Former LSU Head Coach And Player Johnny Jones Is Coming Back To Be On Will Wade’s Staff

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Former LSU men’s head basketball coach Johnny Jones is preparing to return to LSU for a third stint with the basketball program, joining the assistant coaching staff of new head coach Will Wade, who just began his second term at LSU.

The recruiting Bayou Bash is no longer, but LSU does have the Boot Up Will Wade Transfer Portal Party that starts now.https://t.co/K5jSIQZOYj

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 7, 2026

Jones, 65, is expected to be officially announced as Wade’s latest assistant coaching hire by LSU either later today or on Wednesday, Tiger Rag sources said Tuesday. Tiger Rag broke the original story of Wade hiring Jones and former Mississippi State and Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury, 66, a week ago Monday.

“I can’t say anything at this point,” Wade told Tiger Rag after his introductory press conference a week ago Monday when asked about Jones and Stansbury becoming assistant coaches at LSU.

Stansbury last coached at Memphis as an assistant in the 2024-25 season and is expected to help Wade’s recruiting efforts with strong ties to European players.

Will Wade May Hire 2 SEC Head Coaching Veterans – LSU’s Johnny Jones And State’s Rick Stansbury

LSU officially announced Stansbury as Wade’s first assistant coach hire on Tuesday morning in a release.

“LSU men’s basketball head coach Will Wade announced Tuesday that former longtime head coach Rick Stansbury will join his staff as associate head coach,” the LSU release said.

Stansbury replaces previous associate head coach David Patrick, who was not retained by Wade. Patrick is expected to join the staff at Arizona State. Patrick previously coached under Jones as an assistant at LSU from 2012-16.

Jones, who was a backup guard on former LSU coach Dale Brown’s Final Four team in the 1980-81 season, played for the Tigers from 1980-83 after signing as one of the top point guards in the country in 1980 out of DeRidder High School in DeRidder. He then served as an assistant coach and recruiter for Brown from the 1983-84 season through Brown’s retirement after the 1996-97 season. LSU reached another Final Four under Brown and Jones in 1986 and the Elite Eight in 1987.

Brown, who has remained close friends with Jones, also won his third and fourth Southeastern Conference regular season titles in 1985 and 1992 with Jones at his side after previously winning league titles in 1979 and 1981.

After leaving LSU, Jones was an assistant coach at Memphis from 1997-2000 before one season as an assistant at Alabama in 2000-01. He was North Texas’ head coach from 2001-12, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and 2010.

As LSU’s head coach from 2012-17, he went 19-12 and 9-9 in the SEC in his first season, 20-14 and 9-9 in the league before a 22-11 and 11-7 SEC season in 2014-15 with an NCAA Tournament appearance. He was 19-14 and 11-7 the next season before falling to 10-21 and 2-16 in the 2016-17 season and getting fired.

After spending the 2017-18 season as an assistant at Nevada, Jones was the head coach at Texas Southern from 2018-19 through the 2025-26 season. He took Texas Southern to NCAA Tournaments in 2021 and ’22 and a First Four play-in game in 2023.