Men's basketball fills staff after NCAA violations

The men's basketball coaching staff has welcomed a former Spider back to the University of Richmond.

Peter Thomas, a former Spiders forward who graduated in 2007, has been named director of basketball operations, replacing Rob Jones. Jones will take the place of former assistant coach Carlin Hartman, who resigned after improperly text messaging and calling recruits.

Thomas spent a year at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ky., as a basketball operations assistant and then director of basketball operations.

"It has been a very easy transition for me," he said. "The main reason that I came back is because I love Richmond, and I think we really have a chance to be good here. You get into this to win."

Thomas had not always been certain he would go into coaching, he said.

"I wasn't thinking, 'I want to be a coach,'" he said. "I wanted to play. I initially thought about maybe trying my hand overseas, not that I was going to make any money doing it."

Thomas got an offer during his senior year to work for basketball operations at Eastern Kentucky from head coach Jeff Neubauer, a former Spiders assistant coach, he said.

"I knew as a player I wanted to stay in it because I loved it so much and (wanted to) try at least to coach," he said. "I learned a lot from coach Neubauer, so certainly I think I made the right decision."

Thomas' leadership and smart play made him a good fit for coaching, Jones said.

"He was a really good leader, especially his senior year when we had a really young team," Jones said. "He has a good relationship with the guys, and I think that's going to be important too. They all respect him because they respect what he did and what he did for the program."

Because Thomas had been in the program before, he said he had an idea of what to expect in his new role.

"I took on a leadership role as a senior," he said. "Even though we didn't win a lot of games, that experience and that role I played I think will help me as I come back to help these guys."

Jones has been a part of Spider basketball for three years, he said, and is looking forward to his increased role as a coach.

"I think he is a very good communicator," coach Chris Mooney said. "I think he will be a good teacher and recruiter. He just really cares about the program. My expectations are high for him, and I am sure he will meet those."

Jones said he was excited to fill his new role at Richmond.

"I'm looking forward to continue to be around these guys," he said. "Working with such a good group is extremely exciting. That's what I am looking forward to the most -- being able to further my role with the players and being able to work on the floor with them each and every day."

Jones spent one season as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and he also has coached at the high school level, he said.

"Coaching in high school, coaching in college and obviously being around for the past three years -- hopefully it will be a seamless transition," Jones said.

Jones' previous coaching experience will help him not only with strategy, but with the relationships that he will have to build on as a coach, he said.

"Anytime you are working with kids, whether it's older kids or younger kids, it's all about the relationship that you are able to build with those kids -- not only on the court, but also off the court," he said. "We want to recruit good kids so that we can develop those relationships."

The involvement that all the coaches have in the program helped Jones to transition into his new role, he said.

"We try to have everybody involved," Mooney said, "so the directors of basketball operations are involved in the program and certainly involved in the players' lives. It has been seamless."

Contact Reporter Stephen Utz at stephen.utz@richmond.edu