LSU’s men’s basketball team is off to a hot start under first-year coach Trent Johnson, beginning the season 6-0 for the first time in eight years. And while fans may have taken notice of his hard-nosed defensive style on the court, it’s his recruiting ability off the court that may take LSU to the next level.Johnson has developed relationships with coaches and players across the country during his long coaching career, beginning with his first Division I coaching job in 1986 at Utah. And one of those personal relationships may have helped land the top-rated player in LSU’s 2009 recruiting class, Aaron Dotson.Dotson, a 6-foot-4-inch shooting guard from Rainier Beach High School in Johnson’s hometown of Seattle, is a four-star prospect and the No. 89 overall player in the country according to Rivals.com.”We recruit nationally in every staff I’ve ever been involved in,” Johnson said. “It just so happens I’m from the state of Washington and Seattle, where there has been very good basketball talent the last 10-15 years. I think the bottom line for me is I am 52 years old, I’ve been coaching collegiate basketball for 20-something-odd years. So sometimes because people know you well, they know your weaknesses.”Mike Bethea, Dotson’s coach at Rainier Beach, said Dotson chose LSU, in large part, because of the relationship he has built with Johnson. But it is Bethea who has known Johnson almost his entire life.”I’ve known him since sixth grade.” Bethea said. “We went to grade school, junior high and high school together.”Johnson said it’s not about who you know, but what you can offer.”Any advantage in recruiting is not in terms of where you’re from or all that, but what you’re selling and what you’re representing,” Johnson said. “And I think we have a very good product in terms of LSU, the [Southeastern Conference] and the education we provide. So I think that’s the big advantage we have, and it’s our responsibility as a staff to make sure the student-athletes we recruit know that.”Bethea said Dotson is a player who shoots the ball extremely well and can make an immediate impact for the Tigers. Bethea actually compares Dotson to one of his former stars at Rainier Beach, current Louisville standout Terrence Williams.”Aaron is very explosive, a multi-talented guard,” Johnson said. “He’s a kid that can score. He can guard any position from the three to the one. I think before he finishes his collegiate career he’ll have an opportunity to play the one and the two and be a complete guard.”As a junior last season, Dotson was able to help lead his team to a Class 3A state championship in Washington, scoring 13.5 points per game. Johnson said players that come from a winning tradition are used to playing hard at a high level.”There’s no secret to winning,” Johnson said. “If you’re winning every year, you’re playing at an elite level and you’re playing extremely hard. In a perfect world all coaches would like to have a guy who’s won championships and won consistently coming into their program. Just like all kids would like to play for somebody who’s won at a consistent level.”It’s that winning attitude Johnson hopes to bring to LSU, and he’s expecting help from incoming freshman.—- Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]