re: What is really going on with the basketball team? (No BS, honest truth)

Two things:

1. The players have quit on Jones (actually they quit at the end of last season. This is just a carry over) and do not trust in his ability to do anything from a coaching standpoint to fix the issues.

2. Jones can't teach the game well enough to solve the problems and can't motivate well enough to overcome them. Watch him during the games. Is there a more apathetic coach in America? Good, bad, it doesn't matter. His lack of enthusiasm doesn't change. The players don't feed off of him. He doesn't demand accountability. Terrible defense. Who cares? We'll go out an play terrible defense the next game. No offensive execution, structure. Poor shot selection? Selfish play. So what? He's not going to do anything to change it.

The players don't see Jones as a leader. They don't believe he can make them better. They don't trust him to push the right buttons to get things back on track when they stray off course. Players buy into good coaching. They listen to what their coach says because he has navigated those waters before. I don't think this team could care any less as to what Jones is saying.

He is a de facto AAU coach. As close as can be for major college basketball he just rolls the ball out there and lets whatever happens happen. I heard him in the postgame interview say "we have to figure out how to close out games." After 12 straight losses isn't it your fricking job to figure it out? Here's a hint, you close out games by defending and and being sound with the basketball on offense. Not by allowing open looks with lazy defense and playing with a completely disorganized offense that consists of 5 individuals all trying to make individual plays and turning the ball over in the process.

Right now LSU is just a collection of individual talent trying to each show off their individual abilities in hopes to extend their playing careers beyond LSU. Jones is basically just the guy who tells them what time to show up for practice/games and stands on the sideline during the game. I truly don't know if the team would actually notice if he left to grab a hot dog 10 minutes into the game. It certainly wouldn't affect the play on the court.

Right or wrong on their part, the players have tuned Jones out. I think they have probably just become numb to the losses and even if they are having a bit of success (like the first parts of the last two games) any hint of adversity sinks the ship.