BATON ROUGE – Coach Johnny Jones and the LSU men’s basketball team made its annual visit to the Our Lady of The Lake Children’s Hospital Thursday afternoon, helping lift the spirits of youngsters and families in a long-standing LSU tradition.
The basketball team has made a Christmas visit every December for the last two decades and has turned singing Christmas carols into an art form while also taking pictures with patients and family members and hospital staff.
“It’s always good having an opportunity to give back to our community and make an impact,” said LSU Coach Jones “During this holiday season having the opportunity to go by Our Lady of The Lake hospital to spend time with the families and the patients means a lot to us and we know it meant a lot to the people who are there involved.
“The smiles that we’re hopeful to be able to put on their face for however long and having the opportunity to be able to visit with them I think is great for our players who really get engaged in those moments and those opportunities. I think it impacts our guys as well. It’s a very difficult and a tough situation for some of those families there but we look forward to sharing those moments with them when we have the opportunity.”
The Tigers will return to the basketball court on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Texas Southern at the Maravich Center. The first 2,500 fans will receive a new LSU football bowl poster and those bringing a new unwrapped toy to the game for Toys For Tots will receive free admission to the contest.