jack's excitement about returning to the Big Ten and becoming a part of the Indiana University tradition.
I'm honored and extremely excited to be joining Coach Jack in this endeavor," Wilson said. "Coach Jack (Michigan State) and I (Minnesota) have each had a hand in helping another league school reach a Final Four, and we want to do the same things at Indiana."
Prior to his term at Kent State, Wilson served as an assistant at Rhode Island from 2001-04. At URI, he worked primarily with the post players and served as the team's recruiting coordinator. He helped lead the Rams to the 2003 Atlantic-10 championship game.
Wilson makes his return to the Big Ten as he spent four seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, from 1997-01. Known for his ability to recruit some of the country's finest student-athletes, Wilson was instrumental in the recruitment of two-time All-American and the Golden Gophers all-time leading scorer, Lindsay Whalen, now with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and Janel McCarville, the top overall pick of the 2005 WNBA Draft by the Charlotte Sting.
In the summer of 1998, Wilson served as a member of the Big Ten All-Star coaching staff that traveled overseas taking on some of Europe's top club programs.
Wilson began his coaching career at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Anoka-Ramsey, Minn., as the head men's basketball coach. Wilson headed the Golden Rams program from 1995-97.
Wilson excelled as a student-athlete prior to entering the coaching ranks. A 1989 graduate of Minnesota, Wilson was a four-year letterwinner for the Golden Gophers men's basketball team from 1982-86. Wilson is one of only 32 players in Minnesota basketball history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Additionally, the Baltimore, Md., native's name is scattered throughout the Minnesota record books. Wilson is the 10th leading scorer in Gopher history with 1,386 career points, ranks third all-time in assists with 375 and is seventh in career steals with 138.
Wilson and his wife, Jeanell, have one son, Marc II (22), who is an electrical engineering student at Georgia Tech.
Finlinson takes over as the director of operations after spending the previous two seasons as a Hoosier women's golf assistant coach. Finlinson earned her bachelor's degree in sports management from Indiana in 2003, followed by a master's in athletic administration from IU in 2004.
Despite the fact that Finlinson did not start playing golf until she was 19 years old, when she aced the first hole she ever played, Finlinson was a two-year letterwinner for the Hoosiers in 2002 and 2003. Prior to her golf career, she was a standout in horseback riding, including three straight National North American All-American Quarterhorse Congress titles. This is widely acclaimed as the biggest horseback riding competition in the world.
From horseback riding, Finlinson spent a year with the Women's Professional Rodeo Association, traveling to rodeos across the nation.
A former college athlete who spent two years as a coach, Finlinson looks forward to her administrative role on the Hoosiers' women's basketball staff.
"Words cannot describe what a blessing it is to be a part of this staff and this program," Finlinson said. "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue my career as a Hoosier."
Legette-Jack says that Finlinson will fill a critical role on her staff.
"We were looking for someone administratively sound, someone who knew IU, had a passion for IU and understood the dynamics of women's college basketball," Legette-Jack said. "Jeana is certainly the best choice. She is dedicated, detailed and thorough, and she has been around a winning program. Along with our great marketing department, Jeana will help place people in the stands and get our young women out in the community. We are thrilled that Jeana said 'yes' to joining our women's basketball program."
