Pierre opts for job at Oklahoma St.

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: May 16, 2008 - Page: 2C - UPDATED: 8:05 a.m.
• This story was changed to correct the name of Donny Guerinoni in the newspaper version of the story. Also a paragraph about a Baton Rouge radio report has been reworked for clarification.

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A fresh start and a new beginning lie ahead for the LSU men's basketball program.

Butch Pierre saw a similar opportunity and realized it was time to take his next leap of faith as well.

The longtime Tigers assistant accepted a job offer from new Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford on Thursday, ending an 11-year tenure at LSU that included a return to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.

"It's a great opportunity for me, too great to pass up," said Pierre, who was installed as LSU's interim head coach on Feb. 7 when John Brady was fired. The Tigers went 5-5 under Pierre's direction.

"This is a fresh start for me and new beginnings are something I have always been attracted to. I'm at my best when change occurs and this is a chance to step into a new situation and help build a program that has a lot of history and tradition."

New LSU coach Trent Johnson asked Pierre to stay on the staff when he was named to replace Brady on April 10. Pierre, a Darrow native and former St. Amant star, was also a candidate for the head-coaching job.

The 45-year-old Pierre was adamant he was not asked by Johnson to take a pay cut from his $190,000 annual salary, and said there was no animosity between the two.

"Trent is a great guy who has had a lot of success wherever he's been," Pierre said. "He has a different philosophy in the way he wants to do things and I respect that. It's just the right time for me to be part of something special somewhere else."

Johnson praised Pierre for his years at LSU and also shot down the idea of a rift, saying Pierre was not asked to resign.

"I certainly wish Butch the best of luck and thank him for what he did for me since I got here and what he did for LSU for 11 years," Johnson said. "He was given the chance by John Brady to coach here 11 years ago and during his time Butch recruited some great basketball players to LSU.

"With a coaching change, there's usually going to be a change in philosophies and although that's the case here, it's nothing personal between Butch and me. He had a spot on my staff if he wanted to stay."

Nor is Pierre leaving because he violated any recruiting ethics.

A Baton Rouge sports radio program reported earlier this week that Pierre's pending exit was spurred by him steering players away from LSU. When highly touted recruit J'Mison Morgan sought a release from his letter of intent, a theory surfaced Pierre was behind Morgan's change of heart.