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Illinois hoops hires familiar face as Director of Recruiting and Scouting
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Illinois basketball re-hired former graduate manager Kwa Jones to be the program’s Director of Recruiting and Scouting Tuesday evening.
Jones was a manager for the team in 2020 and 2021. He left the program for a video coaching associate role with the Sacramento Kings.
Jones spent the 2022-23 season as director of operations at Stephen F. Austin, overseeing travel, meals, team scheduling and planning recruiting visits among other duties.
Welcome back, Kwa!
Jones rejoins the Illini staff as the Director of Recruiting and Scouting. He spent two years on Underwood’s staff as a graduate manager during the 2020 and 2021 seasons before stints with the Sacramento Kings and Stephen F. Austin.
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— Illinois Men’s Basketball (@IlliniMBB) July 18, 2023
Head coach Brad Underwood spoke on Jones’ hiring in a release Tuesday:
“We are thrilled to welcome Kwa back to the Illinois Basketball family” Underwood said. “He is a relationship-driven coach who makes impactful connections with players in every program he has been a part of, and his passion and love for the game of basketball is contagious. Kwa has added to his portfolio since he was last here, with great experiences with the Kings and at SFA. He has earned this opportunity and will be a great asset to us in scouting and recruiting.”
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.