Stanford's Trent Johnson Signs With LSU

Yesterday, sources claimed that Stanford's head coach Trent Johnson had agreed to coach the LSU Tigers next season.  This rumor became fact today as  LSU introduced Johnson as the new guy in charge.  Johnson is leaving the Cardinal program after an impressive 28-8 season, making it to the Sweet Sixteen, as well as finishing second in both the Pac-10 Conference and the conference tournament.  It is believed that the main reason Johnson decided to leave Stanford and head to LSU is because Brook and Robin Lopez declared for the NBA Draft only one week before.  The 7-foot tall twins anchored the Cardinal all year long, most impressively Brook, who averaged 19.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 2.1 BPG.  Johnson has been Stanford's coach since 2004 taking over for Mike Montgomery, who was recently hired to coach the rival California Bears.  Montgomery lead the Cardinal to four Pac-Ten Championships and one Final Four in 1998, in 18 seasons at Stanford.

I think this is a great hire for LSU and the best possible coach they could have brought in for the 2008-09 season.  After a tough year finishing 13-18, the Tigers were in desperate need of a coach who could bring them back to the NCAA Tournament and hopefully back to the Final Four.  The Tigers are only two years removed from the Final Four and need a coach who can utilize his big men.  Johnson proved this with his ability to coach the Lopez twins, giving Stanford the best front court in the country this season.  The Tigers will need Johnson's big men coaching because they are bring in J'Mison Morgan from Dallas, Texas.  This five star recruit, and top ten center on all recruiting websites, brings his large frame, 6'10, 275, to Baton Rouge, a place that has seen many great centers come and go.  Also, LSU failed to win the big one  last year losing all five games against the AP Top 25, while Stanford went 5-3.  There is no way that this coaching hire hurts LSU, as Johnson will lead them back to the big dance next year.