BATON ROUGE – With the end of the 2015 basketball season for the LSU men’s basketball team, Head Coach Johnny Jones took time to visit with the media regarding several topics about the completed year, the state of the program and what lies ahead for the 2015-16 season.
The session followed the announcement in the same room by forward Jarell Martin that he would be foregoing his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2015 NBA Draft. Also in the hours before the media session, LSU Associate Coach Eric Musselman announced his departure after one season from LSU as he was named the new head coach for the University of Nevada.
The Tigers won 22 games in 2015 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where it lost to NC State almost at the buzzer, 66-65. Coach Jones became the first LSU coach to win 20 games twice in his first three seasons on the job and he is the first LSU coach to take a team to post-season play twice in his first three years.
LSU Basketball Media Session
March 25, 2015
HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening Statement
“First of all, I really want to thank you all for the coverage that we received from all of you this year. I think it is vastly important regardless of the play on the floor. I know it is obviously big for us in those things without the ability to reach the masses and keep the interest in our program to people that are not able to be there every day. You guys continue to put that voice out there be it with something written or with TV. It has been great for us, and we certainly appreciate it.”
“We were excited about this past season. I thought there was a lot of growth from a team that had two guys that played starters minutes for us a year before. Losing Johnny O’Bryant III and a host of other guys who made such a great impact on the team the year before – to have this young team with a lot of new faces and with a lot of new players be able to get engaged, to have the chemistry and to bond together, I’m proud of the success that we did have this year.
“We are excited about the track that we are on in year three. I received calls from Coach Bertman and Dale Brown in talking about just how close that we are and the experiences that we share. Coach Bertman shared an experience back in 1987 at the College World Series. It was the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, and unfortunately a guy puts one out of the park. The ball gets caught in the wind, goes out of the park and obviously a tough night. I was sitting on the bench and talked to Coach Brown about the ’87 game (against Indiana) in Cincinnati. It was an opportunity to possibly win it and get to the Final Four there in New Orleans and coming up short. Just those instances, understanding and going through some setbacks like that, which made them stronger and to make sure that they were able to propel them forward.”
“We are excited about this season, numbers wise. Defensively, we felt like we were better on the defensive end in truth to the numbers and being able to hold our opponents to roughly around 40 percent from the field. Then, in conference play from the three point line, holding opponents to below the 30 percent mark … I thought we certainty improved there. I thought we remained the same on the glass, rebounding on the offensive end and field goal percentages improved. We got better. We did a great job of sharing the ball. We were one of the nation’s leaders in terms of assist. When you talk about a team with a lot of new guys being unselfish and being able to shoot a high percentage, I think also gave us an opportunity to have a lot of success.”
“We had two all-conference guys (Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey). Sometimes, I don’t think these guys get enough credit for how hard they worked on their game. The time and the energy that they put in along with practices and the coaches to prepare them to continue to get better. We had two guys that were on the First-Team All-Conference this year. The only other team that can make that claim would be Kentucky, the number one team in the country that is here in our conference and are continuing to play right now. I think it speaks volumes of these guys along with Tim Quarterman and the improvement that they have been able to make from year one to year two. For Jarell to be able to sit up here today and make that type of announcement, I think speaks volumes about the type of program and the type of talent that we have in here.”
“I’ve been certainty excited about our crowd with the way that they have come out and supported us this year in record numbers. It was February 10th against Kentucky and the crowd was 13,997 … I thought the numbers have been great. To say in year three that the average was over 10,000 fans for the nine conference games that we had here, I think it says that our fans have really bought in and taking ownership of this team. They are excited about the brand of basketball that our young men out there are playing.”
“We’ve got a great group of guys returning for next year’s team. Although Jarell made his announcement today, I know how we felt when Johnny (O’Bryant III) made his announcement and said that he was leaving. Johnny had done a tremendous job of coming in and helped lay that ground work and foundation. I think Jarell has served that purpose in a lot of the same ways, and we’re hopeful in these guys that are retuning. It has been really difficult, and it’s been tough after only two years to flip an entire roster in having all new players in year three. To have that type of success, it’s a great credit to the guys that are on this team and how they’ve bought in and the unselfishness. You look at the assist numbers, how they have played and how they have worked together. With Jarell stepping away, we’re hopeful that these other guys will have an opportunity to continue to grow up as players and especially with the recruiting class we have coming in with the likes a Ben Simmons who has won every award out there imaginable. From the Naismith to the Gatorade, you name it. He has been top player in the country. We look forward to his services and the other guys that will be following him that will be able to bond as close and as quick as these guys were able to after Johnny O’Bryant III left. With Jarell leaving, we are hopeful that we will do the same thing and continue to grow as a team not only getting to the NCAA Tournament, but be able to take that next step and make sure that we are able to secure wins. As close as those guys got this year, I know that it left a taste in their mouth to keep them hungry for the future.”
On what he has to do better as a coach for next season …
“Whatever job or profession that you are in, I think if you are worth your salt, you are always going to evaluate what is it that we can do to get better as a team, as a unit and staff wise – the nucleus of what is it that we can do different to continue to improve. Regardless of what type of year you have, that’s something that I think is vastly important for continual improvement. This year will be no different from the other 15 or so that I have been able to serve as a head coach.”
On the nature of college basketball and recruiting talent that may be gone in one or two years…
“When you say flip your roster, you are talking about an entire roster where there is no one left on there after two years. This third year, we had all new guys. I think it’s important that you are recruiting at a certain pace and a certain level and have a balance of your recruiting in meaning that you’ve got to have some Jarell Martin‘s, Johnny O’Bryant III’s, Shaquille O’Neal’s and guys of that nature. At the same time, you have got to have someone that is going to be around that program for three or four years because that is where your nucleus of guys. Those role players are so significant. I think that if you look at some of the teams that are still in the (NCAA) tournament, they have those juniors and seniors. They may have not been not been Parade or McDonald’s All Americans guys, but they’ve been guys that have been system guys. Over a period of time, they’ve been really good and competing at a certain level right now. I can’t tell you how much of an emphasis it is to have juniors and seniors on your team because they understand the difference in terms of fighting through certain things because they have had the opportunity to witness or to see certain things. I think there is a great balance between the two. To compete at a certain level year in and year out at this level and in the conference of this magnitude, you are hopeful to have your couple stars. You have to recruit guys that are going to put their names in the draft. If you are able to do that, I sit up here proud and excited for Jarell to be able to make that announcement today because of the type of guy he is in our program and having a chance to leave as a sophomore. I think kids have an opportunity to see if I can do that at LSU, I can go there. They can train me and get me ready in a few years if I possess that type of talent so I can stay at home. I think it shines a certain light on our program. I think there is a certain balance that you got to have when you recruiting and not turning your roster over like that as much. It’s tough to do that and to still have success. I think it’s a credit to our players and staff that we have been able to assemble.”
On the message to a player like Elbert Robinson III heading into his sophomore year …
“Tim Quarterman – you look at him, and you look at his numbers. I can go down the line in how important it is. A lot of times, you take a guy of Elbert’s size and the transition that you have to make straight from high school to college be it in the weight room and the speed of the game. All of those things and the maturation for him so he will understand. That is where a lot of our guys can look in the success that Tim Quarterman was able to have from year one to year two and the impact that he was able to make on our team. If you have a tremendous offseason, the door may be open for you. Jarell Martin is out, and there’s a position open. I’ve got an opportunity to come in now and make a real impact. He started at the beginning of the year, went through a tough period, but he understands now what is expected of him. He knows what plays we run, and he understands our philosophy. It’s been implemented and now he understands the work load that really goes with that. That is something that he has never had to go through before. It was a little bit of a transition for him, and he’ll be better because of it”
On if Jordan Mickey can benefit from returning to LSU…
“I think that is really a decision that’ll have to be decided by Jordan and his family. I certainly have my thinking of how guys can always get better, bigger and stronger. Johnny O’Bryant III did. He came back and put himself in a much better position. Jarell Martin, who was capable of possibly of putting his name out there last year, came back, improved and got better. I think he is going to benefit greatly because of that. I think any player that has time left for the most part can always continue to improve their game in the strength and conditioning and all of those things that really go along with it. The maturity and all of those things, it’s important. Jordan would certainly fit into that category.”
On the lack of veteran presence playing a part in the highs and lows of a season…
“I think it’s just about the same as when you look at Michigan State who gets upset by Texas Southern at home, or they lose to Nebraska at home. I think we are not excluded from that because of our lack of experience. You’re going to experience those things. You take a guy like Jarell with our team and having Jordan Mickey is out when we go to Arkansas, we play unbelievable and have a great day there. But at the same token, you have a team come in here like Tennessee and shoot lights out like 70 percent in the second half. Some of those things, you just can’t guard against and they happen. Unfortunately, we went through that. But after winning 22 games and having 11 setbacks, one of those being in the NCAA Tournament, I thought that our guys did a great job of challenging. For them to go on the road and win eight games, the year before I think we may have had two wins on the road. Six of those road wins in conference against very tough opponents and in some very tough places to play. I thought the team grew up in a lot of ways, but I think you can go around the country and look at schedules and see where teams are having setbacks. It’s not only us. That’s part of it, but the good thing that I like is how invested people are and how involved and how emotionally they’re attached to this team. That carries us a long way. That’s why I think that our guys do a better job because I can tell you, being a fan which I am away from basketball, I understand how it feels having setbacks. In the seat that I sit, I know how important it is that our guys dig in and how important it is to try to dig as deep as they possibly can to win. I know how important winning is to them and how excited our fans are when we are able to cheer after games. When we come up short and have setbacks, the emotions that are involved in it. In terms of rollercoaster, that’s more being engaged and excited, but I think that our guys have played solid. We’ve possibly made some mistakes, and we’ve made runs when we’ve been down 15 or 16 points before and made a run coming back. Unfortunately sometimes, people have been able to overtake us at the ends of games because of a missed assignment blocking out or a missed shot. Those things happen, but unfortunately it’s in our sport. It’s very seldom that you’re going to have what Kentucky has right now of being undefeated. Then, sometimes you can be undefeated and if you have a good fan base and people are really attached, they get mad because people play you close. It kind of goes with the territory, but we are excited about it. We love every minute of it because that means the people are engaged with us.”
On Coach Musselman taking the head coaching job at Nevada…
“We are excited for Muss. He came in for a year and not really knowing what to expect. Again, it’s tough and just like players getting accumulated and use to it especially in the office and being around each other. With coaches and the newness and taking on shared responsibilities and how guys are going to be able to react to certain things, I can tell you Muss did a tremendous job with us this year. He was a joy to really have around. The thing or one of the missions that he was on is when we would sit around and talk and during the interview process, he asked could you help me get a head coaching job from being an assistant at LSU. From his background and his resume for him to ask me those questions from a guy who has been in the NBA as a head coach and had coached a couple of years out there on the west coast at some other colleges before. To be able for him to get here and for us to have enough success that he was attractive enough for someone to really buy into him, we are excited about that. We are excited about the new position for him of moving on. Just like the young men we have that leave the program, we have to find someone else that will be able to come in and coach. This is a championship caliber job and a great atmosphere and great opportunity for someone. There has been a lot of interest that has certainly been shown in the position just like it was when it was open a year ago and he (Musselman) came on board. We just have to take care our time and do our due diligence. We have to make sure that we get the right fit and the right person in here as we continue to move forward.”
On his thoughts of giving young teams more structure…
“I think that our guys play within a system. What we do is teach them if a play breaks down is how to play — meaning the spacing on the floor and what they’re looking for and not being on top of each other. That’s learning how to play with each other just like any good program. In the NBA, you’ve got a 24-second clock and you’re scouted. When plays break down, guys have to have some type of skill level and one-on-one type ability. When people are trapped and come toward them, they have to know what their next read is. That’s when we talk about teaching guys how to play, but our system is up-tempo. We have quick hitters and guys are supposed to be in certain areas and making different cuts initially. In our offense, we run a lot of sets and a lot of one-four. The UCLA style offense is what we initiate a lot of our sets from. We’re always teaching our guys. The thing is we have to allow at times our guys to play through certain things to mature and get better. You can’t save them from everything all the time, and that’s a part of growing up. When you have a young team, sometimes they have to go through some things to get better and to learn those lessons so that in the future they have a better understanding. That part of it, you just have to allow for it to happen sometimes. At other times, you have to try to save them.”
On how to improve specific aspects of the game…
“Well, we were a good free throw shooting team mostly through the regular season. I thought the latter part of conference play, we dropped off for whatever reason that happened. We were shooting over 70 percent which was a good number for us, but it was the number of times we got to the line so you have to look at those challenges. We very seldom have problems inbounding the basketball. Some teams switched out and did some things a little bit different this year. Unfortunately for us, the trigger guy throwing the ball in, sometimes probably got a little hesitant. We probably didn’t hit the open person possibly as quick as we needed to. Those are some things that we really had to address. A lot of times just like other teams, we had to throw the ball all the way into the backcourt. Sometimes, especially in line OBs, we turned the ball over a little bit and that is something we generally hadn’t done. I think this year was a little more than usual. Sometimes, we were a little hesitant on the trigger kicking it in. That is just execution. We just have to run your plays and repeat those things and understanding a since of urgency of getting it in. Sometimes, you may have someone open, but you are looking for another play. If it’s taken away, it’s a little bit too late so it’s a matter of recognition. That is just through repetition.”
On the lack of bench this season…
“It’s a little bit tough because we were young and were inexperienced. We were in some tough situations. With the challenging and tough schedule that we had, we didn’t have a lot of opportunities. Our league is not like the NBA. I think a foreign trip would really help us because you get the experience of putting guys in there, and it doesn’t cost you. When you have so much riding on your RPI and all those things that are out there, it is important that you win those games. When you play a challenging schedule like we did, there weren’t a lot of opportunities to experiment and put guys out there. That is why I am hopeful, and I will continue to push for having a longer exhibition season not just playing against Division II schools but possibly playing against Division I schools maybe opening it up to your fans. I would make it more game like and have four or five of those like the NBA does. Those games don’t matter, and you are able to put guys in certain situations against good talent and find out exactly where you are. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of doing that this year so therefore we had to go with the experience that we had a play and stretch guys for longer periods of time.”
On what he wants the players to remember about the NC State loss…
“As a competitor, you always want to remember. You talk about being able to break the rearview mirror, and you remember that experience that you shared. What it does is it keeps you hungry. It leaves you an empty feeling when that happens. You understand that feeling and not just that game, but a lot of other times as well. That is why I think you don’t see us have back-to-back setbacks. Guys remember that feeling, the experience that shared in it and they want to do better. They take that extra step. That game certainty leaves an empty feeling because the magnitude of the NCAA Tournament. Guys have fought so hard and a lot of people though that the belief that they hadn’t been to the tournament in six years. When it happens you have got to understand this team, the satisfaction wasn’t of getting there. These guys felt not only getting there but also wanting to make some noise and thought that we could win. I thought they played that way and to come up short was tough.”
On what he likes about the up-tempo style of play…
“I don’t know if we can play much faster, but we won’t change what we are doing because that is just our philosophy and how we would like to play. The kids that we recruit and that we bring in, that is the style that they like to play. You look at Arkansas, they do a lot more pressing than we do. They try to create turnovers and create offense from their defense. The more depth that you have, the better you are. At the end of the day, it puts your opponent at a disadvantage if you can play fast. Anytime you can play fast like that, you get easy scoring opportunities. We were one of the league leaders in field goal percentage this year. Any time you can get some easy scoring opportunities like that in the fast break, it always good for you and always helps that. It gives you a good chance of winning and puts your opponents at a disadvantage because it’s hard for them to keep up if you can speed them up. Some people don’t want to play that way depending on who is going to control the tempo. We like to try to put ourselves in a position to do that. “
On what he sees next year’s team looking like…
“We are glad that a guy like Craig Victor is already here. He will be a difference maker. We know we will have Ben Simmons coming in and the nucleus of guys we have coming back in the offseason with the Elbert Robinson III‘s and the Aaron Epps‘ – those guys who are real quality players and will certainly make in impact while they are here. “
On the reaction of the fans and them caring about the program …
“I think it’s always exciting that your fans care or are really engaged. It’s good for our guys any time they come out of that tunnel, and they see the fan support they are getting out there. I remember from year one going out there and telling Johnny O’Bryant III and those guys that if we play the right way over a certain period of time of how it will look. It’s good for these guys to have that look night in and night out. When you are competitive and have a competitive spirit about you whether you are playing in a sport or you are a fan and that’s the closest you can get to it – that’s the difference between you winning and having a setback. We are glad our fans care enough. Again, I am a huge fan and attend a lot of other sporting events so I get it and understand that part. That’s why we work so hard. We like to make sure that our fans our satisfied when they leave here. Or if they happen to be watching TV, I can envision myself watching sporting events be it at a restaurant or at home or having a watch party—hoping that people are engaging that same way with us. That feeling, I get it. I don’t just sit there and coach with blinders on. I want to make sure that we can satisfy our fans every time we are out. That’s the mission we are on because it’s important for us to make sure that they have those bragging rights that they need and feel good. That’s their outlet. We want to make sure that when they come to support us that they get the best that we have to offer.”
On how challenging he wants the offseason to be for players like Brian Bridgewater, Aaron Epps and Darcy Malone…
“The good thing is, it’s not just those guys (Bridgewater, Epps, Malone), it’s the entire team. We have to continue to get better and improve. If Jarell (Martin) were coming back next year, we would expect more from him in improvement in getting bigger, better and stronger. The same thing certainly applies for those guys who didn’t play. You hope that with as many starter minutes as they would like and what is it that they have to do to get that time. That means you have to work harder and be more engaged, and they will be. As coaches, it’s important to us that we continue to work with them and help them with their individual skill work and getting better and improving. When they are at their best, we are a much better team. That’s what we look forward to next year because we have a nucleus of guys coming back—Tim Quarterman, a junior, and seniors in Keith Hornsby and those guys. They will be better. Josh Gray will be better. Next year, they have been in our system for a year and improving. Those guys will be able to take another step next year which will be huge for us.”
On the maturity level of Keith Hornsby…
“I can tell you that I was so thrilled. A lot of times, you see guys like Hornsby after a redshirt year and being off. People talk about the rust, but I thought he worked so hard in the offseason that he really transitioned in well. He’s one of those guys that if we had a 48-minute game, he could play in it at a certain level because he works so hard. He competes at a certain level. I look for his improvement to get even bigger and better because his role will change next year. The thing is, people identify and realize that he was that additional guy that was one of the reasons we had a great deal of success this year, because of the numbers that he put up. There was nothing they could do to prevent it because of the way that he played and the pace that he played. He was going to score, he was going to defend hard and he was going to create opportunities for other people. When you’ve got guys like Jarell (Martin) and Jordan (Mickey) and those guys on the floor, you have a guy like him (Hornsby) that you consistently count on and put his numbers in the book before the game, it means a lot.”