Johnny Jones grew up following in the sneakers of McNeese State basketball coach Dave Simmons.

Tonight he will lend a hand to his mentor, or at least his voice.

Jones, the LSU basketball coach, will be the headline speaker at the second annual McNeese Tip-Off basketball banquet.

Last year Simmons turned to a school legend to tip off the event, which will again be at the Lake Charles Civic Center and is a fundraiser for the Cowboys men’s program.

This year he turned to an old friend.

“You can say the cost of the speaker was just right for it. They do this for free,” Simmons joked.

Jones is a former teammate of Simmons while they both played at DeRidder High School. He also holds a hot ticket in the college basketball world as his Tigers are one of the preseason talking points heading into the new season.

He will be following in the shadow of Joe Dumars, a McNeese legend who went on to hall-of-fame success in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons.

“I don’t think I’m going to outshine Joe,” Jones said. “Joe has been a great representative of McNeese State and Lake Charles. Since Dave could not find somebody at that level this year I told him I would step in and pinch hit.”

The fact that big names are willing to come help out the McNeese program means a lot to Simmons.

“It is great that these guys were willing to take some of their time for us,” Simmons said. “We appreciated Joe coming back and now Johnny coming here for us. It is a great boost for our program.

“That’s what good friends do. I called in some favors. With Johnny I have so much on him, we may be able to get him back here a few times.”

Being from DeRidder, Jones also has local ties that include his long-standing relationship with Simmons. This is a way to come home to some extent and sell his program at the same time while helping out a buddy.

“Dave is such a role model for me,” Jones said. “And being from that area McNeese hits close to home. I know a lot of people and have friends in Lake Charles and at McNeese; any way I can help them out I will try to do that.”

Jones also knows that being the head coach at the state’s flagship school he has a responsibility to smaller schools and LSU fans throughout the state to keep in touch.

“We want to stay close to our fans and when you have the big program it helps when the other state schools are doing well in basketball, too,” Jones said.

Maybe Simmons can bring his buddy’s team back when McNeese opens its new on-campus arena in the near future.

Jones surely has plenty to talk about tonight. He has perhaps the top recruiting class in the nation after sending two players from last year’s squad to the pros.

The LSU freshman class includes the nation’s top recruit, Ben Simmons, who along with the Tigers will play McNeese in their season opener. That game is set for Nov. 13.

“Right now there is a buzz around LSU basketball,” Simmons said. “Hopefully Johnny can come here and give us a little buzz about our season.”

Money is still the top issue of the evening, as McNeese, along with almost all college programs, is looking for new ways to fund its teams. But it also helps that the coach of the first opponent, the man in charge to the flagship program in the state, is willing to help out.

“Not many coaches can get their first opponent to come talk to your fans before the first game,” Simmons said.

The McNeese coach said he hopes that Jones can raise the level of interest in the opener as there was for McNeese football starting this season at LSU.

Of course, that game got rained out.

“It is a little different to be talking at your opponent’s dinner,” Jones said. “I am looking forward to getting down there and having some fun.”

And helping out an old friend at the same time.

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Jim Gazzolo is managing sports editor. Email him at jgazzolo@americanpress.com

(Rick Hickman/American Press)