Tonight will be a Baton Rouge homecoming of sorts for Alabama coach Avery Johnson.
In his youth at Southern University just 12.1 miles from the heart of LSU’s campus, Johnson, a then-senior point guard, was the first-ever NCAA Division I player to average double figures for a single season in both assists and points with 13.3 and 11.4, respectively.
Along with visiting family, Johnson will accompany dear family friends as he leads Alabama against LSU at 8 p.m. tonight in a return to Baton Rouge.
It’ll be another reunion for Johnson and his old pal, LSU coach Johnny Jones.
Johnson and Jones’ friendship dates back more than 10 years to when Jones was the head coach at University of North Texas from 2001-2012 while Johnson served as the the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks from 2005-08 and a Mavericks assistant in 2004-05.
In Texas, Jones said the two spent ample time together in different settings. During the Mavericks’ off-season, Johnson brought his professional pupils to train and scrimmage against Jones’ Mean Green squad — furthering both of their respective senses for the other’s coaching philosophy, Jones said.
“I’d go down there and watch his team play and spend time with them at practices,” Jones said. “He asked if it would help our team and program if he was able to bring his team to training camp up at the University of North Texas instead of going overseas, and I jumped all over it.”
Outside of their own practices, the two men continued crossing paths as they both had high school sons knee-deep in the AAU training cycle a few years back.
Now, John Jones, Johnny’s son, is a high-school junior at University Laboratory School on the University’s campus. Avery Jr. is sitting out the 2015-16 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules before completing his transfer to Alabama to play for his father after playing in 13 games as a freshman at Texas A&M.
“We would have lunch or something like that on occasion when he was there,” Jones said. “He has a son that played AAU basketball. Our circles would certainly interact there as well. We spent a lot of time together.”
Nevertheless, the two coaches’ friendship emerged well before their SEC bout on Wednesday, and they’ve been dear friends and respected opponents since.
“He does a tremendous job and is an exceptional leader in what he’s done,” Jones said. “I knew he had a great interest in coaching at the college level once he was finishing up with the pros.”
Tonight, the two old friends will be on opposite sides as Johnson directs Alabama (15-9, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) into the PMAC on a four-game win streak as well boasting five wins in its last six games.
In LSU’s two-point win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Jan. 23, the Crimson Tide’s rebounding competency surprised LSU point-forward Ben Simmons, he said.
“They’re big,” Simmons said. “[Senior guard] Keith [Hornsby] missed a few, [sophomore forward] Craig [Victor II] missed a few, but that was just not being prepared. It was one of those games where you don’t expect them to be like that.”
LSU allowed 13 offensive rebounds in the first matchup, which Hornsby, Simmons and Victor all agreed was far too many.
“Winning the war on the boards,” as Jones calls rebounding more efficiently than LSU’s opponent, will be LSU’s primary goal for Wednesday’s battle for Jones, and his senior guard agrees.
“We have to do a better job of boxing out,” Hornsby said. “We have some guys who are really good at crashing the boards. They’re slick. We have to do that to prevent them from getting trash buckets.”
Alabama had a near-SEC worst record of 1-4 against conference opponents on the day of its first meeting. But with its football team’s National Championship Parade on the same day, Alabama was confident and energized to play the Tigers — the SEC’s then-third-best squad.
Hornsby isn’t surprised by the Crimson Tide’s recent success.
“They’re a good team,” Hornsby said. “When we played them, their current record wasn’t a depiction of how good they really were. I’m not surprised by their success.”
Despite the winning streak, one piece of the Crimson Tide’s formula hasn’t changed since its first clash with LSU — senior guard Retin Obasohan.
Obasohan’s 20 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting night from beyond the arc kept Alabama in a knot with LSU in round one. Obasohan leads Alabama with an average of 16.0 points per game, shooting 130-for-283 from the field this season.
Defending him isn’t easy, Hornsby said.
“He’s a tough one to defend,” Hornsby said. “He comes off of a lot of high screens. He can shoot and he can attack really well toward the basket. We have to have that edge to stop him. He runs point a lot, he’s a good passer, as well. Don’t give him anything easy.”
But junior guard Tim Quarterman has that “edge,” Hornsby continued.
“Yeah, [Quarterman’s] a great harasser,” he said.
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter @CBoutwell_TDR

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Haskell Whittington

LSU head coach Johnny Jones stands by on the sidelines during the devastating LSU 75-77 loss against the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday Jan. 30, 2016, in the PMAC.