Tarleton State
Tarleton State, coach Joseph Jones, left, and Jakorie Smith have their eyes on the WAC Tournament's ultimate prize this week.
Ordinarily, a ticket to college basketball’s postseason Oz would be within reach for a very good Tarleton State men’s team heading to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament today.
The Texans won 23 games and finished second to Grand Canyon in the WAC’s regular season, but a win the conference tournament this week, something very plausible, and the heroes of Stephenville’s hardwood would be, to borrow a very, very tired cliché, going dancing.
It then goes without saying that we were more than a little bummed to find out this week that the Texans aren’t eligible for the NCAA Tournament because they haven’t yet met the threshold of five years in Division I, what is called the “transition period.”
All right, fair enough. Everybody — well, most everybody — has to abide by the rules.
So, there’s always next year. However, that is not to say there isn’t much to play for now.
“It’s kind of disappointing,” says forward Jakorie Smith, a senior All-WAC first-team selection from Utica, Mississippi. “Then again, we still have a chance to go out there and win the ring, and prove ourselves by winning the WAC Tournament.”
In addition to Smith’s recognition, forward KiAndre Gaddy, a senior from Dallas, was selected the conference’s defensive player of the year. Emmanuel Innocenti, a forward from Ranzanico, Italy, was selected to the All-Freshman team. Innocenti joined Gaddy on the All-Defensive team.
The Texans meet either Stephen F. Austin or UT Arlington in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the Texans earned a double bye into the semifinals.
Smith says this team has achieved because of “our brotherhood” and accountability to one another, “not wanting to let each other down or let the coaches down.”
Tarleton State
Staying together and united have been pivotal for Tarleton State this season.
Staying together has been a must. This team has faced unorthodox circumstances all season, most notably not playing with its head coach.
Billy Gillispie, with a reputation for building basketball winners, left the team temporarily four games into the season because of health issues. Joseph Jones, an assistant coach, took over as interim coach.
Gillispie, who in 2018 underwent a kidney transplant, has been cleared to come back for the tournament but elected not to out of concern of interrupting something that is working. He will serve in an advisory capacity, which he has done for much of the season.
“It was a decision he made,” says Jones. “He felt like we were in a good spot.”
A team losing its head coach during the season can lead to madness, but under Jones, the Texans have gone 21-6, coalescing under good leadership on the court and the sideline. Jones was rewarded for the work done by being selected WAC coach of the year, a feat seldom achieved by an interim coach, notwithstanding Rodney Terry at Texas a year ago.
“I’ve got a good relationship with all the guys,” said Jones, born and raised in Normangee, Texas. “So me standing up on the sideline, nothing really changed. They knew that I was going to give my all to help them. I just had a sort of a different role when it comes to the games. But other than that, I'm still going to be the same Coach Jojo.”
Jones also has good credentials.
Jones, just days from turning 38, played at Texas A&M from 2004-08, including three seasons under Gillispie, who left in 2007 for the job at Kentucky.
Jones, who earned All-Big 12 honors in each of his four seasons, finished his college career third on the Aggies’ all-time points list (1,679). He was inducted into Texas A&M sports hall of fame in 2019.
After ending a 14-year professional career that took him to ports of call in France, Spain, Turkey, Iran, and Puerto Rico, Jones accepted a spot on Gillispie’s bench as an assistant in 2021. Gillispie called Jones “one of the best human beings I have ever met.”
With his background under Gillispie as a player and now an assistant, it’s no wonder the Texans made such a seamless transition to Jones.
“The message,” says Smith, “has been the same [as Gillispie’s]: We’re going to go hard. We’re going to practice hard. We’re going to play hard. Everything was the same.”
Tarleton has improved every season under Gillispie. That’s hardly a surprise considering his past as a 12-time coach of the year, including twice in the Big 12 and another honor in the SEC.
Last week, the university announced that it had extended Gillispie’s contract through 2026.
For now, though, these Texans will continue playing under the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“It’s been great. I love him like an uncle,” Smith says of Jones. “It's great to get a chance to play for him and get his thoughts on a lot of basketball things. It's been an honor to play for him.”
