Will Wade adds pair of SEC veterans, including former Tigers coach, to LSU staff
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Will Wade has added a pair of SEC coaching veterans to his new staff at LSU, including former Tigers coach Johnny Jones. The other addition to Wade’s staff is former Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury.
Combined, the pair boast dozens of years of SEC coaching experience, whether acting as head coach or as assistants. Meanwhile, Wade, who coached NC State last season, is returning to LSU after coaching the Tigers from 2018-2022.
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Let’s start with Jones, who coached LSU from 2013-2017, the stint before Wade took over in 2018. Jones, a former Tigers player, reached the NCAA tournament just once as LSU’s head coach, falling to — funnily enough — NC State in the first round. Jones then took a job at Texas Southern after being fired in 2017, where he took the Tigers to 3 straight NCAA Tournaments from 2021-2023.
Stansbury has a metric ton of experience coaching in the SEC, but it’s been about 10 years since he last coached in the conference. Stansbury was Mississippi State‘s head coach from 1998-2012, where he put together a few truly great defenses with the Bulldogs. Stansbury’s 2003 MSU defense was considered one of the best in basketball. In total, Stansbury spent just over 20 years with the Bulldogs; he was an assistant for MSU from 1990-1998 before taking the HC job.
Stansbury announced his retirement in 2012, but was back in coaching just a few years later as an assistant under Billy Kennedy at Texas A&M. Make no mistake, Stansbury is being brought to Baton Rouge to help Wade’s initial defense with the Tigers in 2026.
The Final Four is set. Who’s going to cut down the nets? Here’s a look at the latest odds, via Kalshi:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
