The past two seasons haven’t been too much fun for LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson.
Johnson’s team has only won five of 32 Southeastern Conference games since the start of the 2009-10 season.
The honeymoon of his first campaign in 2008-09, in which he claimed the SEC with a 13-3 mark, came to a screeching halt after the departure of veterans Garrett Temple, Chris Johnson and Marcus Thornton.
Johnson went from winning the SEC Coach of the Year award to being under the microscope of the restless LSU fan base.
But it seems as if Johnson plans to be in Baton Rouge for the long haul to groom his young squad.
LSU released a statement Monday expressing Johnson’s intentions to remain the Tigers’ coach after rumors swirled Utah was interested in Johnson, who was their former assistant coach from 1986 to 1989.
“Contrary to published reports, I have no interest in leaving LSU for another school,” Johnson said in the news release.
The Salt Lake Tribune threw out Johnson’s name as a possible replacement for former Utah coach Jim Boylen.
When scouring for a name to throw out once a coach is gone, past assistants are always an easy out.
Remember when Denver Post columnist Woody Paige dubbed Les Miles as a possible replacement at Colorado?
But the simple mention of Johnson’s name with Utah garnered speculation from LSU fans.
Would he leave the Tigers to return to the Pac-10, where he coached for many years?
Would he want to escape closer to his family on the West Coast?
Is Johnson eager to flee LSU while the program is at rock bottom?
The answers appear to be no.
LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva has been patient through the rough two seasons and once again backed his only new hire since coming to Baton Rouge from Duke in 2008.
“It takes time to build a consistent winner, one that competes on an annual basis for championships, and I am pleased Trent intends to remain at LSU to do just that,” Alleva said in the statement.
Johnson has numerous reasons to keep his residence in the Red Stick.
The players Johnson hand-picked to come to LSU are maturing. His first class of Eddie Ludwig and Aaron Dotson will be juniors next season.
His best crop — the trio of Andre Stringer, Matt Derenbecker and Ralston Turner — have a season under their belt and will only get better.
The three first-year players accounted for 45 percent of the Tigers’ total points from this season.
The biggest reason Johnson has to stay is the addition of 6-foot-10-inch power forward Johnny O’Bryant next season.
Bryant is Johnson’s biggest grab of his tenure. The Scout.com five-star recruit has been selected for the McDonald’s All-American High School Game on March 30.
The Cleveland, Miss., native averaged 19.2 points and 14.7 rebounds a night as a senior.
But O’Bryant won’t be the savior of the program.
Veterans like Storm Warren and Malcolm White will need to step up as seniors next years.
If improvements are made with the young guns and O’Bryant makes a splash in his first year, Johnson’s future is sure to be more enjoyable than the past two seasons.
It can only go up from here.
Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter @TDR_Lambert.
 
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]