Valiant Jones enters his fourth season at the helm as Nyack College Head Men’s Basketball Coach in 2021-22. He was hired in late September of 2018 to coach the Warriors of Nyack College.
Under the leadership of Coach Jones, the Warriors posted a 5-14 record in CACC Conference in the first year. The warriors were 5-7 at home and fought extremely hard to push for a playoff berth down the stretch but came up short. The Warriors enjoyed several marquee wins last year which included an 80-69 win over Felician University and a big road win, 84-79 against Wilmington University.
In his second year at the helmet, the Warriors continued to make strides forward. Their 14-13 record (9-10 CACC) was the first over .500 record for the men's basketball program since 2004-05. Nyack posted 76.3 points per game (best since 2005/06, 76.9PPG), 440 assists (best since 2005/06, 454), and 16.3 assists per game which ranked the Warrior squad 30th amongst programs in the NCAA Division II. The nine conference wins were the most posted by a Nyack College men's basketball team since the creation of the North/South divisions in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and their 14 overall wins marked the most wins posted by the men's basketball program since Nyack joined the NCAA Division II.
During his third year, a shortened season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Warriors finished the regular season with a final record of 4-4 and received the first-ever at-large bid to the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship.
Valiant served as a men's assistant basketball coach for four seasons at Nyack College, his alma mater. He assisted in every phase of the program including recruiting, opponent scouting, and defensive coordinator. Valiant was a two-year stand-out in his playing career at Nyack College. He was named to the All-CACC Conference Team in 2008-09. He also led them to the NCCAA 2010 National Championship game where he was named First Team All-Tournament.
Prior to being named Nyack College Head Coach, Valiant served as the head women's basketball coach at Nanuet High School from 2014-18. In all four seasons at Nanuet High School, Jones led the team to a Section One Playoff and quickly changed the dynamic of the program. In just his second year he managed to coach Nanuet to a .500 record. Jones was named League Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 season, as he rallied off two impressive playoff wins against Saunders and the #4 seed Tappan Zee High School.
Coach Jones states, "With the continuous support of the Nyack staff, players, and my family, I am confident in our ability to drive the program forward. It has always been a dream of mine to come back to where it all started and to continue to build up the Nyack program. I would like to thank President Scales and Director of Athletics Keith Davie for this amazing opportunity."
Valiant graduated with his Master in Organizational Leadership from the Nyack College School of Business in May 2021. Him and Wife Frances are the parents of one daughter, Cali, and two sons, Josiah and Jacob.
