North Dakota’s Jones steps down as men’s basketball coach

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - University of North Dakota men’s basketball coach Brian Jones is stepping down to join the staff at Illinois State.

Jones says in a release that he has accepted the associate head coaching job with the Redbirds in order to be closer to family. Jones is a native of Rock Island, Illinois.

Jones won 190 games in his 13 years with North Dakota, which ranks fourth all-time. In that time he spearheaded the program’s transition from the Division II to Division I ranks.

The Fighting Hawks earned their first berth in the Division I tournament in 2016-17, after winning the Big Sky Conference regular season and postseason titles.

North Dakota athletic director Bill Chaves says Jones will always be known as the coach that took the team to the “Big Dance.”