This basketball team will be just fine...

To play as bad as they did with the turnovers and all the foul calls against them, and to only lose by 2. That’s encouraging considering the above.

I was hoping that Hyatt would be more of a contributor this year. When Marlon makes it back, i doubt you see Hyatt get many minutes.

I also hope Bishop can be a primary ball handler. It would be nice to have him come in the game and allow Mays/Smart to play off the ball.

Smart was way too passive last night. He needs to play with swagger every night. I'm afraid the crowd was in his head a bit. He needs to find a way to channel that into becoming an epic heel on the road.

Hyatt had 7 rebounds in only 15 minutes.

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Hyatt had 7 rebounds in only 15 minutes.

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I overlooked that stat in the box score, that's encouraging to see. I just thought he looked timid in the first two games. That may just be because its his first two games played on the college level. Dude looks totally different since he has made it on campus.

Obviously this team has issues right now, most of us can see we are just not too cohesive, a good bit of our TOs were due to miscommunications . Also like others pointed out we don't necessarily have someone to create shots for others, I think this is where Will and Co need come in sometimes and call plays/motions/sets for other guys.

Javonte and Skylar can get their buckets and will, and I think as long as Watford progresses he can get there too. Also the defense was much better the second half, keep building on that. DARIUS DAYS STOP FOULING

I think the early foul trouble threw them out of rhythm and they just couldn't find a rotation. I doubt Wade wanted to play Mays 38 minutes, but he had to.

Defensively they are still, at best, inconsistent. To allow at team like VCU, who isn't a great offensive or shooting team to score 84, even at home, is not good. But LSU was at least able to lock down in the second half to allow them to come back. In 2+ years under Wade his teams have been able to play great defense in spurts, but rarely for an entire game.

Tremont was SORELY missed last night. He controlled tempo, created offense and was a one man press beater. This team doesn't have a true PG this season. Smart is a tremendous player. But he is a scorer, not a facilitator. Same for Mays. You can win and win a lot with those guys. But that is a tough matchup against a hard-nosed defensive team like VCU that pressures the ball. LSU had no one who they could confidently but the ball in their hands to not turn it over. Now, they probably won't play another team with the same defensive style as VCU, but they WILL play several good defensive teams this year. They are going to have to figure out how to take care of the ball.

On that note, maybe playing with less tempo would be better for this particular team. In Wade's first two years LSU played "fast". But they also had Waters, who could play under control at that speed. I thought, at times, LSU got rushed unnecessarily and turned the ball over. They had much more success when they started to play under more control in half court sets simply because LSU's players were better one-on-one than VCU's guys. I know that Wade likes to play uptempo, but maybe that's not the best approach without a true PG. They can still play "fast", but perhaps not as fast.

All that being said, this group still has a bunch of gamers who aren't afraid of taking big shots. They went into probably the toughest environment they'll face this year vs an emotionally charged crowd and team, one that is one of the best defensive teams in the country and STILL shot nearly 52% from the field and 40+% from 3. That is elite scoring

If this group can just cut down on the turnovers even just 30% that would probably result in a net 6-10 point gain. Couple that with more consistent defensive play and they will be fine.

It was a 2 point road loss to a team that will be in the top 30-40 all year and the team got to face a very hostile environment right off the bat. Not a big deal at all. Those type games in November will help in the long run. I’ll take an early season game like that over a home game vs. a SWAC team any day.

i thought they looked pretty bad. saw too many drives to the basket with no real route to basket and with poor body control. too many passes with feet off the ground... just too many turnovers. they will get better. they just need to get polished up and more careful with the ball. but, they def don't look like a top 10 or top 15 team...yet... at least Kentucky looks like s$*t. Geaux Tigers.