Chris Murray

cmurray@rgj.com

Three years ago, Eric Musselman served on Johnny Jones' staff at LSU.

Next year, the roles will be reversed.

Jones, the former head coach at LSU, North Texas and Memphis, was hired Wednesday as the Wolf Pack basketball team's associate head coach.

“We are absolutely thrilled that coach Jones has joined our staff,” Musselman said in a news release announcing his hire. “I saw the leadership and basketball knowledge he possesses when we worked together at LSU. He’s going to be a very important part of many more tournament runs here at Nevada.”

Jones has coached at the Division I level in every season since his college playing career ended in 1984. The 56-year-old’s coaching career began at his alma mater, LSU, where he was an assistant from 1984-97. He then moved to Memphis as an assistant for two seasons before serving as the school's interim head coach in 1999-2000. Memphis went 15-16 under Brown, including 7-9 in league.

After a year at Alabama as an assistant, Jones got his first full-time head-coaching job at North Texas, leading the program to a 190-146 record and 91-89 Sun Belt mark over 11 seasons, including two NCAA Tournament appearances. He was hired by LSU in 2012 to replace former Nevada coach Trent Johnson.

In five seasons in Baton Rouge, Jones went 90-72 overall and 42-48 in the SEC, including one NIT and one NCAA Tournament appearance. His 90 wins rank fourth in LSU history. Musselman was LSU's associate head coach in 2014-15, the year the Tigers reached the Big Dance, where it lost in the first round to North Carolina State, 66-65.

“I’m excited to be a part of the Wolf Pack family and serve in any capacity that is needed to help the team continue to build on the success and the momentum from last season," Jones said in a news release.

A native of DeRidder, La., Jones has never coached west of Texas, but he is considered a top recruiter – he landed future No. 1 NBA draft pick Ben Simmons in his penultimate year at LSU, one of seven top-100 recruits he signed during his tenure with the Tigers. Rice transfer Marquez Letcher-Ellis, who committed to Nevada on Tuesday, cited Jones as one of the reasons he felt comfortable playing for the Wolf Pack.

Musselman was initially mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Jones at LSU before the Tigers hired VCU’s Will Wade. Jones has reached two Final Fours – one as a player and one as an assistant.

Musselman had two openings on his bench after Nevada mutually parted ways with Yanni Hufnagel shortly after the season ended and Dave Rice left for an assistant job at Washington.

The Jones hire gives Nevada an LSU feel. Not only have Musselman and Jones worked for the school, but Nevada assistant Ronald Dupree played for the Tigers and was the school's director of student-athlete development in 2015-16 while Wolf Pack graduate assistant, Hays Myers, was LSU's student manager that season. Dupree and Myers will enter their second season at Nevada in 2017-18.

The Wolf Pack has one more full-time assistant position left to fill.