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By RYAN HOWES
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Led by legendary coach Bobby Douglas, Zeke Jones was one of seven All-Americans on an ASU wrestling team that won the program’s only national championship in 1988.
Fast-forward to 2015, as Jones looks to bring ASU back to the same level of success he enjoyed as a wrestler during the late 1980s, this time as the team’s head coach.
“We want to have the best the program in the country and the world,” said Jones, who led ASU to second place in the Pac-12 Championships last season, his first year at the helm after being hired in April 2014. It was the team’s best finish since winning the conference in 2006.
Jones credits 13-time NCAA champion Bobby Douglas for making him the coach he has become today. Jones first wrestled under Douglas at ASU, then again with the U.S. Olympic team in Barcelona during the 1992 Summer Olympics.
“I’ve learned everything from him,” said Jones of Douglas, who helped him win All-America honors three straight years at Arizona State. “He’s one of the highest wrestling IQ’s I’ve ever seen.”
Jones resume includes coaching stints with the U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team and University of Pennsylvania along with a distinct desire for excellence.
And just a year into his ASU coaching tenure, Jones boasts the number one recruiting class in the nation, according to intermatwrestling.com and Amateur Wrestling News’ recruiting rankings.
“Its pretty simple. I believe Arizona State can be successful,” Jones said.
Jones’ hunger made a strong impression on his wrestlers and recruits.
“He wants to be the best,” said Anthony Valencia, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country for the 2015–16 class. “ Not all the coaches shoot to be No. 1 in the country each year, but coach Zeke does.”
Jones looks for the same passion from his wrestlers.
“I didn’t have any kids in high school say I want to come to Arizona State to be an All-American. They said, ‘Coach I want to be the best in the world, an Olympic champion,’” Jones said.
Jones’ wrestlers echoed his aspirations.
“We’re not only trying to bring back the Pac-12, we are trying to bring back a national title,” freshman wrestler Tanner Hall said. “But I’m not just trying to stop at an NCAA title, that’s never been the goal.”
ASU wrestler and redshirt sophomore Christian Pagdilao also set the bar high.
“My goal is to be the next face on the ASU program and to really help us get out of the rebuilding stage and let everyone know ASU is a powerhouse,” Pagdilao said.
Jones also understands the importance of the school around him when it comes to success on the national and global level.
“You’ve also got to have a world class university, a president and a athletic director that have a vision, like Dr. Crow and Ray Anderson,” Jones said about ASU. “I love my alma mater.”
