Hoops Post-Mortem (Part 2 of 2): What’s coming and What to hope for.

I take that back there will be no west next year!

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6616480"]SEC men's basketball will scrap divisions starting in 2011-12, be one 12-team league - ESPN[/ame]

 

It won't have much of an effect for next season since the schedule stays the same. It will really create minor SEC tournament changes.

We shall see what LSU is able to get done, but next year should be an above average year for the SEC since UF, Vandy, UK, and Alabama are in good shape for the NCAA tournament. I'll believe Arkansas when I see it, same with Mississippi State, but I would think one of them will get on track.

 

Bit by bit, we're seeing Trent do offseason things to improve the team. Given Trent's earlier statement that the coaching staff would not change, this seems like a departure. At the same time, Nance just seemed a little bit to be an odd duck on this staff. Nick Robinson apparently gets the promotion. Not sure if that sets the world on fire and it's still largely the same guys, but I'm willing to see if a younger, hungrier coach (kid known for his defense in his playing days) can make a difference working with the players.

http://lsu.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1227875

 

Pay site.

 

Basically the report is that Nick Robinson, currently an non-coaching assistant on the staff, would be promoted and Nance might not be coming back.

But, interestingly coaching rumors are starting to percolate...

Our famed NBDL coach alum, Randy Livingston, is surfacing with reported interest...

Randy Livingston is staying on top of his game as D-League head coach | NOLA.com

As is TX high school coach, John Reese (and yes, he is the father of LSU recruit, J-Mychael Reese), who is similarly being pursued by Texas Tech (Billy G) and Texas A&M...

College Basketball: Top recruit's dad suddenly in demand

 

The latest from Trent... on italy trip, Jersey Shore, and coaching staff...

Men's Basketball - News - LSUsports.net - The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics

 

...And another perspective from the Times Picayune...

Tour of Italy gives LSU men's basketball team head start on 2011-12 | NOLA.com


All three of LSU's incoming recruits -- Johnny O'Bryant, John Isaac and Anthony Hickey -- have reported for the summer and are enrolled in school.

 

It should be noted as well that recently basketball strength coach Juan Pablo is also leaving LSU to return to the Stanford/Palo Alto area. Was it something I said :yelwink2: ?

Seriously though, watching the NBA draft the other night made me ponder the state of college basketball, the virtues of the game and what lies in store for LSU.

First, it's been my long time position that talent wins championships, and frankly, the NBA draft signifies "talent" in some objective sense. At the same time, I have also made the case that "talent" is often in the eye of the beholder. Yes, now adays, the NBA draft, like the NFL, is a "combine" process--i.e., height, weight, wingspan, shuttle times, vertical leaps, etc. But, perhaps, in basketball there's still some subjectivity that shines more than in the NFL, shooting, skill level, toughness, mental game, basketball "IQ". Someone like Jimmer Fredette wasn't recruited by the likes of Kansas or UNC, but by BYU.

At the same time, who was sitting in the green room? Bill Self and Danny Manning of Kansas. And who had the most NBA draftees? Well, Kansas, Texas, Duke, Kentucky, Florida, UCLA. Arguably some of basketball's "royalty". How many of them made it to the final four/championships? Well, UConn was there with Kemba. Texas lost early, despite 3 first rounders. Kentucky and Florida went far, with in the case of Kentucky a young all-star team with a second round drafted Senior (Harrellson). And, Florida, with a solid group of junior/seniors that got drafted. At the same time, Butler is there again in the NC with one second-round draftee, Mack.

Where does this leave LSU? First, a few names that were mentioned that night that made me think of Trent, and whether Trent might be sitting in the green room a few years from now. Again, if we're fair, and we're realistic about the kind of recruiter and coach he is, we have to say that his "rebuilding" years required some patience. One would never confuse Trent's style with that of say, Calipari (i.e., slick salesman type with ties to some interesting characters). But, certain names made me think of Trent... the Lopez twins, Landry Fields who were mentioned at some length. Particularly, we forget that Landry Fields, an after thought at Stanford who came in the same year as the Lopez twins (and a Johnson recruit) was a second rounder that no one thought would be impactful who has made himself an all-NBA rookie at the Knicks. If you go back and look at the players that Johnson has either recruited or coached into the NBA, and the list is actually quietly significant....

Sure we all know about the Lopez Twins (Stanford), Nick Fazekas (Nevada), Kirk Snyder (Nevada), but we often forget the hand he had in developing Brevin Knight, Casey Jacobsen, Mark Madsen, the Collins twins, Landry Fields, Mark Pope (UW) and even some of the recent LSU players, who did take some molding like Marcus Thornton.

What's also interesting is that for the most part, with some possible exceptions of the big men twins (who were 7 footers), most of the recruits were less than super decorated recruits. Landry Fields was recruited by Arizona and Gonzaga and Johnson landed him over Lute Olson. But a guy like Mark Madsen, Kirk Snyder, or Nick Fazekas, were not necessarily guys slotted for the NBA as high school graduates.

My point in all of this? Well, if you look at SEC coaches, and particularly SEC West coaches, despite the recent few years, perhaps we shouldn't sleep on Trent Johnson. In an ever changing recruiting world of AAU and high schoolers looking for the one and done, maybe we shouldn't forget that players who get recruited, go to college, develop and get better, have every ability to get drafted and go to the NBA. And, well, Trent has sent his fair share of players to the NBA--arguably some players that would have never projected to be there in the first place.

So, to me there's this interesting tension of who Trent recruits. He's clearly shown the ability to "coach up" players at a certain level, at the same time, will the "one and doners" put in the work to develop under Trent? You look at a kid like Ralston Turner, Justin Hamilton or Johnny O'Bryant, or even John Isaac, and you see kids who with good attitudes and work ethics, could be in the NBA some day as Juniors/Seniors draftees. And, that should hopefully speak to kids like Ricardo Gathers, Malik Morgan, Brian Bridgewater, who are not sure fire NBA lottery picks by any means.

I certainly hope that Trent continues to fill out his coaching/strength staff, to help develop those recruits that have put their faith in him and LSU. In a year or two, I think you'll see some of these Trent recruits start to see the fruits of their labor and perhaps LSU will be in the green room again soon.

 

I think LSU can be successful without having high profile draft picks. Look at Butler. Yeah, they had Gordon Hayward. But for the most part, they build their team with solid, fundamentally sound players. They aren't getting many McDonald's All-Americans.

 

Mid-summer check in

At the expense of sounding somewhat like a broken record, let's check in with what's going on in LSU hoops.... First some days ago, Dandy Don (who I generally never go to for hoops news, b/c he can't seem to get basic facts right in that sport) posted the following...

While football is the hot topic on most LSU fans' minds, there are still a lot of Tiger fans hungry for LSU basketball news. I have talked to a couple of guys in the know and they believe the team is going to be very good, and I sort of believe the same thing. For the first time since Trent Johnson has been the head coach at LSU, his second five will be close to the same quality as his starting five. One of my basketball sources believes that the starting five will be 5'10" freshman Anthony Hickey from Hopkinsville Kentucky who was Mr. Basketball in Kentucky in 2011, Ralston Turner, a 6'6" sophomore and a member of the 2011 All-SEC freshman team, Storm Warren, a 6'8" senior from Monroe, Johnny O'Bryant, a 6'9", 260 true freshman and Parade Magazine All-American at the low post, and Justin Hamilton, a 6'11", senior at center. The second five most likely will have sophomore Andre Stringer or senior Chris Bass at point guard. Eddie Ludwig, a 6'9" sophomore will be the off-guard (?) and might very well be a starter. Matt Derenbecker, Malcolm White and Garrett Green will complete the second unit and will play a lot. Jalen Courtney, a 6'10" (?) sophomore from Jackson, Mississippi, John Isacc, a promising 6'4" freshman, and Andrew Del Piero, a 7'2" former tuba player with the LSU marching band, make up the remainder of the team. Johnson is expected to sign three players in the November signing class.

Is that getting folks optimistic? Well, perhaps we've been there before. But, at the mid July point, in a time where kids are on campus, freshman are playing pick up ball (and hopefully the Seniors and Juniors are providing some semblance of leadership), the strength and conditioning coaches are working with the kids and the coaches are travelling around watching AAU tourneys, let's not forget that there is plenty of hoop activity going on.

A couple of notes on some of the themes highlighted in the thread. First, LSU had the added benefit from the Italy trip. What did we learn there? Well, you see that Hamilton is going to be a factor. Second you see with hopefully healthy players, what subtle improvements can do. Warren as a healthy consistent contributor is a factor. Subtle improvements from Stringer (concentrating on running the team and playing point and not launching shots), Turner (focused on defense), Ludwig (moving to the wing), provide, as I pointed out in my first post, some optimism that the kids are not standing still. I personally would love to see what all of the hub bub about Ludwig is, as well as what Chris Bass/Stringer can do now with more seasoning. What LSU can go to next year is a true "post-run" offense as an option, with O'Bryant and Hamilton. 6'11 and 6'9" at close to 260 lbs a piece in the middle is far different than 6'10", 235 ish, and 6'9" 225 in Green and White. What does that do for others? Well it forces Ludwig to the wing, where maybe his passing and cutting and ability to knock down a 15-17 footer become more utilized. Throwing the ball down to Hamilton who can hold a position, survey the court, and make passes to cutters, can make Turner, Derenbecker, Ludwig, Stringer, Warren all better. That's why the Motion offense, and perhaps getting away from too much of a weave, or set plays for picked shooters, may be a good thing for these Tigers. Case in point as well about experience. LSU's ability to run multiple scenarios will help. We've heard Trent's statement that LSU needs to play fast before, but now I think he finally has a team that can start to do that.

Which is the second point, depth. How long has it been in the last decade, when LSU could say that the team was 10 deep? As was pointed out earlier in the thread, many of our "blow-outs" probably became separated in the second half when tight games got away from us--call it inexperience, but how much of it was just tired legs? Now, with experienced players that come off the bench, you're looking at a Malcolm White spelling Hamilton or O'Bryant and going up against the other team's 3rd or 4th post guy. Garrett Green who improved considerably last year, being able to play against the back ups. If the team can find the right mix/rotations, you've got a Chris Bass or Stringer coming off the bench fresh or you might have Derenbecker coming in to spell Turner, instead of having to play them both at the same time.

I'll also be very interested to see the subtle changes with the coaching staff. First, Ryan Filo comes over as the strength coach from football--are our players going to be healthy, are the freshmen going to look in shape? A guy like John Isaac was already body ready. But, is O'Bryant going to come in more in shape than his senior year in High School? Is Warren going to stay healthy? I think Ryan frankly has the most underappreciated, but perhaps the most important job right now. Likewise, I want to think that Nick Robinson's role is subtly important. Looking at his bio, Nick was a defensive minded player, who was a team captain at Stanford. He's got leadership qualities so does that translate into coaching and recruiting success? I have no doubt he'll be able to relate to today's players and add another set of feet to go out and recruit. But more importantly, his time with the players is going to be telling in their improvements in fundamentals. Johnson shuffles coaching staff | LSU | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

If the Italy trip showed us anything, it showed us that the team is better balanced with Hamilton in the game, and it showed that LSU is hungrier, perhaps more confident. And you need this for this team. All in all, of course, the SEC will be more competitive, and LSU will need that just to stay close to some of the teams that also likely got better too. But, I'm hoping there will be far less 20 point blow outs, and a lot more close games. They have the depth and balance now to really show what Trent and staff can do when they have the pieces. We'll also see if the players are smarter, in addition to being better physically, when the games start. Recruiting is still a big question mark right now, but fans should be building some excitement for hoops at LSU.

:geauxtige:bball::geauxtige

NOTE: Recruits thinking about joining LSU can also see who'd they be replacing on a deeper team, Warren (SF), Green + White (PF/C) and Bass (PG). Playing along side Hamilton, O'Bryant, Turner, Derenbecker/Isaac, Stringer/Hickey on a very nice deep team with a few years left. This team is poised for some growth, folks. Imagine, how Gathers (SF/PF), Felix/Reese/Morgan (PG/SG) and another Forward/Center (Pollard/Cleare/Upshaw) would gel on this team. Solid recruiting in 2012 IMO launches a consistent LSU basketball winning era, folks. :yelwink2::bball: