College basketball coach suffers heart attack during a tournament in Honolulu… but he’s now ‘resting comfortably and speaking to his team’
- Old Dominion basketball coach Jeff Jones suffered a heart attack on Wednesday
- Jones, 63, will be held for observation for the next 48 to 72 hours
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Old Dominion men's basketball coach Jeff Jones was hospitalized in Honolulu after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday, the school said.
βHe is resting comfortably and expects a full recovery,β Old Dominion said in a statement Thursday.
The 63-year-old Jones will be held for observation for the next 48 to 72 hours and will not be available to coach in the Diamond Head Classic.
Kieran Donohue will serve as interim head coach for Old Dominion's three games in Hawaii.
The Monarchs (3-7) lost to TCU 111-87 in the tournament opener on Thursday. Old Dominion will play Temple in the consolation round on Friday.
Old Dominion men's basketball coach Jeff Jones suffered a heart attack Wednesday
ESPN reported that Jones has spoken to his team twice in the past 24 hours.
Jones has spent 31 seasons as a coach, including the past 11 at Old Dominion. He has led the Monarchs to a 203-132 record.
Jones played alongside Ralph Sampson at Virginia in the early 1980s and became the youngest head coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history at age 29 when he became Cavaliers coach in 1990.
He spent 13 years as head coach at American University before joining Old Dominion for the 2013-14 season.
Jones has led teams to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, the last coming in 2019 with the Monarchs.