BATON ROUGE — Some 400 season ticket-holders turned out for a night of new and old Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as events that will lead to the 100th anniversary of LSU basketball tipped off.
The new was the chance to meet and get autographs from the members of the 2008-09 men’s basketball team and new coach Trent Johnson. The old was a chance to reacquaint with former players dating back several decades who wore the purple and gold.
At the end of the evening, the fans got the chance to cast the first votes for the 15-member LSU All-Century team (Vote Now at LSUsports.net/allcentury) that will be announced at the 100th anniversary game on Jan. 31, 2009. The balloting, which is available on LSUsports.net, will continue through the end of November.
Fans also got the first chance to pick up the new commemorative 100th anniversary poster and schedule cards for the 2008-09 season that begins on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. against Jackson State.
Longtime PA announcer Dan Borne’ and former Tiger and member of the LSU Sports Radio Network broadcast team, Jordy Hultberg, hosted the interview session with former players and Coach Dale Brown and Coach Johnson.
A lot of the evening was spent praising the loyal fans of LSU basketball and inviting them back to see Coach Johnson and the Tigers play.
“We owe it to the players and coaches to fill up (the PMAC),” LSU Athletics Director Joe Alleva told the fans. “We owe it to them to fill the building and to cheer and root them on and give them a competitive edge in this building. I know what a competitive edge can do for a basketball team. I’ve watched it firsthand for a long time in Cameron Indoor Stadium (at Duke University), and this building can be the same; I’m sure it has been the same in the past. We owe it to the players and the coaches to do that.”
Among those speaking at the event were Rudy Macklin of the NCAA Final Four team in 1981 and Ricky Blanton of the 1986 Final Four team, walk-on player turned owner of restaurants named Walk-ons Brandon Landry, and two generations of Temples ? Collis, Jr., and Collis III, along with Coach Brown.
Also in the audience were Frank Brian, an all-star player in the 1940s and Ned Clark and Benny McArdle who played in the 1953 NCAA Final Four team.
“One of the things I talked to (the players) about during individual meetings is I thought they did an excellent job in the short four and half month period that I’ve been here of changing the culture and changing the negativity that surrounds our basketball program,” said Johnson to close the evening. “This is a group, to a man, that has really bought into what we’ve asked them to do, not what I’ve asked them to do but what we’ve asked them to do and what you want them to do. They really bought in. They’re working extremely hard. They understand we as opposed to me. They understand the importance of the legacy of this program and the history of this program. That’s really important to me because I think it’s important to every basketball coach.
“All I’ve asked them is when things get tough during the course of this year, and there’s going to be some adversity — I’m a firm believer that adversity doesn’t build character, it rebuilds it — that they stay the course and that they stay together. One thing that we as a staff and I demand from them is that they respect each other, respect the LSU uniform and respect the history of this program.”
There are a total of 81 players on the LSU All-Century ballot with 71 of those selected by the fans during the 2008 Southeastern Conference season. The 10-player Early Years team from 1909-1939 was selected by the Anniversary Committee. The All-Century team choice will be based on the fans vote and the committee vote with each counting for 50 percent.
LSU Basketball 100-year Celebration
October 7, 2008
LSU ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JOE ALLEVA
Opening Statement…
“It is absolutely an honor for me to be your Athletic Director, and I thank you all for coming out tonight. I thank you for your support of this basketball program over the years. I’ve been asked many times, ?Why did you come to LSU?’ The reason I came to LSU is that we can be excellent in every single thing we do. And I’ve learned very quickly that we have absolutely the best fans in the country; the very best fans in the country.
“We have had a great tradition of basketball here at LSU. Coach (Dale) Brown set the standard and the players set the standard here and now we have new leadership in (Head Coach) Trent Johnson. Trent is outstanding, and I will take the credit for hiring him. He is outstanding and I’ve watched, and the players on the team will acknowledge that I’ve been in the weight room a few times with them and watched them work, and they are working hard. Trent is changing the culture on the team and it’s going to be exciting for years to come.
“We owe it to the players and coaches to fill up (the PMAC). We owe it to them to fill the building and to cheer and root them on and give them a competitive edge in this building. I know what a competitive edge can do for a basketball team. I’ve watched it firsthand for a long time in Cameron Indoor Stadium (at Duke University), and this building can be the same; I’m sure it has been the same in the past. We owe it to the players and the coached to do that.
“I thank you all for your support of this program. I implore you to go out and recruit some more fans to come and support this team because that’s what we need. Again, it’s an honor for me to be here, thank you all for being here. Go Tigers.”
Men’s Basketball: 100 Years Ceremony
October 7, 2008
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON
Opening Statement…
“Well, this is really overwhelming for me, quite frankly. Way too much Trent Johnson in this conversation. Like Coach (Dale) Brown eluded to, and I’m thankful to everybody, especially Joe Alleva, Skip Bertman for hiring me. Coach Brown’s been great. He’s been absolutely great. He’s seen the real kid in me when he invited me over to his office and spent some time with me. Collis (Temple Jr.), Collis Temple III, Rudy (Macklin), Ricky Blanton, Brandon (Landry), you guys have been great.
“Before I go on to talking about this team and you fans, I would like to acknowledge some people in the stands that are more apart of what we do here other than myself, and that’s my staff. The first guy is Keith Richard. Coach Richard was of course the coach at Louisiana Tech. Brent Scott who was at Rice, the all-time leading rebounder and scorer at that university. I used to have an attitude and a demeanor about me where I could handle guys on my own, but I’m too old for that now, so Brent’s around. Chris Bobel, played for me at Stanford and worked for me at Stanford. Donny Guerinoni, who was the first recruit I had at the University of Nevada, has been with me for nine years, and probably one more important guys outside of the coaches on our staff is our strength and conditioning coach, Juan Pablo (Reggiardo) who we call ?JP.’
“Contrary to what everybody wants to believe, I am married. I am fortunate to be around a young lady for about nine months out of the year. The other five or six months we’re divorced; That’s during basketball season, and that’s my wife up top, Jackie Johnson.
“Again, this is special. I think you all will be really proud of the players on this team up to this point. One of the things I talked to them about during individual meetings is I thought they did an excellent job in the short four and half month period that I’ve been here of changing the culture and changing the negativity that surrounds our basketball program. This is a group, to a man, that has really bought into what we’ve asked them to do, not what I’ve asked them to do but what we’ve asked them to do and what you want them to do. They really bought in. They’re working extremely hard. They’re understanding we as opposed to me. They understand the importance of the legacy of this program and the history of this program. That’s really important to me because I think it’s important to every basketball coach.
“All I’ve asked them is when things get tough during the course of this year, and there’s going to be some adversity. I’m a firm believer that adversity doesn’t build character, it rebuilds it, that they stay the course and that they stay together. One thing that we as a staff and I demand from them is that they respect each other, respect the LSU uniform and respect the history of this program.”
On his philosophy…
“Well, to me, it’s real simple. You have to defend. You have to rebound. You have to take care of the basketball with a sense of urgency. In this day and age, everybody wants to run. Everybody likes an exciting brand of basketball playing up and down. Well, all these guys to my right, all these guys that Coach Brown has coached in the past, before they got transition opportunities, they were defending, they were rebuilding and they were real physical and pounding people with an attitude. That’s what we’re going to do. Now, just to simplify it a little bit. There’s 35 seconds in the shot clock. The good teams, the championship-caliber teams are going to let you run. We’re going to run a fast break early around 10 seconds. Then, at 15 seconds, we’re going to execute in the half court, and then, there’s 10 seconds left, we’re going to go into what I call a late clock situation where if you have a Pete Maravich, Shaquille (O’Neal), Stanley Roberts, Chris Jackson, Rudy Macklin, then they make the coach look good in late clock because they can go make a big play. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.
“One of the things that we are going to do and it’s going to be demanding and this team wants to do it is if there’s a loose ball, if there is not an LSU player on it, he’s going to be in the vicinity. He’s going to be on his way to get it. If there’s a rebound to be had, we’re going to be in the vicinity where we are going to get it, and we are going to compete like all hell. The one thing that is different in college basketball as opposed to these years when Kentucky was the barometer is it’s really hard to win a game at this level. It’s really hard. In the SEC, Kentucky is the barometer. Tennessee is the barometer. I don’t really care. All I know is that every time we step on the floor, whether it’s Duke University or Stanford University, we’re going to compete extremely hard and be competitive.”
On the 21 home games…
“In all seriousness, and please, I think we need to stop mentioning Coach Brown in the same tone as Coach Johnson. That’s insulting to Coach Brown, believe me. I have too much respect for the history and what this man has accomplished. One of the things we need to identify as a staff when you’re scheduling is your basketball team, and it’s real obvious we weren’t in great shape academically with the exception of a couple of guys. Physically, there were some guys on our team ? Garrett (Temple), Tasmin Mitchell, Chris Johnson ? who have been hurt, so obviously we don’t want to have them away from campus too long, and not too mention the fact that there were some teams on our non-conference schedule that are on our schedule or home games that we didn’t beat. You have to know your personnel, and then, the third thing, which is probably the most important, is that we sprinkled our home games of 21 scheduled. We have the likes of Texas A&M and Houston. We’ve got a very good Washington State team coming in here. We’ve got Xavier, which is an NCAA tournament team, coming in here. We’ve go Cal State Fullerton, which is an NCAA tournament team, coming in here, but the most important thing was the academic side of it. We couldn’t have too many of these guys away from campus.”
On his impressions of Baton Rouge…
“It’s interesting. Everybody says Palo Alto (California). I’ve been a few places. Again, it’s unbelievable. You all are unbelievable in terms of your passion, your support. The food is obvious. I’ve said this four or five times, and I’m not good with words. In the state of Louisiana and Baton Rouge, you could fry a sock, and it would taste good! Coach (Brown) said this, and I hate to refer to myself in third person, but if there’s a right time, right place and the right opportunity, it’s for me, and I’m honored to be here, believe me.”
On the upcoming season…
“Like I said, whether we’re worthy of the publicity, whether we’re worthy of all of the positive feedback that’s been going around, I don’t know. We have to earn it. The kids on the team are well aware of that and me personally. In closing, because I don’t think you want to hear me talk too much, I want to thank all of you so much, but Jordy (Hultberg) you said something about if we win, they’ll come. If we lose, I’m done!”