+- Privateer Island Forum (https://forum.privateerisland.net)
+-- Forum: Privateer Island Forum (https://forum.privateerisland.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: New Orleans Privateers General Discussion (https://forum.privateerisland.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: Privateer Hoops Insider (/showthread.php?tid=59)
Privateer Hoops Insider - Slidell - 10-15-2026
If you did not get this email this morning, you have to get on this list. Good coverage from Scott Kushner who is committed to providing coverage of Privateer Basketball you won't find in the media.
PRIVATEERS BASKETBALL
News • Features • Analysis • History
More Than Paint Is Changing At Lakefront Arena
With Ervin Johnson, John Brady and a new level of investment behind coach Stacy Hollowell, the Privateers are entering a different kind of era.
Privateers Hoops Insider
Oct 15
By Scott Kushner
If you’re looking for a reason to believe in Privateers basketball again, all it takes is a glance at their bench.
Sitting behind third-year coach Stacy Hollowell is the school’s greatest player, former All-American Ervin Johnson, and Louisiana’s most decorated basketball coach this century, John Brady.
Both returned to LSU New Orleans within the past two months with the same mission in mind.
“These guys have seen it and done it here,” Hollowell said. “And they want to get it back to where it was when they were here.”
Each played a part in bringing the program to its apex in the 1990s (Johnson as a star player and Brady as an assistant coach under Tim Floyd) and now they have returned to the Privateers believing they can empower Hollowell to guide the program back to those heights.
Their arrival came at the perfect time.
Because it’s a powerful signal of the metamorphosis occurring inside Lakefront Arena this offseason.
To anyone within the program, the changes are abundantly obvious. Alongside the Privateers’ new school name, colors, and branding is a wave of investment and strategic alignment not experienced on this campus in decades.
From the fresh paint on the arena’s court, walls and walkways to renovations in the training room, to a reasonable non-conference schedule, all the way to the availability of team-issued gear, the improvements are everywhere.
It is, unquestionably, a new era.
And it is far deeper than purple-and-gold Pantones and some recognizable names on the staff.
“When you can bring a player in and tell a parent we are going to take care of your kid, and it actually looks like we are going to take care of your kid, it’s a lot different,” Hollowell said. “We have made a lot of internal strides here, that, outside looking in, most people would not understand.
“Most people would think it’s always been the way it’s starting to look now. And it hasn’t. It has radically changed what’s possible here.”
Those leaps demonstrate faith in Hollowell from the people surrounding him.
It’s something he’s earned through more than two decades in the coaching business, highlighted by winning the 2022 NAIA national championship across town at Loyola.
Now, with the backing of a new administration and a pair of Louisiana basketball icons following him into a new age of Privateers’ basketball, considerable momentum propels Hollowell into the 2026-2027 campaign.
“We all know what Stacy is capable of,” Brady said. “And that’s where all of this really starts. From (new athletic director) Mike Giorlando, to Ervin, to me and all these players, we all know he can do this job and so we are all just here to support him.
“And for him to welcome on all of this change shows he is about the right thing, which is not doing what’s just best for him and his career, but what’s best for this program and getting it to a place where it can win a lot of games.”
And as the Privateers took to the officially begin their first season as LSU New Orleans, that message was not lost on the current roster. They arrived to campus before Brady and Johnson even came aboard, allowing them to experience the shift in real time.
“They wouldn’t have come here if they didn’t believe in the program,” said guard Nick Jones, who transferred to LSU New Orleans this offseason after averaging 14.9 points per game at Wagner. “If those two guys didn’t see nothing in us, I don’t think they would’ve just come here and wasted their time.
“Now we have to show them they did the right thing.”
It’s the first step on the way to something more meaningful.
To reconnect the school with the city of New Orleans, and the alumni and fans who have drifted away since Johnson and Brady left Lakefront Arena.
While the detachment is understandable, considering the prolonged period of uncertainty, Hollowell is eager to tell anyone willing who’ll listen that a new era has arrived. The shifts at the top of the school, and within the program itself, have put the Privateers and their university in complete alignment.
There’s a new identity, a new administration, a revamped staff and roster— all benefitting from the greater resources Hollowell has strategically deployed. Johnson and Brady have returned, the university has made the kind of investments the athletic department has been begging for, and the program is reaping benefits from all of it.
While none of it guarantees what happens once the games begin, the momentum should be enough to garner a second look from those who have stayed away.
And it’s a goal Hollowell takes personally.
“I grew up coming here, and I know what it looked and felt like when Ervin and coach Brady were out there,” Hollowell said. “And when I got here, I wanted that back right away. But the reality was different here. It felt like there was a hard cap on what was possible just because of what the school was going through.
“And now, where we are at, there’s a lot more out there to be gained. And we want to take it.”
Welcome to Privateers Hoops Insider,
Thank you for being a part of the community that cares most about LSU New Orleans basketball.
This Substack is built for the people closest to the program — the supporters, longtime fans and friends who have a genuine stake in the success and future of Privateers basketball.
Through conversations with head coach Stacy Hollowell, his staff and players, plus behind-the-scenes perspectives and original reporting on the men’s basketball program, Privateers Hoops Insider will offer a closer look at the people, decisions and ambitions shaping the team.
The goal is simple: To bring you closer to the program you care about, with insight and access you won’t find in a box score or recap.
Whether you’ve followed the Privateers for decades or are reconnecting with the program, we’re glad you’re here. Your interest and support matter, and this is another way to stay connected to the team and the people working to move it forward.
Thanks for reading, and go Privateers!
Scott Kushner
Privateers Hoops Insider
RE: Privateer Hoops Insider - reduno - 10-15-2026
First I've seen of it, thx for sharing!
RE: Privateer Hoops Insider - SECOER - 10-15-2026
Press Drive 6th Man Club
https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form/?svcid=renxt&formId=407567d1-d2f2-48b5-8148-5c207263be26&envid=p-sZ0WXZFtMEq0nhN4CqxFhQ&zone=usa
For anyone who is a fan of Privateer Basketball this is the group to join.
Started years ago by Tim Floyd and resurrected by Stacy Hollowell this group provides funds to the program outside of NIL and the athletic budget. The funds are solely used for the Men's program and controlled by the Coach Hollowell.
We meet during the season and get additional "inside" information from Coach Hollowell and his staff.
There are multiple levels of giving and there is a "new graduate" level for those who recently graduated from the University.
The core group is trying to grow this club so please consider joining.
If you need more information reach out to: Asst Coach Andrew Fava. ffava@lsuneworleans.edu
(This is not Andrew posting this to set the record straight....)
GO PRIVATEERS!!!