re: LSU 2019-2020 HOOPS roster

Man, a soph Javonte will be a clear upgrade (in all facets of the game) over Tremont. People seem to forget he was 3 time poy in la, and Calipari (probably) initiated a smear campaign against Wade cuz he "outrecruited" him to get him to br.

quote:

---

Man, a soph Javonte will be a clear upgrade (in all facets of the game) over Tremont. People seem to forget he was 3 time poy in la, and Calipari (probably) initiated a smear campaign against Wade cuz he "outrecruited" him to get him to br.

---

Bud, I know Waters made some bonehead plays at time, but he single-handedly won us games. Will Smart be a great player? Absolutely. Will he be a clear upgrade? Negative.

I'll give my opinion on the roster next year. I'll assume that Watford commits to the good Tigers tomorrow and all players return with the exception of Naz and Waters.

1. Smart
2. Mays
3. Taylor
4. Watford
5. Williams
6. Bench - Days
7. Bench - Manning
8. Bench - Bishop
9. Bench - Hyatt
10. Bench - Cooper
11. Bench - Graves
12. Bench - Transfer (Hopefully PF/C)
13. Bench - Transfer (Redshirt Player)
14. Walkon - Reese
15. Walkon - New Player

The point guard position is pretty interesting to me. Smart will obviously be your starter, however they will have to depend on Bishop for a big back up role. This will allow Mays to stay at the 2 guard, where he is better imo. Last year we had the luxury of having 3 really good point guards. Bishop will have some big shoes to fill.

I think Mays will play a ton of minutes next year. We don't really have a true SG on the roster outside of Mays. If Mays were to get into foul trouble, you would probably be looking at Manning, Hyatt, Graves, & Bishop to fill that role. I'm really looking forward to seeing what role Graves will play. I think he can serve as the back up to Mays, time will tell.

Our team will be loaded with really good wing type players. I think Wade will run something similar to what he did at VCU. At the 3 position we're pretty deep. I think Taylor will start the year, but i have heard from many people that Manning could come in and start right away. Behind Manning and Taylor, you have Hyatt that could server as your 3 in a big line up.

Lastly, are our bigs down low. Watford committing to us tomorrow will be absolutely critical to the success of our team next year. A combination of Watford, Williams, Days, and Cooper is pretty good. I really like the Watford and Williams combination. Those two players can really run up and down the court and i look for Wade to do just that when they are in the lineup together. I also like the Watford and Days combination as Days will open the paint up for Watford down low. Days is probably one of the best "big" shooters in the SEC.

For the last two positions, i expect Wade to find a grad transfer to fill a PF/C slot and possibly a redshirt pg/sg to offer depth during practices this year.

I think we have something special in Will Wade. This next season should be a lot of fun boys.

My main concern with next year’s team is height.

Our bigs assuming we get Watford are:

6’6 - Williams
6’7 - Days
6’9 - cooper (skinny)
6’9 - Watford (not a leaper)

We aren’t gonna have a pair of giants like NAZ and KBW to bang with the big boys.

Not saying our guys won’t get it done, just saying we won’t have the size advantages that we had this past year.

I mean you can take an inch off at least of everyone's listed height

quote:

---

We can disagree now, but I think once you see a more experienced javonte, and with a chip on his shoulder, you will see he's an upgrade over tremont. Waters won us some games, but javonte was the primary reason we beat #1 last year as a freshman with waters out.

---

Smart is a tremendous scorer and has the guts to be a big time player. I think LSU will be ok with him at PG, but it will be a different approach. Waters was the BIGGEST reason LSU was such an efficient offensive team over the last two years. To a large degree Wade just put the game in his hands and allowed him to create (both for himself and teammates). Smart, for as talented as he is, is a scorer first and foremost. Creating for teammates is his second option.

The question will be will LSU have an offense with good ball movement? Or will it be 5 guys looking for their shot?

I do, however, think Smart can be a better OVERALL defender than Waters. Waters was a pest and was great at creating steals and jumping passing lanes. He also gambled a lot for those TO's and on many occasions gave guys open looks when he missed on the TO. Smart as the size and, more importantly, the attitude to be a great defender. He may not force as many steals as Waters, but he gives you more ability to switch than Waters.

Naz Reid and Tremont Waters are the only two that aren't coming back.

Smart announced he was returning and it will not be long before the others do the same. We will be fine next year fellas

Smart being a better defender than Waters is a major factor in him being an upgrade. Again, this kid was 3 time poy and could have signed with anyone.Common sense tells you he will be better than he was as a freshman, especially going through the draft process recently. With Watford, we will be as good or better this year as last, and I can't wait for tipoff.

quote:

---

This is not really as important as it used to be.

Tallest Players, Past National Champions
2017-18 Villanova 6'9"
2016-17: UNC 6'10"
2015-16: Villanova 6'11"
2013-14: UConn 6'10"

---

That UNC team had a 7 foot center, blocked 2.3 shots per game in only 16 minutes per game. In fact they had a lot of tall guys on that team overall.

But the biggest thing here is shooting, those teams were at least competent from 3, or great even. We kind of stunk there last season.