re: Define Success for Will Wade's Tigers Next Season

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Jones inherited a team that won 18 the year before and had actually received decent coaching.

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True, but the team Jones inherited was not the team that finished the 11-12 season. Jones' first team lost two of his top 3 scorers from the previous year (Hamilton and Turner), plus some post players Storm Warren and Malcom White. He basically had 2 Sophomores (Hickey & JOBIII) and a junior back (Stringer) with very little around them. He actually did a pretty good job of piecing things together by getting Coleman and Carmouche late in the game.

Assuming everyone stays, Wade will have an All-SEC caliber player in Blakeney. Two 2nd year guys that showed some promise this season (Mays and Reath) and a super athletic Jr. who just simply hasn't been coached (Sampson). The team won't be all that "young" either. Blakeney and Sampson will be Juniors. Patterson is a Sr. as is Epps. Simms and Mays will have had a year of extensive playing time under their belts. Reath and Jenkins have been playing a while (just not at the D-1 level).

SEC champs? No. But the cupboard shouldn't be completely bare. I don't defend Jones much, but (unless there is big time attrition from this years team) he was left with very little when he started at LSU