goldenmoment

[embed]His greatest regret in his professional life was that he didn't arrive at Alabama in '97, the year the Bama job came open after Stallings left.[/embed]

WRONG! Over the years he was quoted multiple times that his biggest professional mistake was leaving LSU for the Dolphins with what could still be accomplished at LSU. I remember not only reading this several times, but also watching Chris Mortenson quote him after he left the Dolphins for Bama.

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So I would still love Johnson because she is a PF not a center like Koval, Bradley and Minaeva. Technically we only have 2 PF in Knox and Morro. Not sure if Morro is coming back next season.

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Agree totally. Along with Bradley add GG as point guard, Johnson as PF, then any two of Migniery, Samuels, and Manyacka (preferably), and you have a solid starting lineup for the future.

LSU does need another 4 for after Morro leaves.

Hammond High. This is the only dude I knew. LINK We also produced Fred Booker, Troy Giddens, and Brad Davis Not to mention Pete Golding and Kim Mulkey.

Brad Davis became LSU's all-time leading rusher in 1975, the first to break Billy Cannon's career rushing record despite having to share time with other tailbacks in Cholly Mac's offense.

Brad caught the famous TD pass from Bert Jones with no time left to beat Ole Miss, 17-16, in 1972 in Tiger Stadium.

I'll also never forget his game against Alabama his junior year where he ran for 148 yards including a 43-yard touchdown run. On his TV highlights show Bear Bryant said, "That Brad Davis sure is a good back. I recruited him out of high school in Hammond. If I'd known he was gonna be this good, I would have recruited him harder.'

Probably the only guy to actually slap and shut up a loud and smart-mouthed, long-haired hippie named James Carville who was mouthing insults at a gas station, or so the story goes.

They called Brad "the Hammond hammer" on the LSU radio broadcast. When Brad led Hammond High to its first state title in 1970 he became Hammond's hero forever.

Also from Hammond High were Jim and Tom Gainey who both started on LSU's defense in the early 70s.

Is LSU still recruiting Jemini Mitchell?

Not as big as South Carolina? Not in the past, but we are now! You can only play about 10 players in a game. For post players the SC rotation will be:

J. Edwards- 6-3
O. Edwards- 6-3
Kitts- 6-2
Watkins- 6-2 (maybe Tournebize 6-7)

LSU will be:

Koval- 6-5
Minaeva- 6-5
Morro- 6-3
Knox 6-2

First time in the Mulkey era that LSU will not be at a size and depth disadvantage in the post against everyone on the schedule.

Since she vacationed in Turkey in July it seems like this might have been her target date all along.

Manyacka scheduling a visit?

Burrow’s first games at LSU were the first games he started and played significant minutes.

That’s not Minaeva at all. Doesn’t look like her. Morro is already practicing with the team, and Minaeva isn’t.

The way I see it is the season starts with MK, Jada Williams, Lay, Grace, and Kate in the starting lineup. Z is the first off the bench in the backcourt as instant offense, and Laila is the defensive stopper.

Z and Lay could easily switch roles if Lay is okay with it, but I think we need Lay in the starting lineup because of her quickness on defense. That said, it will be hard to keep Z off the floor spelling Lay and MK and even eventually starting due to her talent. She could also help at the 4, if necessary.

I see Grace starting at the 4 with Morro coming off the bench. Morro could also spell Koval or eventually start over her. Anna Minaeva would make this a solid rotation of 4 bigs as she could spell Kate. This would provide good depth in the frontcourt.

It would also mean the Lady Tigers would be a solid two-deep with 5 stars at every position with nobody having to play outside of their natural position- which would be a first for the Kim Mulkey LSU era.

I think this team will have players who are great at slashing and taking it to the hoop. I believe the two big questions regarding how far they'll go against the good teams are (1) how consistently they can hit the 3 to space the floor, and (2) how good will their perimeter defense be without Flau'jae, Jada Richard, and Bella Hines.

Thanks for the update, Tigerbait357. Totally agree that they will have a special season regardless.

But I think they need a 4th big to match up with South Carolina who returns Kitts and Watkins to go along with Joyce Edwards, Tournebize, and Olivia Edwards down low. Plus they will have two five stars plus Adhel Tac on their bench. They almost have too many players down low, but they're all 5-star talents.

Four is a good number for bigs against the elite teams like SC. It helps you match up in case of foul trouble or injury. Case in point, LSU had SC on the ropes in 2024 at home until Angel Reese got into foul trouble. LSU had no depth behind her.

Minaeva at 6-5 would also add more depth for rebounding and rim protection against tall teams like SC. Kate Koval can rebound and block shots, and so can Grace Knox. Morro can rebound, but not sure about her defensive presence and blocking shots though I believe she'll be a great weapon on offense. Minaeva can block shots. Having watched the 3 x 3 over the last few weeks, I believe a more confident Koval will be improved, but she still has a ways to go offensively because she still tends to miss putbacks.

Since LSU should be good inside- better than last year- I think a big key in the big matchups against other elite teams will be LSU's ability to hit the 3-point shot. With MK, Lay, Z, Jada Williams, Lola Lampley, and even Laila Reynolds, they're loaded with athletic slashers who can hit the midrange and get to the hoop and finish.

But MK (43 percent) is the only consistent 3-pt. shooter with Lay (34 percent) behind her. I think given the chance now Zakiyah can consistently hit threes, but Jada Williams, a top point guard, is only a 30 percent shooter from 3 while Laila Reynolds, a defensive stopper, hit just 12 percent last year though she was a 5-star McDonald's All-American. That's where losing Flau'jae (42 percent), Jada Richard (41 percent) and Bella Hines (38 percent) hurts the most, in my opinion.

The big plus is that Morro is a great weapon from 3 (38 percent). Although Kim likes to pound it inside, and I think that's a proven winning philosophy especially with more talent down low, when teams with other good bigs pack it tight inside, you have to be able to hit the 3 to loosen them up and bring them out. That's what LSU did against Iowa in the title game in 2023.

I believe we have reason to expect another great season, but with Minaeva LSU can eliminate a big weakness- depth down low. Heck, even though Z was undersized, they played four in the post last year.