{"id":50687,"date":"2025-04-17T20:41:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T00:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=50687"},"modified":"2025-06-12T09:10:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T13:10:59","slug":"basketball-coach-jaques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/basketball-coach-jaques\/","title":{"rendered":"As Head Coach, Former Big Red Player Is a Slam-Dunk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A decade and a half after serving as team captain of men\u2019s basketball, Jon Jaques \u201910 has had a remarkable start as its leader<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Melissa Newcomb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s December 21, 2009\u2014the championship game of the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival basketball tournament. After an 11-point deficit at the half, the Big Red men\u2019s team has tied the score against St. John. With just seconds remaining, forward Jon Jaques \u201910<\/a> has the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senior captain sinks a deep 3-pointer\u2014his fifth of the night. It not only propels the Big Red to a win, but ends a 40-year losing streak against its Big East rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jon
Caroline Sherman \/ Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
Coaching the team to victory against Princeton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, a decade and a half after that game, Jaques is working to give a new generation of players their own unforgettable moments on the paint. On the Big Red coaching staff since 2013, Jaques recently wound up his first season at the program\u2019s helm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want us to be the best teammates we can,\u201d says Jaques. \u201cEvery coach says that, but I enjoy it when the guys are playing together, for each other, being unselfish. I\u2019m fortunate that the culture here is such that it\u2019s the expectation to care about each other, on and off the court. And hopefully, it shows in how we play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m fortunate that the culture here is such that it\u2019s the expectation to care about each other, on and off the court. And hopefully, it shows in how we play.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Jaques\u2019s performance in the role\u2014formally known as the Robert E. Gallagher ’44 Head Coach of Men’s Basketball\u2014has already set some notable benchmarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an 18-11 record in 2024\u201325, Jaques led the Big Red to the most wins for a first-year head coach in Cornell basketball history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jon
PATRICK SHANAHAN \/ Cornell Athletics<\/figcaption>
Scoring a lay-up during the 2010 NCAA Tournament.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Also, no other first-year men\u2019s basketball head coach has ever taken a team to the Ivy tournament. (The Big Red made it all the way to the championship game before falling to Yale.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And speaking of unselfishness: the team finished the season second in the nation<\/a> in assists per-game\u2014evidence of how heavily the players prioritize passing to enable another to score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe instilled confidence in me when I needed it the most,\u201d says forward AK Okereke \u201926. \u201cHe has served as a role model, representing the way that I should carry myself both on the court and off the court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An L.A. native, Jaques majored in biology and society in Arts & Sciences. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After a slow start with the Big Red\u2014over his first three seasons, he saw action for just 108 minutes and scored 33 points\u2014he went on to become one of the nation\u2019s most improved players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His senior year, he was a captain, starter, and all-tournament pick at the Legends Classic, and led the Ivies in three-point shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He instilled confidence in me when I needed it the most. He has served as a role model, representing the way that I should carry myself both on the court and off the court.<\/p>\nPlayer AK Okereke \u201926<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That season, not only did the team win its first ever NCAA tournament game in Big Red history\u2014it advanced all the way to the Sweet 16, defeating nationally ranked opponents Temple and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Says Jaques: \u201cI had the classic college basketball experience that everyone dreams of: the camaraderie, relationships, coaches, team building, and everything that I enjoyed about being at Cornell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Hill, Jaques also played a different position: sports journalist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He wrote for the Daily Sun<\/em>\u2014it\u2019s where he met his wife<\/a>, fellow Arts & Sciences alum Jasmine Marcus \u201910\u2014and went on to be published in the New York Times<\/em>, Sports Illustrated<\/em>, and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are no easy games, which, as a player, is all you can ask for,\u201d he wrote<\/a> in the Times<\/em>\u2019s college sports blog as he entered his senior season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe experience we will gain from these games, and have gained from our humbling first-round exits in the past two NCAA tournaments, makes me so excited to see how much damage we can do when March rolls around again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Jon
With (from left) wife Jasmine Marcus \u201910, son Micah, and daughter Carina in Newman Arena.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After graduation, Jaques played professionally in Israel for a year, then returned to the U.S. to begin his coaching career. After stints at Stevens Institute of Technology and Columbia, he returned to the Hill as an assistant coach in 2013, moving up to associate in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years later, he was a finalist for College Insiders<\/em>\u2019 National Coach of the Year award, given annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaques was a finalist for College Insiders<\/em>\u2019 National Coach of the Year award, given annually to the top first-time head coach in Division I basketball.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs with us all, sometimes things get to be too much, and we feel overwhelmed,\u201d says another of his players, forward Guy Ragland Jr. \u201925. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoach Jaques always maintained a sense of calm and navigated situations with confidence and a clear mind. If it didn\u2019t work out, he\u2019d try again the next day. I have always admired him for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the other highlights of Jaques\u2019s first season: an 88-80 win over the Cal Golden Bears in December 2024\u2014the Big Red\u2019s first victory against an ACC team since 1951. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Celebrate that ACC road win @cornell_mbb<\/a>! #YellCornell<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qMFWfEEDua<\/a><\/p>— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) December 11, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>