I don't want to sugar coat things but that LSU basketball team that I watched this weekend just was terrible. No way that team will ever compete against the likes of Conn Or Duke or even Arizona St. unless we get a center - (Harris & Green) as 5th year seniors these guys will still be slow & can't jump. Good thing we had a walkon to lead us for one half of play at least. I think I am upset about the way they played (didn't play). Getting middle of the road players & coaching them up is gonna take us a long time to move up in the standings. What is wrong with Dodson, is he still hurt??
Yeah, they looked horrible, but its still early in the season. Coach will have them playing much better by SEC play - they will come together.
I'm upset too, but I don't think you have it right. Harris isn't slow and can't jump. If he's actually able to gain weight, I see him contributing a lot in a year or two. What makes him hopefully a little bit better in my mind than CJ is supposedly, DH weighed about 175 when he got to school, after a redshirt year, he's about 190. If he can gain 10-15 pounds for a couple of years, I think he'll be decent by the time he's a junior. Green is another story. He was a lanky white guy with a decent outside jumper, who's gained about 30 pounds and is now being asked to play inside exclusively. That wasn't his game in high school, AND he's hurt his back and ankle. I think you're being harsh, b/c one of the biggest complaints in the Brady era was "role players" like Ross Neltner weren't getting better or were leaving... I don't think you can afford for your program just to not have guys like Garrett Green or Dennis Harris around. I think we can agree that they're not in SEC playing shape now, but to say these guys can't amount to anything with years under Trent's tutelage is a little harsh. Will they ever be first round draft picks? Probably not. But, you have to remember that LSU has played with plenty of "serviceable" big men. Roman Rubchenko. Geert Hammick. I'd say that Green needs to focus on playing better defense, boxing out his man, and rebounding with better hands. He's got to work on his game 5 feet and in, and his free throws. Harris has got to work on his defense as well, but learning to front and use his speed. Then, he's going to have to work on his movement without the ball, and then drink about 3 protein shakes a day! I don't disagree with you about recruiting though, I've been saying that LSU needed to recruit a big now for a while. White will make a HUGE difference next year. And with Warren down low, I remain convinced we don't need a 15 ppg from the center position. 8-10 points and about 8-10 rebounds is all we need in the short term. As far as recruiting goes, I am a little curious as to why we have to go JUCO, unless that JUCO can redshirt a year. Next year, we presumably have White manning the middle and then Garrett or Harris can go to their true position at PF, or Warren stays PF and Harris drifts to SF. Eric Buckner would get limited minutes at PF or back up White at Center, unless Trent sees something in him that would put him ahead of Green or Harris. At 6'10" 205, he's also a little thin, although thicker than Dennis. So, if we have the luxury of redshirting Buckner, then you've got a nice bridge to Buckner being a Senior C for a year after White leaves, and that builds a nice bridge for 2012's recruiting class, where perhaps Trent can load up on more big men. As for disappointment after ASU, I agree, especially given the first half. I think honestly, LSU ran out of steam and they don't necessarily have a lock down defender. Glasser and Boateng were difficult to stop and no one could really keep Glasser out of the lane. I think Trent was just trying to keep his guys practicing his system, but I think Kinsley in the second half had a hard time keeping up with Glasser, and our perimeter defense will be hard pressed this year. Again, Bo's absence was key, as he's actually an underrated defender and has the quickness to stop Glasser. As the last poster said, give it time. As for Dotson, he's looked actually relatively quick--but I think he's focusing on defense and passing, probably b/c that's what Trent wants out of him. I don't think that he played a bad game against ASU, but Kinsley just had a good first half which kept Dotson out of the game more. Dotson hit a 3 in the first half which he took in rhythm against the zone, so I hope he'll get more comfortable as the season goes on.
Just an update on Ralston Turner as high school basketball is in full swing. His team is off to a 8-1 start after losing their first game out and now on an 8 game win streak and currently ranked 5th in the state in class 5A. The Birmingham news also recently ranked him the #1 player in the state on their super seniors list. He is currently averaging about 24 ppg, 9 rpg, 4 asst, 4 blk, and 4 steals. I have got to see a couple of the games and he has gotten much better over the summer. If anybody else has any info on other signees and how their season's are coming along please post. Great class for CTJ with now the top players officially signing from AL, MS, and LA.
thanks for the info, bball! I have to say, I certainly think that this signing will work out for LSU and Turner. The shooting guard spot for LSU is now looking like, relatively speaking, a pretty wide open spot for the Tigers. With Dotson struggling, and Spencer a senior next year, Turner will get plenty of looks. I think his shooting will certainly challenge Dotson and others to step up. Follow that next year with John Isaac, and I think you've got a lot of versatility to go Spencer back at point or SG, Dotson or Turner at SG, and Andre Stringer/John Isaac as combo guards. Throw Derenbecker in there as an occassional big 2, and, this team looks pretty damn exciting from the perimeter.
Not to be outdone, Matt Derenbecker has quietly racked up some pretty impressive numbers as well at Country Day this season. So far, his team is doing pretty well, with I think only 2 losses so far. This week, Matt has been highlighted at a tournament hosted by Country Day, where he poured in 37 against usually pretty stout Glen Oaks, in the semi final. Country Day also then played Riverside Academy in the final, falling short against Ricardo Gathers and Cedric Jenkins... Host Cajuns to face Riverside on Country Day Classic title game http://www.neworleans.com/blogs/riverside-beats-the-hosts-to-win-country-day-classic.html There are definitely players to watch in LA for the years to come...
It appears to me that TJ miscalculated by not recruiting ONE good basketball player to go with this years team. That is the worst LSU team we have had in a long time. Just Lost to Utah at home - went almost 9 minutes without a basket in the second half..
I don't disagree with you, although to be fair, he tried with Noel Johnson out of GA, ultimately who signed with Clemson (down to LSU and Clemson). We only got on Noel, b/c of the USC debacle though and it was a "jumpball" sort of situation. I do "wish" that Trent would have been able to add another kid in this last year's class to go along side Dotson and Ludwig--but the key is quality. We don't know what these coaches see in scouting and practice and it's hard to fault Trent for Alex Farrer blowing out his knee. Also, to be fair, kids like Dennis Harris, Garrett Greenthat Trent's staff are working with, are Brady's recruits. We often jump to the conclusion in college that recruits, i.e., talented freshman, are immediate help. Outside of perhaps 10-15 college basketball freshman (like the kids that signed at Kentucky), the key is actually your sophomore, juniors and seniors, kids that are physically and mentally mature who also have had time in your system, that can really help. So, to some extent the players on this team, are the byproduct of your recruiting from 2-3 years ago.
