Let’s take this time to give major kudos to LSU basketball coaches Trent Johnson and Van Chancellor for their amazing seasons.Johnson took over a program and a group of players that everyone — including former coach John Brady — had given up on and turned them into instant winners, capturing the Southeastern Conference championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.The LSU men’s season didn’t end the way Johnson probably had hoped, but let’s be real — LSU is better than a No. 8 seed and proved it by giving North Carolina its toughest run in the Big Dance so far.Chancellor’s go around in the SEC didn’t go as smoothly as Johnson’s, but the end result was the same. The Lady Tigers advanced to the Round of 32 before being defeated by Louisville —  which is still playing in the women’s NCAA tournament and has looked as sharp as any team outside of Connecticut.That’s not half bad when you consider only two players on the Lady Tigers’ roster had  any significant playing experience, and neither had any major experience as starters prior to this season.But despite the smooth sailing for both programs in 2008-2009, both coaches are at major  crossroads. And next season will be defining years in the tenures of both at LSU.Johnson has some major work to do.The former Nevada and Stanford coach has to replace 43 points per game of offense and five of the top-seven players in his rotation.Johnson does return forward Tasmin Mitchell and point guard Bo Spencer, who were the team’s second and third offensive options and averaged 28 points per game     combined this season.Those players will have to be the core of what Johnson hopes will allow him to build on his success and establish the Tigers as a traditional power in the SEC — something Brady wasn’t able to do.Brady’s Tigers advanced to the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons just once in his 11-year tenure, a lack  of consistency many felt ended up being the reason for his dismissal.It will be Johnson’s ability — or inability — to field good teams year-in and year-out that will determine whether he will be a program-defining coach like Dale Brown or just a flavor of the week like Brady.That issue should become more clear this time next season.Chancellor’s path is close to the exact opposite of Johnson’s but will be equally difficult.The Lady Tigers will return all but one player in 2009 and will have a core that, on paper, should compete for the SEC championship.But with talent oozing out of the locker room, LSU’s hall-of-fame coach has to first teach his young players how to handle expectations.This season the Lady Tigers were virtual unknowns and were in the national top 25 only one week of the season, which allowed the team to slowly creep up the SEC standings without the publicity and the bull’s-eye that usually comes with wearing “LSU” across your jersey.But that bull’s-eye will be firmly planted on LSU’s chests again next season, and how Chancellor gets his youthful players to handle them will be key in LSU making that next step from being a pretty good team to becoming a potential Final Four team — a place where LSU fans have become accustomed to being.So, Coach Johnson and Coach Chancellor, you’re both at pretty large forks in the road.Choose your paths wisely, guys, because in a lot of ways, your stays at LSU will be remembered largely by how you fare next season.
 
 
 
—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]