Chris Jones said he's been intrigued and inspired by what Utah State University basketball coach Stew Morrill has done in building a successful program.

Now, the former University of Utah assistant coach will get to see it first hand.

Monday, Morrill announced that Jones has been hired to replaced Don Verlin, who accepted the head coaching position at the University of Idaho last week.

"This is a great opportunity for me to continue to learn the game and be a part of his great system," Jones said. "Utah State's program speaks for itself with all the success it has had, and this is a great opportunity for me and my family to continue my coaching career."

Jones brings with him seven years of coaching experience he accumulated at Utah.

"I am very excited that Chris Jones is joining our coaching staff," Morrill said. "We are getting a quality coach who has lots of experience with basketball in the state of Utah."

At Utah, Jones spent a total of seven years, and most recently he was an assistant under Jim Boylen. Before that, he was an assistant under Ray Giacoletti. He was also the director of basketball operations for two years, and before that he was the video coordinator for three years before becoming an assistant.

"Chris is a high-energy, get-it-done kind of guy. He understand the demands of this business and has the drive and skill, plus the experience necessary, to perform all the tasks required of an assistant coach at the Division I level," Morrill said.

"I know he will be a huge asset for our program," he said.

Jones stressed that he wasn't leaving because of any unhappiness in working with Coach Boylen or because of money issues.

"I haven't been around a better coach than Coach Boylen," he said. "The Utah basketball program is in tremendous hands."

Jones played college basketball at the University of Utah for two seasons (1993-94) and was part of the 1993 team that won the Western Athletic Conference regular season championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He graduated from Utah in 1994 with a degree in sociology.

Verlin's departure also affected Tim Duryea, who was moved up and named the associate head coach. He has been with the Aggie program for the last seven seasons.

"Tim is extremely valuable to our operation and has certainly earned this promotion," Morrill said. "His loyalty to Utah State and to me is never taken for granted."

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Contributing: Mike Sorensen