Lakeview girls basketball coach Monte Jones didn't have any say in who was chosen to become the next Columbus High boys coach. But had he been asked, he would have one clear favorite.
That favorite was announced Friday in Lincoln Northeast assistant Jordan Hitchcock.
Hitchcock played for Jones at Lincoln Christian during the late 2000s, going on to Nebraska where he was a team manager and then a graduate assistant. From there he helped lead Lincoln Parkview Christian to the state tournament before becoming the lead assistant at Northeast.
"He came in during junior high if I remember right, and he was the skinniest, littlest kid at that age level. After first seeing him and hearing what grade he was in I thought, 'Wow, that kid is really small,'" Jones said. "The second thing I found out about him was how tough he was."
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Jones coached at Lincoln Christian for 17 seasons starting in 2000. During his time leading the Crusaders, LC made five trips to the state tournament, played in two title games and won the 2011 C-2 championship.
There were a lot of good teams and a lot of good memories. Coaching Jordan Hitchcock, at least in terms of his accomplishments on the court, probably isn't one of them.
But more than a decade after Hitchcock played his last game for Jones, he has always stuck out to his former coach for his tenacity and love for the game.
"He would come to open gyms and camps and just play fearless, absolutely fearless," Jones said. "...What I think Columbus is getting is a kid who has been the underdog before. He's going to understand that because that's him.
"He's a kid who worked himself to the bone to get a chance, then made himself into a really good player who contributed to some teams that were some really good teams I had at that time. He's a definite success story as a hard worker."
Hitchcock learned in college under former Nebraska head coach, now assistant coach Doc Sadler, then under Tim Miles. While a team manager then grad assistant his duties included scouting and film preparation, leading development for redshirt players and facilitating recruiting experiences.
In his first head coaching job at Parkview Christian in 2016, Hitchcock led the Patriots to state in his first season. He has been at Northeast each of the past two years.
Hitchcock and the Crusaders never made the state tournament during his four-year career, and he was never a regular starter. But, it wasn't so much what Hitchcock achieved on the court that leads Jones to believe that CHS has found the perfect fit.
Jones saw Hitchcock grow from anything that looked like a potential basketball player to one of the most knowledgeable and faithful students of the game.
And, he also eventually grew physically from barely above five feet and less than 100 pounds to now standing just over six feet.
Yet, it's in his basketball smarts where Jones has always been impressed.
"He was that kid that never complained about playing time or role or anything. He was willing to do whatever you asked. I could tell, even through those younger years, he would probably be a coach or a teacher just because of the questions he asked and his attitude toward the game," Jones said. "Jordan is a kid who just loves the game. He fell in love with it as a kid, and like me, he gets to do what he loved as a kid for his profession in life. I think people in Columbus will see that."
Hitchcock called Jones on Thursday before his last interview then sent a text Friday after he accepted the job.
"He loves basketball. He did that hard thing in college of being the gopher and working his way up with a program just because he loved the game, and he wants to coach it at a high level," Jones said. "What makes him such a great fit is, he's a tireless worker, he's not afraid of the work, he relates so well to the kids...he's really the ideal fit for this job."
Nate Tenopir is the sports editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at sports@columbustelegram.com.