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Let's be honest about our basketball roster
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:30 am
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:30 am
It's solid. Not great. Not spectacular. Not dominant. Not SEC Championship caliber. It's good to potentially very good, especially if Manning comes back from injury.
There are 5 very good players on this team, 3 good players and the rest average to poor.
It's an awkward assortment of players, with no true point guard, no true post player and no consistent outside shooters.
The lineup does create some positive mismatches on offense, and this team has been able to score a lot of points and has been efficient. But it also creates some negative mismatches on defense.
I think it is a great testament to the players and the coaches to be tied for first in the SEC at this point, and to not have had much drop off from last year.
Few people expected LSU to be anywhere close to this in the preseason.
My personal expectation, was that I would be happy to just make the tournament. I expected LSU to be a bubble team and finish perhaps 11-7 in the SEC.
I am very happy as a fan at this point.
There are 5 very good players on this team, 3 good players and the rest average to poor.
It's an awkward assortment of players, with no true point guard, no true post player and no consistent outside shooters.
The lineup does create some positive mismatches on offense, and this team has been able to score a lot of points and has been efficient. But it also creates some negative mismatches on defense.
I think it is a great testament to the players and the coaches to be tied for first in the SEC at this point, and to not have had much drop off from last year.
Few people expected LSU to be anywhere close to this in the preseason.
My personal expectation, was that I would be happy to just make the tournament. I expected LSU to be a bubble team and finish perhaps 11-7 in the SEC.
I am very happy as a fan at this point.
33
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:39 am to Bjorn Cyborg
Still better than the Jones era
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:43 am to Bjorn Cyborg
Agree with the OP. That’s a pretty succinct take on the overall situation.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:45 am to Bjorn Cyborg
quote:
Not SEC Championship caliber.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:46 am to Bjorn Cyborg
Yeah, no shite?
It’s a really down year in college basketball, so we could make a serious run
It’s a really down year in college basketball, so we could make a serious run
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:46 am to Bjorn Cyborg
Great post and totally agree
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:47 am to Bjorn Cyborg
Ceiling is Sweet 16 IMO
But we could just as easily get bounced 1st Round
But we could just as easily get bounced 1st Round
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:47 am to Bjorn Cyborg
All true which is why I laugh at all the complaining about giving up leads or playing close games. our talent is not double digit points better than almost anyone in the league
Auburn, Kentucky, and probably Florida and Georgia have more overall talent with a bunch of other teams even or right behind us
Auburn, Kentucky, and probably Florida and Georgia have more overall talent with a bunch of other teams even or right behind us
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:50 am to PhillyTiger90
quote:
Ceiling is Sweet 16 IMO
But we could just as easily get bounced 1st Round
With tournament games having longer commercials and such, our lack of depth wouldn't be as big a factor. If we get favorable matchups, I could see us getting to the elite 8. Like you, I could also see us bounced in round 1.
ETA: Because overall CBB talent distribution is flatter this year. Not because I necessarily think we have an elite 8 talented team. This is more of a toss up year than most.
This post was edited on 2/12/20 at 11:52 am
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:50 am to Bjorn Cyborg
A fair assessment. In my opinion the leadership on the field by Skylar Mays plays a huge role in the team performances.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:52 am to Bjorn Cyborg
This post should be at the top of the board and required reading before one can post on a basketball thread.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:54 am to Bjorn Cyborg
Bet I can guess who the 4 down votes are...
Very good post and a great perspective on what this team has accomplished.
Good news is that even with the circus created by Alleva and Alexander last year, the foundation is being laid for this program. With a Top 10 class for next year, I am very excited about the future.
Very good post and a great perspective on what this team has accomplished.
Good news is that even with the circus created by Alleva and Alexander last year, the foundation is being laid for this program. With a Top 10 class for next year, I am very excited about the future.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 11:58 am to Bjorn Cyborg
I agree that they have exceeded all reasonable expectations to this point. But in this season where there doesn't appear to be many, if any, truly dominant teams, I don't think you can say LSU has a totally inferior roster.
The offense hasn't just been good. It's been elite. National Championship level elite. That's not subjective. History and the numbers bear that out. They have all 5 starters avg. at least 11 ppg. No other team in the country can say that.
While certainly there are some defensive mismatches than can arise with the roster, teams aren't beating LSU with size. They are beating LSU by essentially getting any shot they want any time. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that the versatility and athleticism is ONLY able to translate on one end of the floor. With the way they play they are always going to be a more efficient offensive team than defensive team. That's fine. But it is utterly ridiculous to have such a VAST discrepancy between offensive efficiency (4th nationally) and defensive efficiency (170). The ONLY way that happens is if you as a coaching staff/team just flat out don't give a shite about playing defense. I mean, Wade can say they care and place emphasis all they want, but the actions paint an entirely different story.
Still, despite being awful defensively (and make no mistake, this team is awful defensively -- for reference, only Jones' final team that completely quit on the season was worse defensively), opponents struggle to beat LSU. They have lost three OOC games by a total of 6 points. No one has been able to blow them out in SEC play in two years...despite their struggles on defense. Which begs the question, what would happen if this team/staff put just 30% more emphasis on defending well?
I know the board may disagree. But it is possible to be both very happy that this team is exceeding preseason expectations AND frustrated because they really could be even better
The offense hasn't just been good. It's been elite. National Championship level elite. That's not subjective. History and the numbers bear that out. They have all 5 starters avg. at least 11 ppg. No other team in the country can say that.
While certainly there are some defensive mismatches than can arise with the roster, teams aren't beating LSU with size. They are beating LSU by essentially getting any shot they want any time. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that the versatility and athleticism is ONLY able to translate on one end of the floor. With the way they play they are always going to be a more efficient offensive team than defensive team. That's fine. But it is utterly ridiculous to have such a VAST discrepancy between offensive efficiency (4th nationally) and defensive efficiency (170). The ONLY way that happens is if you as a coaching staff/team just flat out don't give a shite about playing defense. I mean, Wade can say they care and place emphasis all they want, but the actions paint an entirely different story.
Still, despite being awful defensively (and make no mistake, this team is awful defensively -- for reference, only Jones' final team that completely quit on the season was worse defensively), opponents struggle to beat LSU. They have lost three OOC games by a total of 6 points. No one has been able to blow them out in SEC play in two years...despite their struggles on defense. Which begs the question, what would happen if this team/staff put just 30% more emphasis on defending well?
I know the board may disagree. But it is possible to be both very happy that this team is exceeding preseason expectations AND frustrated because they really could be even better
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:00 pm to Bjorn Cyborg
Your post isn't terrible, and I agree with a whole lot of it. You are taking the glass half empty approach. So, let me give you the glass half full approach of looking at it.
Name me one team, in the entire country, who:
- Rebounds as well as we do.
- Gets to the paint as well as we do.
- Makes free throws as well as we do.
Who else has:
- Lights out shooting
- A great defense
- Has 1-5 in the line up filled out with great players
- Has tons of depth
I'm going to save you some trouble. There isn't a team this year that has that. Not even close. So, yeah, LSU has some areas of weakness. They also have some areas of real strength. They certainly are capable of winning the SEC, and they are capable of making a deep run. They could also get bounced quick, but anybody can.
I know your post wasn't meant to be a negative bashing of basketball. A lot of it I agree with 100%. Just wanted to give a different spin on what you said.
Name me one team, in the entire country, who:
- Rebounds as well as we do.
- Gets to the paint as well as we do.
- Makes free throws as well as we do.
Who else has:
- Lights out shooting
- A great defense
- Has 1-5 in the line up filled out with great players
- Has tons of depth
I'm going to save you some trouble. There isn't a team this year that has that. Not even close. So, yeah, LSU has some areas of weakness. They also have some areas of real strength. They certainly are capable of winning the SEC, and they are capable of making a deep run. They could also get bounced quick, but anybody can.
I know your post wasn't meant to be a negative bashing of basketball. A lot of it I agree with 100%. Just wanted to give a different spin on what you said.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:02 pm to Bjorn Cyborg
I agree with most of this but I think you are just off on how you see our roster. While we do lack a little conventional roster structure in positions like Center or PG we absolutely have a SEC championship caliber roster from a talent standpoint. We have 4 guys who were top 50 recruits and 3 others who were just outside the top 100 and were considered one of the best players in their state. Plus several highly rated former juco players. Teams don’t just have 10 dudes who are all at their playing peak at the same time. That is extremely rare. Is their one SEC team with 9-10 really good players? Is their ever? Having 5 good players and 3 more solid players is pretty much the recipe for most ranked teams every year. With that said I’m more that happy with what this team has done this year. We are ranked and looking at about a 6 seed right now. That’s pretty darn good.
This post was edited on 2/12/20 at 12:04 pm
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:02 pm to Bjorn Cyborg
Wait.... you think we lose 5 more sec games? Jesus have you been watching? They may lose 2 more but no way 5.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:04 pm to MGuillory
quote:
Still better than the Jones era
From a talent perspective, no.
2014-15 and 2015-16 both had more talent than this team, and perhaps last year.
The coaching was horrible though.
2015-16 had 5 players that spent time in the NBA. 2014-15 had 4. Each team had a first-rounder.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:08 pm to GeauxtigersMs36
quote:
Wait.... you think we lose 5 more sec games? Jesus have you been watching? They may lose 2 more but no way 5.
That was my preseason prediction. If Manning comes back, I think we can finish with just one more loss and go 15-3.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:11 pm to Bjorn Cyborg
They need a Skywalker type guy that will bring people in. Excite the crowd. We haven't had a guy like that in years.
Posted on 2/12/20 at 12:12 pm to MGuillory
quote:
Still better than the Jones era
That’s a low bar.
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