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Posted

10:54 PM CST on Saturday, March 10, 2007

By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle

bvito@dentonrc.com

DENTON – Of all the places where Dale Brown could have run into Johnny Jones, the house he visited one afternoon more than 20 years ago seemed among the least likely.

At the time, Brown was the head coach at LSU and was visiting a terminally ill young Tigers fan.

"I walked into his living room that day, and Johnny was sitting there on the couch with the boy in his lap," Brown said. "I have no idea how he found out about the kid."

Jones, a standout guard at LSU from 1980-84, had beaten his coach to the punch.

Those who know Jones best say those actions are typical for the North Texas basketball coach who has led the Mean Green to the NCAA Tournament.

Jones has an ability to connect with people, whether they are players, fans, coaches or administrators.

Today, UNT will learn who its opponent will be for the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1988. UNT earned its second NCAA bid in the program's history with a surprise four-game run through the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

GARY PAYNE/DMN

North Texas basketball coach Johnny Jones and his son John Vincent react to the pile of balloons put into his office after the Mean Green won the Sun Belt conference tournament and received an automatic bid to play in the NCAA Tournament. UNT, which defeated Arkansas State in the championship game, was a big underdog in the Sun Belt tournament as the No. 5 seed.

The players credit much of their late-season run and school-record 23 wins to Jones' approach. He yells and screams, but is never far removed from a grin spreading across his face as he dispenses an encouraging word to his players.

"Coach Jones is a people person," UNT junior guard Michael Sturns said. "He cares about you as a person as well as a player. There are things he does every day to let you know that he is a friend as well as a mentor."

North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal described Jones as a positive man, no matter the circumstances. When he took over the Mean Green before the 2001-02 season, the program had won only 20 games over a four-year span.

North Texas improved to 15-14 the next season and posted its breakout campaign this year.

"Johnny makes the best of every situation," Villarreal said. "To take this program to the NCAA Tournament from where it was shows that he is persistent and positive."

That attitude helped Jones build continuity in a program missing that ingredient in the past. Jones is in his sixth year at North Texas and has a roster loaded with veterans.

"We try to run a disciplined program and do things the right way," Jones said. "I don't have 101 rules, but we try to abide by what we have in place and make sure that our players have fun.

"I want kids when they leave after five, four or two years to have had a great experience, so that if they had to do it over again, they would still go to North Texas."

Jones has built UNT into a winner while striving for that goal.

"Johnny genuinely likes people, and treats everyone the same," UNT assistant coach Charlie Leonard said. "Because of that, the players are comfortable with him. When you are comfortable, you tend to perform at a higher level.

"If you don't like Johnny Jones, you don't like people."

JOHNNY JONES

Age: 45

Alma mater: LSU

Career record: 101-104 in seven seasons (86-88 in six seasons at UNT)

Nickname at LSU: Former LSU coach Dale Brown nicknamed Jones "The Bullet." In Jones' freshman year, Brown said his new guard was "faster than a speeding bullet" in practice one day. The nickname stuck.

Family: Wife, Kelli; son, John Vincent and daughter, Jillian Nichelle

Famous recruits: Jones helped recruit Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Jackson and former national high school player of the year Randy Livingston to LSU.

Final Four experience: Jones played in the Final Four in 1981 and was an assistant coach at LSU when the Tigers went to the Final Four in 1986.

For the record: Jones is tied for the most games played as a freshman in LSU history with 36. ... He holds the record for wins in a season by a North Texas coach with 23.

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