re: LSU vs Michigan in Basketball for opening Maui tournament game this year

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Have you ever seen a more positive and progressive basketball offseason at LSU?

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Yes. The offseason ahead of the '13-'14 AND the offseason ahead of the '15-'16 season. Both years featured top 10 recruiting classes joining established groups of veterans.

I get it. It's the nature of being a fan. Being optimistic is part of what makes being a fan fun. But hell, we've had two season in the last 5 years where going into the season the fanbase was ABSOLUTELY convinced "LSU Basketball was BACK!!!!" This is now the third "positive and progressive basketball offseason at LSU" in the last 6 years

Michigan game is huge especially, because you don't want to play Chaminade in that tournament, for the most part.

You want to get three decent RPI games. Pretty sure chaminade doesn't count on your RPI (because they are DII), so it's basically a waste.

Not a waste at from the standpoint of knowing WW already he will have our guys hungry and ready to play. We could really surprise some people with our conditioning early in the year. Lets say hypothetically we lose to Michigan and play Chaminade, the team goes over to Maui having gotten a win, that flight is a lot better and builds our younger guys confidence.

Everyone knows the answer in football, but can someone confirm if this is the first time we've played Michigan in any of the major 3 sports?

While sure I was excited about Simmons arriving it wasn't the same level of excitement I have now. I'd seen Jones coach and I knew the players would not only have to carry him but as freshman would have to have such historic seasons it would nearly be impossible for them to fulfill their potential. Jones was so bad wedve had to have a roster like 89-90 to have a chance at winning anything. The difference this year is Wade this guy is so far ahead of most coaches in the way he thinks and his grasp on what it is to be an elite program is right on point. It's not just Xs and Os it's not just having players work hard it's his understanding of a grass roots approach to building and exciting the fan base it's the fearless recruiting it's all the stuff he's particular about off the court as well as on. Wade isn't an ex player he has a huge chip on his shoulder he has that slight complex from not being in that basketball players fraternity and it motivates him to go the extra mile to use everything possible to help his program. It's that outsider mentality that gives him elite focus and makes him so great.