Texas Southern head coach Johnny Jones appears to be on his way back to LSU to join Will Wade’s staff, leaving the HBCU behind. Jones is expected to resign, according to Dr. Kenyatta Cavil of the HBCU Sports Lab, and he’s expected to join Wade at LSU.
Update: Jones tells Cavil he has not resigned and is still the head coach at Texas Southern at this time.
Earlier this week, Will Wade stunned the college basketball world by leaving NC State after one season to return to LSU.
Johnny Jones has close ties to LSU
Johnny Jones has heavy ties to LSU as a player and coach. He was on the 1981 Final Four team and later served as assistant head coach at LSU for a dozen years. After spending a season as interim head coach at Memphis he spend a dozen years at North Texas. He went 190-146 during his tenure and won two conference titles.
Jones then took over at his alma mater where he led LSU to the NCAA Tournament once and went 90-76 overall. He was succeeded by Will Wade.
HBCU head coaches returning to be assistants a trend
He found his way to the Houston-based HBCU where he won 24 games his first season and advanced to the CIT semifinals. Jones went 16-16 in 2020 and then went on a run of three-consecutive SWAC titles and NCAA appearances. Texas Southern won “First Four” games in the NCAA Tournament. He is currently 133-125 overall and 90-49 in SWAC play.
If Jones is headed to become an assistant at the SEC school, he wouldn’t be alone. This news comes on the heels of Alabama State head coach Tony Madlock resigning to return to Memphis as Penny Hardaway’s assistant.