re: If J. Jones doesn't make the NCAA tourney next season

quote:

---

I think these days it's much easier to win quicker than it was back then. Donovan started the magic in year 3 at UF. Handful of other coaches turned programs around in the first few years.

---

name the coaches who have turned around the program at their current school in a couple years. outside of when pitino and calipari go to new teams it doesn't happen very often at all.

LSU basketball has been in the crapper, but for three to four seasons, for the last twenty years. We were 12-36 in the SEC the three years before JJ.

It would have been sweet if JJ could have put us in the NCAA dance within two years of his arrival, but anyone having an expectation of that is smoking rope.

JJ needs to work his recruiting magic and bring in some guards who can shoot the ball and defend. Not an easy thing to do in two years with a program that has been sucking for a long time.

You are absolutely spot on.

Yea. I fully expected this years team to make the NCAAT. I said at the start of the year that this season would be marked down as a disappointment if we didn't make the tournament, and honestly, I do believe this season has been a disappointment.

That being said I do think it's an over-reaction to say Coach Jones deserves to be fired if ______ next year. He put together a very solid squad that had some mental mistakes (including Coaching mistakes) ruin our season. The team didn't play with the type of intensity that a high level team needs to play with on a consistent basis.

Coach Jones has some work to do, but he is a very good ambassador for the school and the program. You have to look at some of the things he has done in his first two years. Last season he took a less than spectacular team and went 9-9 in SEC play. I'd say we overachieved last year.

He improved the team this year, less than most expected, but just because our record was the same, this team was much better. They were more fun to watch. Crowds were significantly improved. He fully, 100%, got the support of almost all ex-LSU basketball athletes. The number of Tiger Hoops athletes that have attended games this year is just unbelievable.

There are a ton of positives that Jones has brought to the program. The W/L record this year was not one of them. It's unfortunate, but teams just seemed to have some impressive performances against us. UGA shot 60% from deep last night. Some were open looks, but alot were contested. Most people won't make 60% 3 pointers even with noone guarding.

Jones still has a shot at a 20+ win season only needing two more wins with the SECT and possible NITT. Still needs to prove he can get LSU in the upper-mid level (3-5) of the SEC and keep them there. I feel like that is the minimum for where LSU needs to be on a year to year basis with a possible of a team coming together and making a run for the top.

yes this season has been a disappointment so far and defense is to blame. the offense is fine and we have more talent coming in. its just pretty clear that guys like mickey and martin have never been coached defense in their life and are clueless when trying to play defense. get an assistant who can teach good fundamentals on defense and we are set. the program is still heading in the right direction, but hiring a defensive minded assistant coach who can get to mickey and martin is the only way to keep it that way.

quote:

---

When you take over a program that sucks and your guards you take over are shooting under 40%, playing poor defense, and your point guard is dishing out 3.5 assist a game its bull shite to expect touney play.

---

Well, your PG led the SEC in asst/to ratio and was 3rd in steals. The other horrible midget guard was 5th in 3pt shooting %. You can keep blaming LSU's woes on their "midget" guards if you like, but outside of Coleman the other two "big" guards really gave you very little offensively, and the defense was equally as poor when they were in the game. The defense as a whole was poor, but if you watched the games you would have seen what others have already pointed out, that it was the frontcourt who really struggled to keep people from getting easy looks all game long.

quote:

---

guard was 5th in 3pt shooting %

---

I looked at the ESPN bb stats and LSU didn't have a G in the top 100 in 3-pt %, assist, FT %, or scoring. Hickey was in the top 60 in steals.

If the G play was limited for whatever reason and the front court guys struggled to keep people from getting easy looks {we had a guy in the top 10 in blocks}, what's the surprise with us not making the dance?

I was not sold on JJ to begin with as I would not have been sold on any coach we got from the Sunbelt, but 2 yrs seem a tad quick to get all bent out of shape bout not being in the dance yet. imo

quote:

---

ow many times is this going to have to be debunked before people finally get it

---

Well other than the freshmen, no one was highly recruited except JOB. I guess i meant the best players are young

Stringer was ratedas the 72nd best player in 2010 by ESPN. Ralston Turner was also in the top 100, but Johnson stopped recruiting shortly thereafter, which relates to a few down years before JJ came aboard.