Championship Culture

Yale Men’s Basketball Coach, James Jones, Talks about What He Looks for in Recruits

By Brennan Webster|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on March 21, 2022)

Coach James Jones is the all time winningest men's basketball coach at Yale University and one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history. Coach Jones has guided the Bulldogs to 6 Ivy League championships and 6 postseason appearances. Coach Jones was also the recipient of the Ben Jobe Award in 2019 as the top minority coach in DI men's basketball. Finally, he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, is a 3-time Ivy League Coach of the Year, and 3-time NABC District 13 Coach of the Year. Needless to say, Coach Jones is an absolute legend in the coaching world.

Coach Jones talks about the dynamics of the team and the role it plays in recruiting. He says the pandemic has changed the way he recruits, but that Zoom has also opened up the opportunity to meet with prospective athletes and parents multiple times, which wasn't always possible before Zoom became the norm. He said obviously that's not the same as meeting in person, but the real challenge with multiple visits is “You never really know how tall somebody is when you're doing a Zoom with them. You could be 6'9” or 5'9” [and] I would not know.”

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As an Ivy league coach, there are many great things about being at Yale, but the best part is “You recruit all across the country. You have some people playing full seasons and some who haven't played at all.” So, for athletes who lost seasons and opportunities because of COVID, Yale coaches will still spend the time watching your film and getting to know you. Speaking of film, Coach Jones wants to see a whole game film, and a short highlight of 3 things you do really well: “I want to see some of your faults and some of your strengths at the same time, not just all your strengths.”

Coach Jones said a good player is “one who wants to share the ball.” But, being recruited by Yale doesn't require just basketball skills, you have to be a good student as well.

If you want to compete for Yale, “You don't have any Cs on your transcript; that's really important. You want all As and Bs. You want to take some of the hardest courses your school gives. If the school offers 22 AP courses, you don't need to take all 22, but you have to have some on your transcript. So you're looking to get all As and Bs, a 3.5 or better. Somewhere in the high 20s in the ACT, or 30. 1200 for the SAT.” Coach Jones says once students get those numbers, coaches can bring them to admissions.

In addition to being an excellent student and athlete, Coach Jones says the three most important characteristics he looks for in recruits are “toughness, toughness, and toughness.” If you want to play at that level, you have to be ready for the long haul.

That said, he wants his players to value “family, faith, academics, and basketball, in that order,” because he wants to set them up for life after college basketball.

Related: NCAA Academic Standards

His advice for athletes to get on a radar is to have your club and high school coaches reach out to college coaches and get your name out there, and “whatever you can put together, you have to do that,” because it's so much harder for college coaches to see athletes.

If you weren't recruited, don't give up yet; Coach Jones does take walk-ons. He says they've had a walk-on who became a captain, and walk-ons who were integral to the team's success. He gives some guidance on becoming a walk-on:

“You have to be accepted to Yale on your own… Once you're accepted, contact the coaching staff and let them know you want to give a try-out. If we have spots available on the team… we'll give a young man a try-out to see if he'll fit in to who we are, and if he's good enough and can help us in one way or another, we'll have him join the squad.”

Enough of what he wants to see in players; Coach Jones talks about what will make him STOP recruiting a player. He says grades, finances, and attitude all play a role, but “If their personality doesn't fit in with the program,” he will stop recruiting them.

For athletes who do play for Yale, “there are really no excuses not to be really successful at Yale.” Coach Jones says there is a person in each residential college who will help them succeed academically, and there will be tutors in the college. If you want tutoring in another subject, you can go to the dean and they would set you up with a graduate student to tutor you.

If you want to play at Yale, understanding what Coach Jones is looking for in athletes is the best place to start. Even if you don't plan to play for Yale, recruiting advice from a coach this successful is bound to help any athlete.

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