LSU coaches, officials speak at Thibodaux Tiger Tour stop

With football and baseball booming and basketball appearing to be on the up-and-up, there’s a lot of excitement within the LSU fan base.

Several hundred of those eager purple and gold die-hards were in for a treat last Tuesday night.

That’s because the 2012 Tiger Tour rolled through Thibodaux, making a stop at the Harang Auditorium.

LSU football coach Les Miles, men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones and Athletics Director Joe Alleva all spoke at the event, each applauding the love that the Tigers receive each time they make an appearance in the Tri-parish community.

“This place is a gold mine for us athletically,” Alleva said. “We have great fans down here. These fans always travel up to Baton Rouge for games on a regular basis. They love their purple and gold.”

“The people here are great,” Miles said. “They are some of the best fans that you’ll find in and around our great state.”

The basic theme spoken throughout the night was optimism – each of the three speakers stressed how smoothly things are going within the Tigers’ athletics department.

Start with Alleva.

The LSU Athletics Director talked about how pleased he was with LSU’s 2011-12 football success.

Alleva said that even with their loss in the BCS National Championship game, he believes the Tigers had the finest season of anyone in college football.

He added that he expects more success in 2012 because of the team’s depth and returnees.

“We were obviously disappointed with the last game, but you’ve got to look at the whole season and the whole body of work,” Alleva said. “It was a great season and hopefully, those coaches and our players remember that last game and it’ll be a bit unsettling and motivate them for next year.”

In addition to talking about football, Alleva also gave sort of a “state of the union” address for the entire Tigers’ athletic department.

The Athletics Director said he is proud of the baseball team’s successes and believes they can make a run to Omaha.

He also added that he expects women’s basketball’s turnaround to continue and men’s basketball to see a similar rebuilding process under Jones.

Alleva also firmly dismissed the notion of LSU as a “football” school, saying he believes the Tigers are equipped to win in all of their programs.

“I want to win in everything,” Alleva said. “I want to win in every, single sport that we have. I want to be the very best in everything that we do. Obviously, football pays all of the bills. That’s the big moneymaker and everyone loves football. Heck, I love football, too, don’t get me wrong. But I want to be good at every, single thing.”

One of those programs currently trying to get an overhaul is men’s basketball, where Jones is readying himself for his first season as the Tigers’ head man.

A former LSU player and assistant coach, Jones couldn’t help but smile while explaining his love for the Tigers program.

“It’s extremely exciting for me,” Jones said. “I’ve obviously been gone for some 15 years, but even when I was away, I was always a Tiger. To be able to be back in uniform, so to speak, means a lot.”

Jones has been the head coach at North Texas for the past 11 seasons, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice in his tenure with the team.

The coach admitted he kept up with LSU, while in North Texas.

“I definitely kept up with the football aspect of it because of Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium,” Jones said with a laugh. “Basketball-wise, I was a little more tied up, because I had my own deal I had to concentrate on and worry about. But at the same time, I knew what was going on out there program-wise.

“That’s the beauty of LSU. It’s something that once you’re a part of it, you can’t get it out of your system. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.”

One player who will be new to the LSU fraternity has Thibodaux roots.

Jones commented on the Tigers’ signing of former Thibodaux High School star Shavon Coleman, saying he believes the local product has a chance to “be wonderful” at the next level.

“We think he’ll definitely make an impact,” Jones said. “I had a chance to watch him at North Texas, even though we didn’t really recruit him much while I was there. As soon as I got the job at LSU, he became a focal point in terms of our recruiting, because we think he’ll impact our team.”

But while the coaches and administrator didn’t shy away from athletic specifics, last Tuesday’s event was more about Tiger pride.

Miles called LSU, “the finest institution in the country,” during his time with the media.

Jones didn’t disagree, adding that LSU is special because they have, “the finest fans in the country.”

The purple and gold mass of people in the Harang Auditorium seemed to make Jones’ statement an accurate one, as each fan paid a $50 admission fee (which doubles as a donation to the LSU Athletics Department) to get into the event.

The Tri-parish area loves those LSU Tigers.

Alleva said he can surely understand why.

He believes this is a golden era of LSU athletics.

“It’s always a great time to be an LSU Tiger,” Alleva said with a wink and a smile. “We’re happy to share this night with these wonderful people.”

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