thats awesome. im happy for gt. i assume this means he has learned how to shoot, the article didnt say.
I remember watching Temple before one game. He hit 10 straight 3s, missed one, then made 4 straight. He seemed to have good form, but he couldn't shoot in games.
I've noticed from warmups that even sub 30% 3 point shooters can make 10 in a row without a defender. But that's what the defense does, they put their arm up and force the shooter to shoot it at a slightly(perhaps not even measurably) higher angle that they don't shoot at during practice. Of course that angle change means that the shot won't go in.
First impression after looking at this season's schedule is that our OOC slate seems especially weak, compared to what we've had the last couple of years playing Utah and Xavier. Wichita St. and Houston may be the only thing approaching "big" games on this schedule. I don't know if this is by design, but this can't make for a good RPI in the unlikely event of NCAA tourny contention.
Yes, Garrett Temple worked on his shot, and actually, in his 13 games played with San Antonio towards the end of last season, he actually shot a very respectable 43.5% from 3 land. It just goes to show you, that at some level, what NBA teams are looking for a certain kind of athlete, that fits a mold in that team's system. Frankly, Garrett Temple has a more prototypical athletic stature for the 2 guard, than Tas' has for the NBA 3 spot. It's a little unfortunate, as I was really hoping for Tas' to land somewhere. NBA.com : Garrett Temple Career Stats Page As for the OOC schedule, the Tigers have some interesting contests amidst an overall "weak" schedule designed to give a young team every chance to succeed. They play Memphis (also a very young, but talented top of the Conf USA team) in a neutral spot in Mississippi. They play Wichita St in a "neutral" Shreveport. They play an underrated Houston team (and a similarly situated North Texas team) in Baton Rouge. They go on the road to play ACC up and comer Virginia. Some interesting subtexts there in all of this. Playing teams from or in recruiting hotbeds--Houston, Mississippi, Dallas connections. North Texas being where Johnny Jones coaches and players from B.R. (Josh White). Playing Virginia means playing an ACC team with a coach rumored to in the running for the LSU coaching spot some years ago, with a very similar track record of building teams. Should be a schedule that allows for the team to build confidence and gel, but is clearly set up for a make it or break it SEC run.
Memphis and Virginia are the only out of conference games that would be considered "good wins" if LSU were NCAA at large worthy. Wichita St maybe, I'm not sure what they have this year. IIRC they might have been a 19-21 win team last year. Won't really build the resume that much. The only chance to really grab an at large bid would be for LSU to win 1/2 of Tennessee/UK. They would need 1/2 of Florida/Georgia. They would need 2/2 of Vanderbilt and SC. For the West they would need 2/2 against both Alabama and Auburn, 1/2 Miss. St, 3/4 Ole Miss and Arkansas. All of the home OOC games would need to be wins. 4/5 of the road OOC games would be enough to put them in. That would total 26 wins. Florida last year had a muchtougher OOC slate with a win over Michigan St and FSU, while losing to Syracuse and Xavier. However, their inability to win any difficult SEC games(1-5 vs Vandy, UK, UT). They finished with 21 wins pre-NCAA tournament, and were a bubble team. With LSU's weaker schedule, they need more wins to make up for not having the insanely high RPI teams to raise LSU's RPI. I figure a 26 win season would be enough for a 9 seed depending on what others do. It seems like a high number, but frankly 13 of them are all but automatic. 23-9 would be the cutoff where I think they need SEC tournament win or 2 to get assured of a spot.
I think you're being a little too harsh. Historically, a 20 win season and a winning record in the SEC would get you a birth. Granted the SEC has been down the last few years. I think a 10-8 SEC record and a 21-22 win record has LSU in the discussion, maybe on the bubble, depending on how the SEC looks in March, and how LSU's schedule's SOS looks at the end of the season. In any case, any post season play for this team would be an accomplishment, so I'm more interested in how they look as a team, whether these young recruits are SEC caliber, and whether they compete against the big boys.
