When the LSU men’s basketball team dropped its second consecutive game last Thursday, fingers were pointed at coach Johnny Jones.
It was the Tigers’ second-straight loss to a team with a losing record, and pundits said the team’s struggles came from the top.
The criticism troubled sophomore guard Tim Quarterman.
“It really bothered me just because he’s all for us,” Quarterman said of Jones. “He wants to see us do the best that we can night in and night out.”
Jones coached the Tigers (17-6, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) to a 71-60 victory against Alabama on Saturday, and now he’s gearing them up for a clash against undefeated No. 1 Kentucky (23-0, 10-0 SEC) at 6 p.m. tonight at the PMAC.
Jones has been in these type of moments before, giving LSU sophomore forward Jarell Martin confidence his coach can get he and his teammates ready for their game against the Wildcats.

“It’s great to have a coach like that who’s actually experienced it and who can give us everything he went through when he played in big atmospheres like that,” Martin said. “He can teach that to us and tell us about it and prepare us for it.”
While at LSU, Jones played on two NCAA tournament teams, one Final Four team in 1981 and was a member of a Tigers squad that won a school-record 26
consecutive games. Jones also led LSU in assists his junior season and is ranked 11th in school history with 271 assists.
Quarterman said it’s impossible to overlook that sort of pedigree.
“You can’t ignore it,” Quarterman said. “To get better as a player, you always have to be coachable…you just have to listen.”
Jones served as an assistant on legendary LSU coach Dale Brown’s staff during the Tigers’ 1986 Final Four run, making him the only person in LSU history to have both played and coached in an NCAA Final Four.
But against Kentucky, Jones will be pitted against one of the nation’s top coaches — the same one who replaced him after his interim head coaching season at the University of Memphis — Wildcats coach John Calipari.
Jones served as Memphis’ interim coach during the 1999-2000 season and led the team to a 15-16 mark. Jones’ first stint as a college head coach lasted for one season before Memphis hired Calipari the following year.
After a one-year hiatus, Jones went to the University of North Texas and stayed there for 11 seasons, leading the Mean Green to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2007 and 2010.

At LSU, Jones has turned around the once-struggling program. The Tigers won 39 games during Jones’ first two seasons at the helm, which was the most for an LSU coach during his first two years during the SEC era.
This year, Jones signed ESPN’s No. 1 recruit for the 2015 class, Montverde Academy product Ben Simmons and No. 14 prospect Antonio Blakeney, the nation’s No. 2 shooting guard out of Florida’s Oak Ridge High School. ESPN has the class ranked seventh in the nation.
Quarterman said Jones’ love for basketball and playing experience attracts recruits and makes them want to come to LSU.
“Look at the players he’s bringing in [such as] Ben Simmons, Antonio Blakeney,” Quarterman said. “They’re the same caliber of players that go to Kentucky, but they decided to come here. That’s a token to coach Jones. Players look at him and his passion for the game and want to play for him.”
But Jones’ players said his experience playing in big games gives him an advantage against Calipari, who never played in an NCAA Tournament game while at UNC Wilmington and Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
With the No. 1 team in the nation coming to town, Jones said it’s possible to shortchange the moment. Instead, he wants his players to enjoy the atmosphere surrounding the game.
“You don’t want to make small of any of it,” Jones said. “It’s the No. 1 team in the country. It’s a great opportunity, and it’s kind of a one-shot deal. You can’t schedule that, it just happens.
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR.