South Alabama prep, Charleston review

Written by Ben Love, Editor Tiger Rag

Wednesday, 23 November 2011 14:30

After breaking even on the Palmetto State coast last week in four games, LSU (3-2) is readying itself for a quick home tilt Wednesday night before heading back out onto the road for dates at Houston (Nov. 29) and Rutgers (Dec. 3) next week. Not lost in the shuffle from four road tests in six days to hosting South Alabama (1-2) the night before Thanksgiving is something sophomore guard Andre Stringer said in the locker room following Sunday’s 59-50 win over Georgia Tech. “We’ve got a long way to go. Don’t get satisfied.” That’s the phrase Coach Trent Johnson parroted for media members Tuesday afternoon, adding that he couldn’t agree more with Stringer’s postgame advice to his teammates. There were positives taken away from back-to-back wins to close out the Charleston Classic, for sure. Among them was the stellar play of freshman point guard Anthony Hickey, who earned All-Tournament honors after posting 16.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per contest in games against Northwestern, Western Kentucky and Georgia Tech. “He’s done a good job,” Ralston Turner said Tuesday of his backcourt mate. “He’s the point guard of our team, and he’s a guy we’re going to look forward to leading us in the future. He just needs to keep doing what he does.” When asked whether Hickey’s biggest impact comes offensively or defensively, Turner had a hard time choosing. “Both. Obviously, he’s real quick so on offense he does a good job pushing the ball. But on defense, especially in the last few games, he’s made his presence felt - he’s got a few steals and his quickness has bothered a few people.” That newfound defensive pressure represented another of the pluses taken from the South Carolina trip. In three games, LSU forced 47 total turnovers, including 28 steals. “The way our defense is there’s going to be plenty of loose balls and [opponents] throwing balls all around,” explained Hickey. “I [try to] be in a good position to steal the ball or help from my man. I gamble a lot. It can hurt me, but sometimes it can’t hurt me. Coach Johnson’s trying to get in my head to quit gambling and just play defense sometimes.” Despite the tweaking Johnson may be doing on the games of Hickey and all his Tigers, LSU’s fourth-year coach was pleased that this year’s team seems to come out with a reliable effort game-in, game-out. “We sort of developed some consistency,” Johnson said of the four-game jaunt through Coastal Carolina and the subsequent tournament. “Going into the trip and going into this year, we thought - coaches and players alike - that we have got a chance if we can defend, take care of the ball and rebound at a high rate.” Of course, there were a few negatives on the trip as well. Poor rebounding against Coastal Carolina and problems with Northwestern’s 1-3-1 match-up zone in the second half led to consecutive defeats to begin the road bender for LSU. The Tigers were out-boarded 53-34 against Cliff Ellis’ Chanticleers, giving up 16 rebounds to forward Sam McLaurin and 10 more to guard Anthony Raffa. Two days later, in both team’s Charleston Classic opener, Northwestern out-scored LSU by 15 in the second half to erase a 41-32 halftime deficit to the purple and gold. Turner said Tuesday that the Wildcats’ length on the perimeter was the main contributing factor to why LSU struggled so much, adding that the team was forced to make several adjustments during the course of the final 20 minutes of the game. “They put a lot of their big guys up top, and we had to do a better job of getting passes to places,” Turner explained. “You didn’t want to try and throw it over the top because we’d have to lob it and give them more time to get to it. [It was about] just penetrating and finding holes and trying to hit open men to open up other things for other people.” Another area of potential concern was the play of heralded freshman power forward Johnny O’Bryant in the team’s final two games last week. After scoring nine at Coastal Carolina and dusting off Northwestern for a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds, the Cleveland, Miss., native struggled in the remaining two ballgames, scoring a combined seven points and shooting only 3-of-11 from the field against Western Kentucky and Georgia Tech. According to Johnson, much of the challenge for O’Bryant is staying on an even-keel, particularly when the ball doesn’t quite bounce his way. “His learning curve in terms of him understanding what needs to be done and what we want done, he has a good basketball IQ,” said Johnson. “But in terms of him being able to play through adversity, he’s got a way to go. He has a tendency to get down on himself if the ball doesn’t go in for him and things don’t happen, but that’s typical for most freshmen. “You talk about Anthony Hickey - I thought his greatest improvement, after not playing well against Coastal Carolina, was he was real consistent in his approach to the game, not getting down on himself the next three games. Johnny gets a lot done just off natural ability, but for him it’s about when things don’t go well he’s got to keep his head up, literally, and push through.” But, even though the Tigers’ dam sprung a few leaks early, LSU salvaged the trip with a pair of good defensive efforts on Friday and Sunday, holding the Hilltoppers to 57 and the Yellow Jackets to 50 in taking fifth-place in the tourney. “It was disappointing, but there wasn’t doubt,” Turner described, giving the team’s mindset after losing the Northwestern. “Coach Johnson kept saying ‘We have a quick turnaround.’ So you have to forget about it, put in the past and get ready for the next game.” LSU did just that to close out its stay in Charleston. The next game for the Tigers now is a meeting with South Alabama tomorrow evening in the PMAC at 7 p.m. Johnson was quick to point out the difficulties in facing the Jaguars, a team led by 13th-year headman Ronnie Arrow. “For me all I have to do is take a look at their game tape versus Mississippi State,” Johnson continued. “In the second half it was 33-33. They’re very athletic. They’re very explosive. What I’ve tried to emphasize to our guys is we’ve got to build off our defensive performance we had the last time out. This is a team that can cause problems for you.” For the Tigers, it’ll be just as much about continuing to find their identity as it is worrying about the team on the opposing bench. “It’s starting to work,” Turner said of the perimeter players meshing together. “We’re starting to get comfortable with each other. We’re starting to build a chemistry and figure each other out. I think it’ll help us moving forward … It’s a lot about just knowing our roles.” The Tigers will continue to carve out their niche in 2011-12 as the schedule picks back up after a Thanksgiving weekend lull. Following the break, LSU travels to Houston and Rutgers before returning home for dates with Boise State, UC-Irvine and Marquette.