Jeff Jones taking leave of absence for prostate cancer treatment

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Former Virginia player and coach Jeff Jones, currently the head coach of Old Dominion’s basketball team, won’t return to the sidelines this season.

Jones announced Sunday that he is stepping away as the Monarchs’ coach for the remainder of the season due to health reasons.

After returning from Hawaii around Christmas, where Jones suffered a heart attack when ODU played in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, he learned that he must undergo treatment for prostate cancer for the fourth time.

He has been resting comfortably at home since the heart problem, but will again begin treatment for prostate cancer, after having surgery for those same issues in the summer of 2015.

“I would like to thank the ODU community for their kindness and well wishes after my heart attack,” Jones wrote in a statement released by the school. “I would also like to thank Drs. Hemphill and Selig for their steadfast support.

“This was an extremely difficult decision to make, but I am confident that interim coach Kieran Donahue, the staff, and the players will continue to battle for the remainder of the season.

“I want to thank them for their hard work and resilience, and I would like to thank all of Monarch Nation for continuing to be the best fans in the league. You all make me grateful and proud to be a Monarch.”

Donahue is a former UVA basketball manager and took over the Monarchs during the Hawaii trip.

ODU president Brian O. Hemphill added his best wishes for Jones, who is taking a medical leave of absence.

“Coach Jones and his family have been an integral part of our campus community for many years,” Hemphill said. “They have been a source of strength and tireless champions for so many Monarchs. Now, it is our time to support Coach Jones as he focuses on his health in preparation for a return to the game, a team, and an institution that he loves.”

ODU athletic director Wood Selig, also a former assistant AD at Virginia, has known Jones ever since Jones coached the Cavaliers.

“My professional relationship with Coach Jones began in 1988 and now spans five decades,” Selig said. “His competitiveness and passion for the sport of basketball is second to none. Coach Jones absolutely loves ODU, our student-athletes and staff. Therefore, I appreciate how difficult a decision stepping back is for Coach Jones.

“Throughout his career he has always put his team and coaching staff first. All Monarch fans and supporters should now put Coach Jones first and support his efforts to regain the health required to lead our program.”