If there’s one thing that Clay Jones is used to, it’s a divided household.
An avid North Carolina fan, Jones has always walked a fine line at home. His wife, Heather, is a Duke fan.
For years, they’ve tolerated each other’s loyalties until Defcon 1 was declared on April 2, 2022, when the inevitable North Carolina-Duke showdown in the NCAA Tournament finally happened in the Final Four.
Jones watched from his garage. Heather watched from the living room.
After Caleb Love’s storied shot sent the Tar Heels to the national championship game and ended Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career, Clay knew he had to tread lightly.
“I just stayed in the garage until I knew she was asleep,” Jones said. “Then I came inside.”
Now Jones is stepping into the divided landscape of Hillsborough basketball, where he will see both ends firsthand.
After spending years as the men’s basketball coach at Cedar Ridge, Jones is now the head coach of his former crosstown rival.
Last week, Jones was officially named the new head coach of Orange men’s basketball. He replaces Derryl Britt, who stepped down in May after eight seasons.
Britt was officially named the new head coach at the Durham School of the Arts last week.
“I’m so excited,” Jones said. “I can’t be more humble. I can’t be more thankful. I’m just so thankful for Mr. Johnson and (Athletic Director) Coach (Jason) Knapp and the committee for giving me this opportunity. It’s a bucket list job for me.”
Jones has had moments of triumph inside Orange High’s gymnasium coaching the Red Wolves. In 2015, Peyton Pappas hit a jumper with one second remaining to lift the Red Wolves over the Panthers 63-61. Jones kept the radio call of that shot on a loop inside his car for weeks.
Last month, Orange principal Jason Johnson asked Jones what he did with all of his Cedar Ridge clothing.
“I left it there,” Jones replied.
“You’re hired,” Johnson said.
Jones returns to Hillsborough after two years at Corinth-Holders High School in Wendell, where he made daily 70-minute, one-way trips from his home in Rougemont, not far from the Orange County Speedway.
Now, his daily commute will be 20 minutes.
“That was another major selling point,” Jones said. “My wife was making that drive down on Friday afternoons for games. Going down 540 is not the best trip. To say she’s excited is an understatement.”
Jones was the third head men’s basketball coach at Cedar Ridge High, replacing Fred Blanks. He was the last Red Wolf head coach to win a game in the state playoffs. In 2016, the Red Wolves upended Rocky Mount 81-77 to advance to the round of 32. The Red Wolves finished 19-10 in a stacked Big 8 Conference, which featured Orange, Southern Durham and Chapel Hill.
Jim Pappas, the original Cedar Ridge men’s basketball coach and athletic director, was on hand for Jones’ introduction ceremony last Wednesday inside Orange High’s Library.
After leaving Cedar Ridge in 2019, Jones spent five years at River Mill Academy in Graham, where he was head varsity basketball coach for three years. He also served as athletic director and head men’s golf coach.
Just three years ago, Orange won the Central Conference championship behind Coleman Cloer, now at the University of Alabama. This winter, Jones will have to replace Hector Garrido, who started as a freshman and transferred from Orange to Burlington Christian Academy over the summer.
Last season, Garrido was Orange’s point guard and leading scorer.
“I know the history that’s come through this program and I respect what those coaches have done,” Jones said. “I have some big shoes to fill from both of the coaches that have been here before me. Not just that. Coaches that have been here in football, baseball, wrestling, lacrosse. It’s a community school and one that I’ve always wanted to be at. Not that I was envious when I was across town, but it’s always been a special place to me.”
Jones, a native of Roxboro, attended Louisburg Junior College before graduating from East Carolina. In his introductory speech, he drew upon the words of Josh Niblett, the new tight ends coach at the University of Colorado.
“They’ve put me in here as a seed,” Jones said. “And we’re going to grow. We’re going to take our lumps, but we’re going to grow together. And we’re going to put this program back where it needs to be. I don’t know who is going to be here when our first workout happens. I have no clue who’s going to be here when we start the season. But I know who is going to be here and that’s going to be me. And I’m going to work my tail off.”
