Ex-Hawkeye Jones is a championship coach

Former Iowa player Bill Jones has coached a team to a professional basketball championship.

Jones' Windsor Express defeated the Island Storm 121-106 Thursday night in Game 7 of the best-of-7 National Basketball League of Canada finals.

Jones is the second-year coach of the Express. His team had a regular-season high 29 wins, then won a pair of playoff series in seven games after trailing each three games to two.

Jones played at Iowa from 1984 to 1988. He averaged 13 points and six rebounds as a senior. He played on Hawkeyes teams that won five NCAA tournament games.

After playing one season with the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Jones played professionally in France and Italy before returning to his Detroit hometown to go into business. He coached two Detroit franchises in the now-defunct American Basketball Association.

Jones will coach the Central Division team in the NBL's All-Star Weekend next week in the nine-team league.