They actually I think outrebounded McNeese by one or two, but probably didn't "control" the glass like they need to. That said, hard to rebound a lot better than the other team, if that's all your coach talks about before the game! In any case, I think as I was thinking through how this team struggles. I think one thing occurred to me, which is interesting when we think about the type of players Trent recruits, and we think about the quality of this program's strength and conditioning program. Trent always talks about LSU's quickness or athleticism (and perhaps weakness there). While I think that Brady often recruited athletes over skill, Trent really has tried to recruit skilled players over pure athletes. Well, that can sometimes hurt you in areas like rebounding, defense, and areas where sometimes pure ability to outquick and outhustle come into play. That's why sometimes smaller, quicker teams give LSU trouble... we're just not a very laterally quick team. Now, that's not to say that LSU isn't or can't be athletic, but folks like Stringer, Derenbecker, Turner aren't pure athletes, they're skilled players. You obviously have to have a little bit of both, and frankly, they're freshmen, so what will be interesting to me is will they get stronger and quicker? One would hope. That said, Warren and White are "athletic" and last night, they finally took it to the other team, instead of the otherway around. I think McNeese was able to stay in the game largely because of their steals, again indicative of quicker defense playing aggressive to go after the ball. You can also blame LSU's shooting cold spells for allowing McNeese to stick around--frankly with good "shooting" teams, if the shots aren't falling, what do they fall back on? That's what this team is going to have improve in... that defense and rebounding and protecting the ball is going to make the difference between close wins and blow outs. In the end, LSU won and as Trent said, "time to move on." They play Wichita St this weekend, which is good. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do.
They out rebounded us 33-36.. I think it upset me b/c I didn't expect White to be a scorer but I thought he'd be hitting the glass a lot harder... and the put Storm in the mix... CTJ preaches rebounds so I think I expected more but I think they'll get better... I think we have the right pieces and are a few steps away from being a solid team... add a few more pieces next year and I think we are a NCAA team.. Up next we have a good Wichita State team who played U con close and lost by 4, then played #14 San Diego St close until they ran away in the 2nd half... Just wanted to put that out there in case we don't win and that negative football attitude starts to seep over to the basketball side... We like CTJ and our developing team!
the stats are a little deceptive because for 3/4 of the game the rebounding stats were bad. (lsu did outrebound them 40-39 though) and thats purely effort, especially against a team like mcneese. and combine that with lack of steals and you really have to question the effort. white isnt surprising since he has no history here, but im surprised that warren was getting nothing. im pretty sure ctj will have this changed. starting to worry about dotson. only 5 shots for white is way too low. hopefully that too improves with chemistry. definately a work in progress
I am starting to worry about Dotson as well. While you can tell Turner and Stringer have a chance to be really good players down the road I just don't get that watching Dotson.
Really don't see it. He does'nt have much of a jump shot, his strength coming out of high school was his ability as a slasher that could get to the rim but I have'nt seen much of that either.
Correct. If you actually look at the stats, Dotson shoots a better % from the field and from 3-point land than both Turner and Stringer: Andre Stringer FG% .390 FT% .823 3P% .397 Ralston Turner FG% .438 FT% .721 3P% .364 Aaron Dotson FG% .475 FT% .773 3P% .524 If not for a relatively bad game this past outing, his numbers would be even higher. What's been a pleasant surprise has been Dotson's outside shooting, going from an abysmal sub 30% 3P% to now being above 50%. But, the interesting thing is how often he shoots. He hasn't been taking a lot of shots, deferring at times to Turner or Stringer. I think he's a pretty unselfish kid, which can be good. But, he's a sophomore, and frankly he's a kid who's athletic enough to slash in and initiate contact and get to the free throw line, when shots aren't falling. Got to figure out how to keep him on track.
Dotson probably has taken a lot less three's than Turner and Stringer but if he can keep up that pace it would be very beneficial to this team. Also need Derenbecker to step up his game his shot has'nt been falling for him.
What really impressed me about him is even when he has had an off night he was able to nail the clutch free throws down the stretch. I think he hit 4 of 4 in the comeback against Central Michigan. That says alot about his ability to compete and the pride he takes in his game.
