Where Are They Now?: Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones didn't mind getting another ring.

The 1952 Merrillville High School grad won two NCAA championship rings when he was an assistant men's basketball coach at Louisville. Though Jones retired from Louisville in 1996, little did he know he would be called out of retirement.

"Chad Gilbert asked me to help out at Jeffersonville (High School) with the girls. It was a one-day thing -- to help put in U of L's high-post offense," Jones said. "It became a three-year thing and culminated with us winning the state championship last year."

Jeffersonville beat Penn to win the IHSAA Class 4A title and now Jones has followed Gilbert to the boys program this season.

"I really love it, working with the kids," Jones said. "It keeps me going and I love teaching basketball."

Teaching basketball was part of his routine as Denny Crum's right-hand man from 1972-96 and he was an assistant on the 1980 and 1986 national championship teams. The Cardinals were, and still are, among the nation's elite programs.

"We should have won in 1975. We should have beaten UCLA," Jones said. "That was one of our most talented teams. Same thing in 1982 and 1983. In '82, Milt Wagner hurt his hand and Georgetown got us. In 1983 Houston got us."

The 1975 team included E.C. Washington's Junior Bridgeman and UCLA had Bridgeman's high school teammate Pete Trgovich.

"In 1975, that team was just so talented and I thought we might win it all," Jones said. "Of course, UCLA beat us in the semifinals and John Wooden won his last title."

The 1980 team featured Darrell Griffith (Dr. Dunkenstein) and beat UCLA at Market Square Arena.

"The 1980 team, that was a fun team," Jones said. "Darrell, we had Tony Branch from Michigan City (Elston). Heck, we had a lot of Indiana kids play at Louisville through the years."

Jones had previously worked as an assistant at Pepperdine University, "before they moved to the beach," under Gene Colson. It was there he met Crum, who was an assistant at UCLA.

At Merrillville, he and his twin brother, Ron, played football and were named to the all-Calumet Conference team in basketball. Jerry was also an all-conference player in football.

"I was a 160-pound pulling guard in the single-wing offense," Jones said. "I think we had about 100 kids on our class. But you had the Jones twins.

"We played for two great coaches in Dick Demaree (football) and Ed Engelhart (basketball)."

Now, he just wants to make younger kids better.

"We play a tough schedule, Evansivlle Bosse, Louisville Ballard, Louisville Trinity," Jones said. "Chad (Gilbert) is a great coach and I think we got a good group of young men."