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LSU hires NBA title winning assistant to complete coaching staff

Johnny Jones

AP Photo

AP

Johnny Jones has filled out his coaching staff, as LSU announced the hiring of Brendan Suhr as associate head coach on Tuesday.

Suhr has been around the game of basketball for a long time, having spent 25 years at the NBA level as a coach and an executive. He was an assistant to Chuck Daly with the ‘Bad Boy’ Detroit Pistons, who won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990.

“We are very excited with the addition of Coach Brendan Suhr to our coaching staff,” Jones said in a statement. “He brings a great deal of experience with a wealth of knowledge that will certainly be very beneficial and impactful for our LSU basketball program and players. We look forward to him starting here this week as we begin to prepare for our upcoming trip and games in Australia.”

“I had seen LSU play a lot in the past year, and I’ve been watching them since Johnny (Jones) has been back for his three years,” said Suhr. “I’m very impressed with what he has done with this program. Philosophically, in our visits over the last month, we are totally on the same page, basketball-wise. It’s a great honor for me to be involved with a program that is on a rise like this in a great, great conference with good young talent, but also with a terrific coaching staff and a guy that I just think the world of.”

This is an interesting hire for the Tigers, as it’s quite obvious Suhr is strictly on staff to help with on-court issues; he was hired two days after the July evaluation period came to a close. But it’s those on-court issues that have kept the Tigers from living up to their potential the last two seasons. Jones’ reputation is as a terrific recruiter and an underwhelming x’s-and-o’s mind. If Suhr can find a way to help him utilize talent like Ben Simmons, Antonio Blakeney, Craig Victor and Tim Quarterman, LSU has a chance to make some real noise in the SEC.

That said, Suhr is replacing another terrific basketball mind -- Eric Mussellman -- as associate head coach, so there are no guarantees.