re: What LSU baseball player deserves the first statue outside the Box?

I personally find statues of people, especially living people, to be a bit cringey. These aren't war heroes or anything, after all.

But, if you're going to do it, that player better be hands down the best in something. Pete Maravich was far and away the best college basketball player of all time, and an NBA hall of famer. Seimone Augustus getting a statue didn't feel warranted to me, and seems like a political play. There are tons Augustus equivalents across LSU sports history, many of which have done far more for the university after leaving than Augustus likely ever will... But none of them have statues.

I'd go Walker or Furniss.

Think I would go with Ben. Still LSU’s only Golden Spikes winner and 1st overall pick in the draft. Until this June, anyway.

Tookie Johnson, just because I like saying Tookie.

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Honorable mention maybe Bregman? Aaron Nola was a stud too.

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no way. Both were great but neither come close to deserving a statue

The first one definitely goes to someone from the 90s I’d go with Warren Morris. That moment will probably never be topped

Statues should only be of those great athletes (or coaches) that have gone to the Great Beyond. That is your starting point.

Gotta be todd walker

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Name me a another player who, as the best high school player in the country in their sport chose to stay home to lead her hometown Tigers rather than go to a traditional power. Then won the award for best college athlete in their sport, TWICE, led LSU to 3 straight national semifinals, won 4 championship rings in the pros, along with 1 championship game or series MVP, AND brought home 3 Olympic Gold Medals for Team USA.

I'm sure you can rattle off half a dozen that meet the criteria.

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Some of you are complete suck ups with this. She is not unique as a home town kid who stayed home. Especially when "home" meant playing for a program that was already one of the better one's in the country. What has she done for the school since she left? And what do Olympic gold medals have do do with it? Was she the only player on those teams? Who else can compete with the USA in basketball, men or women, when our best players actually decide to show up for the tournament? No one gives a crap about WNBA championships. That league is younger than most posters on this board. Let's build statues for the best dart throwers in history, while we're handing them out to WNBA champions.

Seimone Augustus was no more dominant in her sport, despite her awards in a far less competitive field, than the likes of Eddy Furniss, Todd Walker, Ben McDonald, Brad Cresse, Tommy Casanova, Billy Cannon, Glen Dorsey, Tyrann Mathieu, Xavier carter, Shaquille O'Neal, Bob Pettit, Chris Jackson, Britni Sneed... How many sports, and how many eras would you like me to cover?

If you just want to say "well she won this award, and that award", then you can take your plastic "I won the argument" trophy and tell yourself that you're right, and I'm wrong. But there are athletes who were just as dominant, with much more competition around them (there is little to no parity in women's basketball, especially when you go back to Seimone's time here), who are far more visible (because they don't play in the pitiful WNBA) and who have actually done things for the university, and acted as ambassadors. If you're dead set on building statues for people, those are the one's to look at. Are you going to argue that Seimone "deserved" it before Shaq? I bet you won't make that argument. So how did this happen? Politics, plain and simple.

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You sure is angry at the idea of Simone getting a statue

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Angry? No. Some of you seem angry that I don't think she needed one. Because she didn't.

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wut Shaq already has a statue. It’ll be alright bro

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Where is it? In a bush between two buildings? Never seen it, or heard of it. But ok, I'll stand corrected on that one point. Where are the statues for all the other athletes I mentioned? You and I both know what this is really about. "representation". She's female, she's black, and she's a lesbian. Perfect virtue signaling opportunity.