Very underwhelming. Johnny better hit the ground sprinting on the recruiting trail, because I don't see this hire alone selling a lot of tickets.
Jones has paid his dues with final fours at LSU as a player and as a coach, he has made himself into an established head coach. The guy can recruit, he knows Louisiana and LSU, and he has some charisma, unlike the last two coaches. Johnny Jones has earned a shot.
Since not a single NBA coach was interviewed or even mentioned, not a single one must be good enough to coach in college. I agree with Red though, Johnny Jones is definitely deserving and truly loves LSU. I'm sure he's capable as a coach. Can he recruit on a national level...be cause that's what it's gonna take for a rapid recovery. I think the slow pace of the Trent Johnson era will probably continue. I was hoping for a marquee hire that would have created enough of a splash that would have turned the program around immediately. After all, only 2 or 3 pieces of the puzzle are needed. I can't imagine this fan base being patient enough to endure even two years of rebuilding.
LSU's last two football coaching hires were seemingly underwhelming at the time and that turned out pretty well. Jones deserves a honeymoon from the fans. Give the man time to build his program- I'm confident he'll get the job done.
Already starting that pipeline to St. Aug... I wasnt excited about this hire but the more I read the more i'm getting use to it...I think Jones may have the ability to lock down Louisiana! http://lsu.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1354845
And those are my biggest concerns. This hire means that either every coach we talked to wasn't interested, or we weren't willing to spend enough money for one of them to come. Given all the local big wigs who instantly lobbied for Jones and circled the wagons, I tend to think it's the latter. I don't believe for a second that South Carolina is a more attractive basketball destination than LSU. Not that it matters now. Hey, this is like presidential politics. Blame everything that goes wrong for the first 2 years on the guy who had the job before you. Though what Johnny has going for him is that fan interest really can't get much lower than it is now. And if he gets his team playing an up-tempo style and gets a few surprise commitments, he might be able to turn fan attitudes around quickly.
And this is a huge point. Too many upper level Louisiana guys have gotten away in recent years. If we lock down the state, and keep the occasional Monroe or Gathers that Louisiana produces from getting away, we should at least get back to being a consistent NCAA tournament qualifier.
