With a plethora of experience filling his resume, Augy Jones is back in a head coaching capacity.
Jones has been named head coach of the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association’s Halifax Hornets.
He will take over the head coaching reins from Mark Forward, who will remain with the Hornets in a reduced capacity.
Forward paced the Hornets to the MWBA’s first-ever Legacy Cup championship in 2022 and helped the squad to a bronze medal last season in league playoffs. He is the head coach of the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association’s Mount St. Vincent University Mystics.
For Jones, it’s a return to the sidelines following a six-year run as head coach of the Atlantic University Sport’s St. Francis Xavier University X-Women.
The X-Women finished second in Jones’ first two seasons in AUS competition. He would finish with a 34-86 record in Antigonish.
The Halifax native has an extensive background as a coach and player.
Jones starred with St. Francis Xavier, appearing in 84 career games. He was the X-Men’s rookie of the year in 1986-87, its most improved player in 1987-88 and an AUS second team all-star in 1988-89.
He was also an assistant coach with Saint Mary’s University Huskies’ men’s squad from 2007 to 2011. His trophy case has two national titles and a national silver along with four AUS titles.
Jones is the executive director of Government of Nova Scotia’s African Nova Scotia Affairs and has vast experience as an educator and youth coach in Nova Scotia and the Caribbean.
The son of civil rights activists Rocky and Joan Jones, the long-time basketball and community-minded Jones will prepare for the Hornets for training camp in April as the MWBA’s third season opens in May.
Jones and the Hornets open their season Thursday, May 2, taking on reigning Legacy Cup champion and city rival, Halifax Thunder.
The MWBA features seven teams including the Hornets, Thunder and Lake City 56ers of the Dartmouth region in Nova Scotia along with New Brunswick’s Port City Fog of Saint John, Moncton Mystics, Fredericton Freeze and expansion Miramichi Her-icanes.
(Photo CTV News)