Exciting season on tap for NSU, LSU basketball
November 13, 2012
Lady Tigers expect more big game success in 2012-13
November 13, 2012
There’s a new sheriff in town in Baton Rouge.
His job is to regain esteem and prestige within the LSU men’s basketball program.
Former North Texas basketball coach Johnny Jones is ready to take over the reigns in the same position with the Tigers.
An alum and former player within LSU’s program, Jones said he has a clear mission: to return the Tigers’ program to the prominence it held in the 1970s and 80s and give the fans a reason to be proud of LSU basketball again.
“You look at football and the support in baseball and basketball in the past and through winning the environment that it creates,” Jones said. “They want to make sure that they have something special out there, and I think it’s up to us to make sure that we put the right product out there on the floor that they want to be a part of. I think not only the right product, but I think playing a certain way that they will embrace. That’s something that we look forward to doing.”
The most noticeable difference between this year’s LSU team and those coached by former coach Trent Johnson will be tempo.
Johnson emphasized a more patient, deliberate approach, which kept scores in the 50s and 60s.
With Jones, the Tigers will get up and down the floor and will play a fast-tempo style that places more of an emphasis on athleticism, skill and basketball savvy.
Sophomore point guard Anthony Hickey said he couldn’t wait to be a part of the new system.
“Coach Jones plays everything up-tempo,” Hickey said. “So everything’s in my hands now. I get to play my game. I get to push it every time. I don’t have to slow it down. I’m going to be in control of how the game is going to be tempo-wise.”
“The playing style and the personalities of the coaches are very different,” junior forward Jalen Courtney added. “As far as our interaction with them, it’s pretty much the same. … At the end of the day, [we] want wins.”
The Tigers will have experience at its disposal in the new season.
Hickey and Courtney join junior guard Andre Stringer, sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III and senior Eddie Ludwig as the top returnees from last year’s team.
Hickey was a spark plug within the Tigers’ offense, averaging 8.9 points and 3.8 assists per game as a freshman.
Stringer is the team’s leading returning scorer. He averaged 10.1 points per game last season.
O’Bryant is the likely wildcard in the team’s plans. The former five-star prospect out of high school averaged 8.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a freshman.
Jones believes the 6-foot, 9-inch, 262-pound power forward can take a giant leap in his second season.
“We tell him most of the time that he is the four or a three man, but he’s just going to be doing a lot of things that the five man will do,” Jones said. “I don’t think he’s really worried. I think because our style of play offensively, he’ll have an opportunity to play out on the floor, pick-and-pop and face the basket. I think it’s going to be to Johnny’s advantage.”
With LSU’s core in tact, the Tigers will also rely on new faces in the upcoming season.
Memphis transfer and New Orleans native Charles Carmouche will also contribute.
Also expected to see time are freshmen Malik Morgan, Corban Collins and Shane Hammink. The Tigers will also rely on the contributions of former Thibodaux High School standout Shavon Coleman, who transferred to the program after time at Howard College in Texas.
Stringer said all of the new players would add to the team’s roster.
“I think they’re going to bring a very big contribution to our team,” he said. “Those guys are young and they have young legs. That’s a good thing.”
LSU forward and Thibodaux-native Shavon Coleman drives to the basket during an exhibition game last week. Coleman and the Tigers are hoping to find success in first-year coach Johnny Jones’ inaugural season in Baton Rouge.
