I am pretty amazed to see all of the praise that Johnson has gotten so far. Guys and gals, it hasn't been very long since we've seen LSU play basketball BETTER than they are playing now. No doubt the team is heading in the right direction, but I don't understand all of the praise.
Last years record compared to this years record with pretty much the same team except for maybe Anthony Randolph. Which reminds me, imagine Randolph playing on this team, worth at least one more win. Btw, How do you explain the loudness and attendance in the Pmac compared to the last few years under the previous coach? I don't know, maybe you guys can answer this next question for me? How long has it been since the fans filled the Pmac and were loud like tonight or maybe last year compared to the past? Or just maybe, the previous coach wore out his welcome for some reason? I don't know, I'm just happy hope and change is back when you talk about LSU basketball. Maybe Brady equals Bush?:lol: Edit: I don't know the answers, just guessing?
I agree with this. LSU lost by 30 to a very average Utah team. Tonight, the Tigers got schooled at home by Xavier. Whenever Xavier needed an answer, they had one, and it was usually a very easy one. That tough LSU defense we always here about is only tough versus mediocre SEC teams. Against a national power house, it is nothing.
All you have to do is compare it to last season and the season before that was a major disappointment. WE don't expect us to be up there with the top teams in the country after one year of being dismal team like last few years. Anything is better than the train wreck the last few years.
It's called doing a lot with relatively little. Those Tiger teams of the past had star players like Stromile Swift, Tyrus Thomas and Glen Davis, but very little balance. What happened after those guys did their one/two years and done? What happened the year after the Final Four when it was just Tyrus that took off? Right now CTJ has balance offensively with several scorers he can rely on and steadily improving bench play. He's also significantly improved the defensive play of players who have been used exclusively as scorers, the result being a much tougher defense. As a first-year coach Trent can only operate with the hand he's dealt. Our hand is that we have a lot of shooters and no strong physical guys in the paint. When you live and die with the jumper you have games like tonight. LSU makes half those shots in the 2nd half and it could've translated to a 3-5 point win. What we've seen out of the guys consistently this season is their tenacity and their willingness to fight tooth and nail. That's an element that has been sorely lacking in recent Brady teams, and that went very appreciated by our fans tonight. It's been a very long time since I've seen the student section packed an hour before tipoff, and hearing how loud the crowd got even after the game got out of reach. Time will tell whether Trent can get and keep the team competing at a high level season after season, but people are excited about the poise and mental toughness that the team is playing with right now and for good reason.
2007 was the last time. Before that, 2006. It happens every time the team strings together a few convincing wins. Usually once a season. Did not happen last year though.
Last night was the first time i've seen the Tigers play this year. I can already tell that POS Brady is not the coach anymore. For the most part, this team plays with discipline. They still take a few dumb shots, cough Bo Spencer cough, but these are college kids so you expect that sometimes. The turnovers have severly declined under TJ. All of Brady's teams were turnover prone which would kill us in close games. The defense as a whole has severly improved as well. The one exception being the interior defense. Xavier killed us last night in the paint. It's obvious we need a big presence down low. The difference in last night's game was shooting in the second half. Xavier made their shots, we didn't. Plus we missed about 6-7 layups in the second half as well. First impression, i like TJ. I can't wait till he gets his players here.
The cold streak in the second half killed us...took the crowd out too. This WAS NOT the best crowd I've seen in that dome...not even close to what should be normal. Although there were some good moments there were also times you could have heard a pin drop. It lurched a few times and fired off others but I've seen and heard this place MUCH more into it. Maybe my head cold has my ears screwed up. It was nice to see the students fired up though and getting the opposite court on their feet with the "stand-up" chant. I think my son and I were about the only ones in our section making any noise...although we did get a few others into it. We need a big man...badly. Johnson just can't handle a big body. To his defense if that big 54 traveled once he traveled 50 times in that game and wasn't called. Otherwise this team has the tools...aside from going cold in the second (shots were there and were good ones) we should have won this one. It was there...just so close. I like the fight in this team...they never gave up.
So, as this was the first (nationally) televised game I was able to watch, there were a ton of different emotions/feelings after watching this game. First, I have to say disappointment, b/c I honestly thought LSU had a great chance of winning this game, it being at home and the Tigers playing well. But, certainly also optimism. I mean this is a RPI top 10 team, which had played the likes of Memphis, Duke, etc. After the 1st half, I have to say, there was a tremendous amount of pride, b/c that was pretty much a NCAA tournament caliber slugfest. Both teams matched up well in intensity. It was a tough defensive battle, but honestly both teams executed on offense and showed character. In the second half, it became clear that experience and depth won out. Sure, LSU had some personnel match up problems on the inside (i.e., bringing a 7' 255 lber who was a top 50 recruit last year off the bench, isn't a luxury that LSU has), but honestly, the competitiveness and the intensity was there most of the game. But, in that horrendous stretch of 9 minutes in the second half, the inexperience of rushing shots and not being patient enough to take good percentage shots (and not relying on outside jumpers), getting the charity stripe and making their shots (remember Tigers shot an uncharacteristic 10% off their FT average) and the lack of guys at the 6-9 spots to not lose a step with substitutions, clearly showed LSU's weaknesses. Like others have said, the LSU defense kept the game within reach despite an 0-13 stretch. But, when the game started to slip, as Sean Miller sent 3 guys in and out at 4-5 minute intervals, Tas', Temple's and Spencer's shots just didn't fall and the defense couldn't stem the tide alone. What's the silver lining? CTJ and the players will watch this tape and learn something. Something perhaps that they wouldn't have gotten from just playing Ole Miss or Auburn, etc. That they have to recognize when the game is getting tight, and play more determined and smart than before. I don't know if I should have expected a win last night, but I got what I was looking for--a competitive game, where I saw improvement in LSU's game from last year. :yelwink2: And, I am optimistic that with a dozen or so more games in the season, LSU will find ways to improve. And, for those of you who want to make Brady comparisons. Did Brady get his glory in the sun with his upsets of highly ranked non-conference opponents in PMAC? Yes. But, not with this team. His teams the last couple of years did not hustle this hard, did not cut to the basket as hard as they did last night, and did not basically fight as hard as they did last night. And, if you want to look at another fault of the prior administration, look to the depth. When you look at Xavier or any other top program, you create a culture of signing deep quality recruiting classes, year in and year out. So, when your juniors and seniors have to come off the court, your freshman and sophomores can play 10-15 minutes and not miss a beat. LSU was basically playing yesterday 6 or 7 versus 8 or 9. I'm not bashing guys like Warren, Graham, Farrer, and Bass, but the truth of the matter is Brady's philosophy was to sign 2-3 4-5 stars and then fill out the class with no stars--he also rarely went deep into his bench, so very good 3-stars never felt the desire to sign with LSU. I hope that if we give Trent a couple of years to recruit for his system, you'll see better depth and better player development. Don't underestimate guys like Aaron Dotson, Eddie Ludwig, Matt Derenbrecker, Langston Galloway, Brian Williams, in the next couple of years. These are guys that most likely would never had come to LSU under the Brady regime. So, I was disappointed with the loss, but looking forward to the next game. I think there are definitely spots to improve on... the Tiger's zone defense will have to improve and they'll have to spend some time breaking down that 9 minute cold spell to figure out a more effective way to get the offense going when that comes again. But, I trust the man in charge to work on the right things. :geauxtige BE A PART OF THE TRENT JOHNSON ERA.
