Prior to the season’s tip on Nov. 13, LSU coach Trent
Johnson had been firm in his feelings that the 2009 squad would not be the same
Tiger team that stormed into the NCAA Tournament after taking the Southeastern Conference
regular season crown.
While depth and injury issues have hit an already
undermanned side, LSU won their first three – including a 71-60 victory over
Western Kentucky that sent the Tigers to the Preseason NIT in Madison Square
Garden.
An 81-55 pounding by Connecticut followed by a 71-52 loss to
Arizona State was not what Johnson had in mind when he put his team on the
flight to New York City, but Monday’s press conference brought no excuses.
“I’m trying to find positives from the past week,” Johnson
said. “It wasn’t a very good week, and that has to do with all of us. This is a
group that doesn’t like losing, especially in that kind of setting. I’ve always
said that in these nationally televised games, you can’t hide. You can’t run to
your mom, your girlfriend, your dad or your AAU coach and say, ‘Well, coach
didn’t do this, or I didn’t do that.’ No, everybody sees it.
“We have been exposed; they know what they need to work on,
and that is a good sign,” he added. “Injuries and a depleted roster so-to-speak
is not an excuse for not playing good basketball.”
In game one against Connecticut, both Husky guards – Jerome
Dyson and Kemba Walker – went for 20 points. Three Huskies also recorded more
rebounds than Storm Warren, whose eight boards led the Tiger side.
“Whether they intimidated us or whatever, I just didn’t like
our lack of aggression and our overall constant effort in terms of sprinting
back,” Johnson said. “I base that off of Eddie Ludwig, who is probably the
least of our athletes, and his ability to make some plays and find some balls
in that game.”
In the consolation match on Friday against Arizona State,
which the Tigers played without injured guard Bo Spencer, LSU held a 34-27 lead
after shooting 60 percent over the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, the Tigers went cold – hitting just
5-of-25 from the field. LSU also turned the ball over 13 times against a
2/3-zone defense, which is designed to allow the opposition to move the ball
freely on the perimeter.
“We played as good a half of basketball against Arizona
State as we have all year, but in the second half, I thought we got away from
what we did in the first half,” Johnson said.
After the loss, the injured Spencer, who is looked at as one
of the veteran leaders of the young Tiger squad, came forward with words of
motivation.
“Bo had made a comment that our approach in practice in
understanding a sense of urgency and all those kinds of things starts with him
and that he needs to step up,” Johnson said. “I thought that was very
interesting. It remains to be seen.”
Spencer’s status for Tuesday night’s home game against
Louisiana-Lafayette remains uncertain.
“He hasn’t practiced because of his ankle, and he has some
academic work that he has to get done, so he won’t be out there [Monday],”
Johnson said.
“I don’t know if he’s going to play,” he added. “Obviously,
we are in a situation where [Tuesday] in the shoot-around, if he shows he has
the ability to pass and cut to my liking and to Shawn Eddy and our medical
people, yes, he’ll play. But, right now he’s got his hands full with some
academics, and he has his hands full with his ankle.”
Against a Ragin’ Cajun team that took the Tigers to the wire
last season before falling short 81-79, the focus has quickly turned away from
New York City and back to the task at hand.
“We struggled to beat this group last year, and I’ve always
felt this with them, it’s just a matter of time,” Johnson said. “My concern is
as talented as they are, our guys know they have to be ready to play. It’s
about us getting back out here and playing well, keeping this thing simple,
passing and catching with two hands, rebounding and enjoying playing.”