Look, you have to ask yourself Gumbo, did you expect LSU to be leading UNC by 5 midway into the second half? :huh: You were one of those saying no way LSU could win, now, you're saying you're disappointed in CTJ's offensive calls? Seriously, I would have loved to see the upset as much as anyone else. I think the Tigers did admirably well. Could they have played better in that few minutes when Lawson took over? Yes, but they also expended a lot of energy to come back in the second half. Temple said so himself. In a tight game, a couple of possessions can create momentum and separation in a hurry, and as CTJ has said all along, the margin of error for this team is slim. It was also tough that Spencer was actually hurt, sprained his ankle. I'd argue that rather than bad offense costing the game, you could say it was Spencer's inability to slow down Lawson and the guys' inability to defensively rebound the ball when missed shots for UNC led to second chances. CTJ's coaching philosophy is to preach defense, rebounding, coach effort foremost on those fronts. He allows more offensive "freedom" which honestly, is something that can't always be micro managed. To say that this is the same as Brady era, is kind of incorrect. Brady was much more restricting on offense (i.e., slower pace, working it around for the perfect shot), many times to the detriment of the players (case in point, Spencer), both developmentally and interest level wise. At some level, that's why this team led the SEC in scoring at times I believe and averaged in the upper 70s. Some free flowing on offense was to be expected, and often times that puts pressure on the point guard to call the right sets. We will hopefully see the maturation of Bo Spencer and Chris Bass down the road to allow this more in the future. (p.s. BTW we're comparing an McD All-American Jr. PG in Lawson against an All-State LA sophomore in Spencer, let's give credit where it's due). The future is bright for LSU Basketball, again. :geauxtige:geauxtige DON'T FORGET. ANOTHER SEC CHAMPIONSHIP. LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL.
There should be no doubt that UNC is the more complete team. We gave them a good run, but their talent took over the game. LSU is not at UNC's level at this time. I feel happy that we played well in our departing tourney game, which I don't think was ever said during Brady's era. I think the future is truly bright.
no, i did not. but the reason the lead existed is the same reason im disappointed. i expect a coach to recognize what is working and to continue to do it---especially with experienced players. if it doesnt work, so be it, but to quit trying it (for an extended period) isnt acceptable. why cant i say both? i thought they could win. i didnt think they had a reasonable shot at it with lawson playing, but i was wrong. if they had continued to try what worked, the game would have gone to the wire and there is a decent chance lsu would have won. that's all im really saying. physical errors are ok. mental ones are not. i think it was more the inability to continue to answer on O. too many jumpshots will invariably lead to offensive droughts.
The six games there this weekend pushed the total number of ncaa tournament games played in the state of N.C. to 221.
Great game, and great season. Thank you Tigers, I look forward to next season. Something not often said over the Brady era.
He shot 40.9% from the 3 point line which is outstanding. It was not missing 3s. UNC was the better team and out played us the last 7 mins thats all.
Spencer couldn't stick Lawson and Temple couldn't stick Ellington. That sequence where Green hit a 3 after 2 offensive rebounds was big as well. UNC's guards > LSU's guards. Game ovah.
One question I have is did LSU ever switched their Defense this season you know like mixed up maybe zone(2-3,3-2,trap, etc.) at some point on depending on the situation then switch back to man to confuse the opponent some. I see other teams including UNC do it all the time.
