Jones Joins Illinois Staff as Director of Recruiting and Scouting

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– Illinois head coach Brad Underwood announced Tuesday the hiring of Kwa Jones as director of recruiting and scouting.

A former graduate manager for the Fighting Illini, Jones returns to Champaign after two years of continued growth in the coaching profession. He spent the recent 2022-23 season as director of operations at Stephen F. Austin, with many duties including travel, meals, team scheduling and planning recruiting visits.

That followed serving as a video coaching associate in 2021-22 with the Sacramento Kings, where he specialized in film and assisted with player development.

Jones spent two years on Underwood’s staff as graduate manager during the successful 2020 and 2021 seasons. Illinois went a combined 29-11 in conference play during his tenure, earning a final AP ranking of No. 21 in the COVID-19-shortened 2020…