FORT SMITH - New UAFS men’s basketball coach Jim Boone has announced the addition of his son, former Delta State assistant coach Jimmy Boone, to his coaching staff.
“We couldn’t be more pleased or excited to welcome Jimmy to the UAFS family. Jimmy and I have worked together for the past nine years, and we have enjoyed a great deal of success together during this period,” said UAFS coach Jim Boone, who was head coach at Delta State prior to being hired at UAFS this past April.
“Jimmy has an incredible basketball mind and is fantastic on the floor with our players, and he is a proven winner, recruiter and a tireless worker. Jimmy was instrumental in recruiting both of our most recent conference players of the year while at Delta State and will be an awesome mentor and leader to our young men here at UAFS. Jimmy is a tremendous addition to our basketball program and the university community, and, again, we are very excited to welcome him to Fort Smith and UAFS basketball.”
Prior to joining UAFS, Jimmy Boone was an assistant coach at Delta State for the past seven years, where he assisted in building one of the most successful runs in Delta State history which included three trips to the NCAA National Tournament, including a Sweet 16 run in 2013, as well as a regular-season Gulf South Conference Championship in 2014 and a GSC Tournament Championship in 2019. He was instrumental in recruiting multiple All-Gulf South Conference student-athletes such as Willie Readus, Devin Schmidt, PJ Davis and Brett Warner.
Devin Schmidt (2013-2017) finished his career at Delta State as the all-time leading scorer in both Delta State and Gulf South Conference history (2,594 points), was a two-time NABC All-American and the 2016 GSC Player of the Year. Willie Readus also was named a NABC All – American and the 2014 GSC Player of the Year.
“I want to thank Coach Boone for this amazing opportunity as we work together to bring back the pride and the great tradition of success that is UAFS Basketball,” Jimmy Boone said. “And, I want to especially thank our athletics director, Curtis Janz, for his tremendous support and leadership. We are so excited to be here and to be a part of the UAFS family and the Fort Smith community. We cannot wait to roll our sleeves up and get to work.”
Jimmy Boone spent the 2011-2012 season as an assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan University where he helped guide the team to its first ever NCAA National Tournament victory. In the 2010-2011 season, he served as a student assistant coach for the Tusculum College men’s basketball program.
Jimmy Boone completed a solid four-year playing career at Tusculum, where he played in 114 games and logged more than 3,100 minutes. He finished his collegiate career with 831 points and 162 three-pointers, which is the sixth-most in school history. During his junior season, he helped lead the Pioneers to a 20-11 record as they advanced to the SAC Tournament title game and later earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. During that season, he earned SAC Player of the Week honors. Boone finished his career as the all-time leader in NCAA Division II wins in Tusculum history.
Jimmy Boone‘s prep career consisted of three seasons at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., and his senior season at Greeneville (Tenn.) High School. During his senior season, the Greeneville won the District, Region and Sub-State titles and finished with a 28-8 record. He averaged 15 points and five assists per game as Greeneville advanced to the state quarterfinal.
At Pioneer High School, he averaged 14 points per game, while earning All-Conference and All-Area First Team honors. The two-time All-Conference and All-County selection was named Team MVP and led Pioneer to a conference title and an appearance in the sectional final in 2005.