3-5-2026 Tony Jones Interview

·22 min·2 clips

Tony Jones never fails to make people smile, and his championship success at Johnson University is just the beginning.

This episode features host Tony Basilio interviewing Tony Jones, the head basketball coach at Johnson University. Jones discusses his team's recent success and his personal life in Knoxville. The conversation covers Johnson University's athletic rise, Jones's coaching philosophy, and broader college basketball topics. Johnson University transitioned from a Bible college and has made the NAIA national tournament two years in a row under Jones and assistant Logan Sharp. Jones also teaches special education at Lonsdale Elementary School and finds great joy in his two-year-old daughter, Lula Soleil Jones. He praises Johnson's athletic director, Brandon Perry, and notes the baseball team, coached by Dave Serrano, is ranked fifth nationally. Jones appears weekly on a sports panel with Mark Packer, Austin Price, and Jason "Swain," whose broad sports knowledge impresses him. The analysis turns to University of Tennessee basketball, focusing on player Nate's injury and whether he should sit against Vanderbilt to heal for the postseason. Jones breaks down Tennessee's recent win over South Carolina, emphasizing offensive rebounding and points in the paint as keys. He states Tennessee's physical front line must carry the team for a deep tournament run if Nate returns healthy. Jones and the panel strongly disagree with Bruce Pearl's comment that an undefeated Miami (Ohio) team should not make the NCAA tournament if it loses its conference tournament. They label Pearl's view as arrogant and argue it reflects a trend marginalizing mid-major programs. Jones believes Miami (Ohio) deserves at least an 11 or 12 seed regardless of its conference tournament outcome. He notes high-major teams often avoid scheduling strong mid-majors like Miami (Ohio), which is coached by Travis Steele. The conversation briefly touches on Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell's response to criticism from Andrea Carter, framing it as part of the "big boy business" of coaching. The tone is highly conversational, friendly, and filled with local sports camaraderie and inside references. The style is a relaxed interview blended with roundtable analysis involving other show regulars. College basketball fans, especially those following Tennessee sports, NAIA basketball, or coaching insights, would enjoy this episode. Listeners seeking hard news or a tightly structured debate on national sports issues might find it too localized and informal.

As heard by us

A warm sports-radio interview with real basketball detail.

Tony Jones gives the interview a real lift. The best part is how the basketball talk and the easy radio chemistry sit together without feeling forced.

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Why you'd press play

For a coach-story listen with Johnson University's rise, Tennessee's rebounding talk, and old-school radio charm.

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