Old Dominion announced Thursday that men’s basketball coach Jeff Jones was “resting comfortably and expecting a full recovery” after suffering a heart attack Wednesday.
Jones, 63, will be hospitalized for the next 48-72 hours for observation according to the school. He suffered the heart attack in Hawaii as Old Dominion is in the state for the Diamond Head Classic.
Assistant coach Kieran Donohue will serve as the team’s interim coach for the tournament while Jones recovers.
“Coach Jones and his family would like to thank Dr. Brandon Itagaki and the team at the Honolulu Straub Medical Center, along with ODU associate head athletic trainer Jason Mitchell for their prompt care and medical expertise,” the school said in a statement.
ODU opens the tournament Thursday against TCU and is one of eight teams participating in the event. The Monarchs will face Nevada if they beat the Horned Frogs and Temple if they lose. Nevada beat Temple 80-56 earlier Thursday.
Jones has been Old Dominion’s coach since the 2013-14 season and the team has a 203-131 record during his tenure. ODU has one NCAA tournament appearance in that span and enters the Diamond Head Classic at 3-6.
Before coaching at ODU, Jones began his head coaching career at Virginia. He was the Cavaliers’ coach from 1990-98 and took UVA to five NCAA tournaments and one regular season ACC title. He coached at American from 2000-13 before taking the head coaching job at ODU.
