Ford was a high school standout at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio, playing for his father, Gene Ford. In 1993, after his senior season, he was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball by the Associated Press. Ford scored 2,680 points in high school, second-most in history at the time of his graduation and currently the fourth-most behind Jon Diebler, Luke Kennard and Jay Burson, but higher than LeBron James. Ford still holds the record for most free throws made in a season and most career free throws in Ohio high school boys' basketball. He was named to the All-Ohio Division II first team following both his junior and senior seasons and was also a two-time All-Eastern District Division II Player of the Year and two-time All-OVAC Class 4-A first team pick. In 2004, Ford was named to the Ohio Valley Athletic ConferenceHall of Fame.
College
Ford played at Ohio University as a guard from 1993 to 1997, wearing No. 12. In four seasons with the Bobcats, Ford averaged 14.2 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting. He led the Bobcats in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.9 points per game in 1995–96 and 18.7 in 1996–97. Ford was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 1996 and the All-MAC First Team in 1997. Ford scored 1,752 points in college, graduating as the fourth-highest scorer of all time in Ohio Bobcats program history. He currently stands at sixth. Ford started 113 games, breaking the program record at the time, while he also still ranks in the top 10 for three-pointers made and free throws made. Ford currently holds the program record for most free throws made in a single game on February 2, 1997, breaking the old record which had stood for 42 years.
Coaching career
Ford began his coaching career in 1998 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Ohio University, and then promoted to a full-time assistant coaching position the next season, before becoming head coach at Shawnee State University of the NAIA in 2001. After one season at Shawnee State, he was hired as an assistant at Kent State under Jim Christian, where he coached for three seasons. In 2005, Ford was hired as head coach at Muskingum College, now Muskingum University, of the NCAA Division III, where he coached for two seasons before returning to Kent State as an assistant. Ford was promoted to head coach at Kent State in 2008 following Christian's departure to TCU, and coached the Golden Flashes for three seasons. At Kent State, Ford led the team to consecutive Mid-American Conference regular season titles in 2010 and 2011, winning MAC Coach of the Year both years. His teams at KSU advanced to the postseason in each of his three seasons, playing in the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and the 2010 and 2011 National Invitation Tournaments. He finished with a record of 68–37 at Kent State, including 35–17 in MAC play. Following his success at Kent State, he was hired by Bradley University in 2011, where he coached four seasons. His teams at Bradley never finished above 7th in the Missouri Valley Conference, advancing to post-season play in the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. He was relieved of his duties at the conclusion of an injury-riddled 2014–15 season, where the Braves finished 9–24 overall and 3–15 in the MVC. Ford's record at Bradley was 46–86 overall and 19–53 in MVC play. Following a year as a college basketball analyst for ESPN3, he was hired in 2016 as an assistant for Stony Brook under head coach and his former Ohio teammate Jeff Boals. On March 17, 2019, Ford was named the interim head coach of Stony Brook after Boals resigned to accept the head coaching job at Ohio University. Ford's interim tag was removed on March 26, when Stony Brook announced his promotion as the fourth head coach in the school's Division I era. In Ford's first season, Stony Brook won 20 games for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons and finished in second place in the America East, their ninth top-2 finish over that time period. After defeating Albany in the America East quarterfinals, Stony Brook was upset 64–56 at home by Hartford in the semifinals to end their season at 20–13. Ford announced in a postgame interview following the loss to Hartford that the team will not accept a postseason tournament invite amid coronavirus concerns.
Personal life
Ford is married to his wife, Traci. He has two sons, Darin, a graduate assistant at the University of Akron, and David. Ford's brother, Dustin, is the Associate Head Coach at Akron and also played for Ohio, from 1998 to 2001.
Head coaching record
Ford was named interim head coach on March 17, 2019, after Boals took the head coaching job at Ohio. In addition, Ford holds a 5-5 postseason record as a Division I head coach.
