Johnny Jones sat in his closet last Friday and listened to LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva offer his “dream job” over the phone.
That dream became reality Monday afternoon, when LSU formally introduced the former North Texas head coach and longtime Tiger assistant as its new men’s basketball coach.
“I had to leave work [Friday] because my nerves were shot,” Jones recalled. “Joe called, so I left the room and went in my closet, and he asked how I was doing. I said, ‘I don’t know, that depends [on] what you’re telling me.'”
The nerves were unnecessary. Alleva was calling Jones home.
Jones is the only person to both play on and coach an LSU Final Four team, playing on the 1981 Tiger squad during his four seasons as a guard and serving on former coach Dale Brown’s staff for 13 years, including LSU’s improbable 1986 NCAA Tournament run.
Jones succeeds Trent Johnson, who departed Easter weekend to fill TCU’s head coaching vacancy and left LSU scrambling for a coach late in the recruiting and hiring game.
Alleva said the search was a national one. He said he interviewed four candidates for the job but found his answer close to home.
“I have no doubt we have the right man for this job at this time,” he said. “Johnny’s the best fit for this university, and that only starts with basketball. He’s earned this opportunity with his success. The ties he has here are just a bonus.”
The 51-year-old DeRidder native coached 11 seasons at North Texas, where he turned a desolate Mean Green program into a consistent 20-game winner, making two NCAA Tournaments and compiling a 190-146 record.
Monday’s formal press conference felt more like a homecoming than a hiring.
LSU legends like Joe Dean, Ricky Blanton, Collis Temple and Brown - Jones’ own former coach and close friend - packed the fifth floor of LSU’s Athletics Department to welcome home one of their own.
And Jones played to that crowd, talking of glory days past and recruiting the future while proudly embracing LSU’s present after meeting with current Tigers on Sunday night.
Center Justin Hamilton left 12 days ago for the NBA, and rumors of player transfers swirled before Johnson’s departure. All seven current LSU scholarship players attended Monday’s introduction.
“This is not about a transition period where a new coach comes in and gets his guys. You are my guys,” Jones said to the players. “We’re going to have success together, and it’s going to start right away.”
LSU went 18-15 last season and lost to Oregon in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.
Jones promised an up-tempo style that would rely on defensive pressure and sound ball security, appeal to recruits and revive the PMAC’s dormant “Deaf Dome” status.
“I’m up for the challenge,” said freshman point guard Anthony Hickey. “He runs a fast offense that I’m familiar with. We’re not thinking about transfers. I’m here for the long run, and he’s the newest part of our family.”
Jones’ Mean Green offense scored the most points in the Sun Belt the last two seasons and finished in the league’s top two during seven of the last eight years.
Officially hired Friday evening, Jones spent the weekend trekking across the South on recruiting trips, calling himself “a one-man wrecking crew” as he has yet to hire assistants.
His top recruiter at North Texas, Shawn Forrest, is expected to follow Jones to Baton Rouge and former Tiger player Randy Livingston has expressed interest in joining his former coach at LSU, but Jones declined to name specific candidates.
Jones - who will receive a five-year contract, according to Alleva - said his main priority is locking down Louisiana’s typically fertile recruiting grounds.
“We need to blanket this state and keep our best at LSU,” Jones said. “Make sure these high school and AAU coaches know it’s a partnership. LSU basketball’s taking ownership of Louisiana again.”
In an emotional press conference full of bravado and confidence, Jones concluded his introduction with a plea.
“I remember the feeling of walking out into the Assembly Center and LSU fans’ passion,” Jones said. “It excites me still. Our fans are so important. We need all the support they can give us. I can’t do this alone. The best potential for me is we.”
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]