quote:
We need a defensive player. He does not need to score a point. Having a 20 minute per game rotational. Big is critical.

Courtez Cooper could be the other 20 mpg.

I could be wrong, but I don't think you see either guy play anywhere close to 10 minutes per game unless it is out of complete necessity (foul trouble, injury). Obviously there are always diamonds in the rough, but both guys were very lightly recruited for a reason.

I think fans are going to have to understand this will likely be a very different style team because of the personnel than what we saw in Wade's first two seasons. In years one and two Wade had at least one guy who could score in the post (Reath and Reid), along with another big who could at least get some rebounds (Epps and KBW, though KBW was a MUCH better defender and rebounder than Epps). You coupled that with a primarily ball-screen heavy offense because you had a big time creator at PG (Waters).

That isn't this team. This team is going to have to shoot it well (or at least much better) from 3 to compensate for what will likely be a drop-off in inside scoring. The ball screen heavy offense will likely go away to a large extent because Smart is not the same type of player as Waters.

Wade mentioned the fact that LSU's presumed current line up (Smart, Mays, Taylor, Williams, Watford) would be taller than the line up Auburn used in getting to the Final Four last season. I don't think that is an accident. Watch for LSU to play more like Auburn did this season than LSU did last season. The two "bigs" Cooper and the new guy are simply going to be limited role players whom you hope can steal you a few rebounds and contest a few shots inside.

This post was edited on 8/8/19 at 10:27 am