GREENSBORO — Will Jones stood before journalists this morning in an idyllic setting outside Corbett Sports Center. People lounged in chairs and stood under trees and listened as he was formally introduced as head basketball coach at N.C. A&T.
Jones thanked his family and friends and mentors along with school administrators such as athletics director Earl Hilton, who sat in the shade and smiled a lot, making the scene feel more like a graduation ceremony or real estate pitch than an introductory press conference.
That’s the new vibe at A&T, a school that believes it’s on the verge of a national introduction as not just any HBCU but the HBCU in America. And basketball is part of it.
The usual chants of “Aggie Pride!” were somewhat muted under the tall oaks and flowering crape myrtles. And there was a theme, one that is recurring at the growing university that now identifies its place in the city as “East Greensboro.”
“A&T is Greensboro,” Jones said. “And we will protect our brand, and we will protect our turf.”