well, i consider you probably the foremost authority on college hoops here at TF (no offense to all the other roundball fans,) and i have to say that i did NOT expect LSU to win this ball game. i was just disappointed that the team didn't play better. a lot of it had to do with UConn, like you said, but to me it seems like LSU tried to change their style a bit. i saw some players taking shots that high schoolers wouldn't take (like COramprat said.) the team will definitely learn from the game. the scorers just couldn't handle the man-to-man and UConn is a pretty big team. When they went to a zone defense LSU was able to take advantage a couple of time. UConn is better than just about every team in the SEC (except for maybe UK,) so it's not too bad of a loss. plus ludwig has some fight in him! i never played basketball at any level and was never really interested it at all (too small, and too white, haha.) my dad played, so i enjoy watching it with him -- especially college hoops. there is just something about it. the games are really fast paced and there aren't time-outs every five seconds like in football. it seems like at least 40 percent of a college football game is either commercials or time-outs. and being at the game isn't any better with all the cheerleading and dancing BS. plus it's just a complicated sport (simply because of the amount of players needed and specialty players, etc.) i just can't get into football like basketball and baseball. plus you have the fact that in football there are like 10-11 games (12 or so if you're lucky.) in baseball or basketball there is four or five times as many games. just think that if basketball had 12 games a season. TF would be in meltdown after the UConn loss. I guess i'm saying is that i wish more people on TF got into basketball and baseball rather than just football. :redface:
The only thing I didn't like about the loss the other nite was that we didn't seem to box out well. We gave the foul shooter the rebound twice. We also missed several opportunities after breaking the press for 2 on 1 situations. I'm not sure why but we had trouble getting the ball in the post and really inside period. I do give Uconn all the credit in the world for a lot of this but I just don't believe this team played a full game the other night for the reasons I stated. Even if this teams loses this game today, if they can play better and keep it close it will be a victory i believe. Its kinda funny that both the football and basketball teams have something in common right now. They both have to rebound and play better but the football team HAS to WIN their game against Arkansas. I spent many hours on the play ground growing up and for the most part I didn't play organized basketball but I did play one year, my freshman year in college, walked on but made the team. An experience I will never forget! I'm just the opposite, I think there are commercials every few minutes in basketball, NBA as well as some college games.
Amen to this bro', and thanks for the kudos. I agree with this whole heartedly. I've been on this board for several years posting about hoops, b/c I just grew up on it. Grew up with Daddy Dale and going to LSU hoops games before going to football games. I also remember in the 80s when actually (believe it or not young 'uns) basketball was the sport on campus, and Daddy Dale was filling the superdome for basketball games. The interesting thing about hoops, and I think hoops towns around the country start to "raise" knowledgeable hoops fans, is that fine line between players, coaching and eb and flow in a game = success. In college football, with 90+ players on a roster, the game becomes more about personnel, packages, to some modest degree coaching, alot about recruiting. But, you play a game every weekend, and excitement builds certainly every week with the chase of the NC. But, you lose 3 games like this year, and all of the sudden it's a "let down" for the season, the fans are in an uproar, the kids all of the sudden aren't playing hard. Honestly, it's a little sad. BUT, with hoops, you've got a tourney, the season is actually 30+ games, with about half being home games. You can really see coaching improve the players visibly on the court, see players go from boys to men and see how coaching really makes a difference. When to go zone, when to play man, when to press, when FTs and costly turnovers can immediately (or not) have an affect on the outcome. Yes, sometimes, it's hard to tell what's going on, when kids are just running around out there, passing the ball around the perimeter on a 2-3 zone, but you look for the little things, how quickly a guy gets in position to take a charge (i.e., Ludwig against UConn) or when a backdoor cut and screen work to perfection. I don't mean to bash the football games, b/c there are alot of similarities--you still have to recruit great players, get them ready to play within a system, and make sure they are motivationally in the mindset ready to play. But, I think college bball is the greatest college sport to watch just because of the ups and down in the season and the fact that it's culminated in a playoff like no other. Ok, enough of a hoops plea. I've noticed over the years that perhaps there's more hoops talk on other LSU sites, I hope folks will come back to TF for real, objective hoops talk. As for the Tigers, I agree, I expected them to lose to UConn, I held out hope that they could win against ASU, and I was disappointed with yesterday's loss, although I think it's hard to expect LSU to win with Bo out in any game. But, this will be an up and down season, and one where I'll be particularly interested in how Trent uses his players, how he adapts his system, and in whether we see improvement in the young kids, like Bass, Harris, Warren, and Green as a stepping stone to next year's team. You look at how a guy like Kinsley, a walk-on, has improved from last year to this year. You wonder what I guy like that says about Coach TJ and his program versus the prior regime. In any case, the next few games for the Tigers will be home games that are winnable and where Trent and staff can continue to tinker and teach. I'm hoping for better continuity on offense and execution on defense. :geauxtige:bball::geauxtige
I would agree with this. LSU did seem almost "in the headlights" in NY against UConn, and I was surprised a little by that. I think Trent is trying to play a fine line between being patient and teacher with this team, but it was the older guys that almost seemed to press. I do think that at the end of the day, when you watch a team like Duke match up against UConn, it's the little things. Boxing out, getting back on D faster than the other team, hitting FTs. Those are things that are not completely reliant on talent. And, LSU can get better in that respect. This team can play better and we should expect them to get better.
i really like Gary Laney of the advocate and i think what he said about the game between LSU and Ark today is interesting: 2theadvocate.com | Columnists | Laney: This game could mean a lot to both teams — Baton Rouge, LA
