February 28, 2019
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Friday, Mar 1 BASEBALL VS NICHOLLS STATE 5:45
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
At this point, the question is not “can” LSU basketball win the SEC Championship. Clearly, the opportunity is within their grasp. The question should be, “What does LSU need to do in order to win out?” That is the question because we have to assume that either Tennessee or Kentucky will win out.
At the same time, winning an SEC Championship when the SEC has teams like Tennessee and Kentucky means the conversation inherently leads to wondering how deep LSU can go in the Big Dance.
With this big picture in mind and observing LSU’s last three games, one aspect stands out for me above the others. For those who have only watched Javonte Smart at LSU, I am sure you only realized how good he is after watching the Tennessee game. For those of us who have been trying to beat Scotlandville the last four years, we already knew.
Early in the season, the freshmen had to adjust to college basketball. That adjustment has been made. Days, Reid, Williams, and Smart are not the same players they were in November.
The issue for LSU is trying to find a way for “ball dominant” players to be themselves, but blend together offensively. If the last sentence doesn’t make sense, let me try to explain.
Ball dominant players are most comfortable having the ball in their hand for a significant portion of a possession. They are playmakers that see the game better when they initiate offense and plays are designed for them. Typically, they prefer to shoot off the dribble. Famously, Harden, Westbrook, Durant, and LeBron are ball dominant players. For LSU, Smart, Waters, and Mays are inherently ball dominant players (which makes sense because they are all point guards by nature).
What types of players score well, but are not ball dominant players? Klay Thompson is the best example in the NBA because he famously can score a ton of points on very few dribbles. He is a catch and shoot player who can score off screens or the drive, but his drives are usually 1-2 dribbles only. Darius Days and Marlon Taylor are not ball dominant players for LSU and Skylar Mays has developed to where he can be effective without being ball dominant.
LSU’s post players can score as the result of an offensive rebound, finishing after a great pass or a simple catch and shoot in the case of Days and Reid. Too often, though, LSU’s guards have not blended together. Mays and Smart did against Tennessee.
To be clear, I am not condemning any of LSU’s players or the coaches. Smart and Waters are great players, very skilled, and wonderfully competitive. Nevertheless, LSU has a tendency to get stagnant and struggle on offense because there is a lack of flow between the guards.
I hope LSU continues a trend I saw in the Texas A&M game. That would be, it would be for any of the guards (Mays, Waters, or Smart) to bring the ball up the floor and initiate offense. There are many times where Smart will get a rebound and pass it backard to Waters who brings the ball up the floor to start offense. There are other occasions where Reid will get a rebound, pass it to Mays, who will then pass it backward to Waters to bring up the floor. Against A&M there were long outlet passes that got the ball up the floor quicker. One of these led to a Naz Reid dunk in the first half.
Pushing the ball up the floor with different guards would have a few positive results. First, Waters might get some easy open looks in transition which would be nice since it is usually so hard for him to get a look because the entire defense is geared to stop him. Second, it might get LSU an easy inside shot because the transition defense runs to Waters and the post defense might be late getting back. Third, it might get Smart into the flow of offensive possessions where he is more comfortable.
I recognize someone could read what I have written and think I am making a mountain out of a molehill. LSU is #13 in the country and tied for the SEC lead. Furthermore, LSU has one of the highest scoring offenses in the SEC. Both are valid points.
But, a good bit of the scoring can be accounted for by outstanding offensive rebounding. And there have been games when LSU has really struggled to score down the stretch which is what it will take to win tournament games. Also, LSU struggles offensively against teams with big guards when everything runs through Waters.
LSU has had a fantastic season. They are probably going to finish first or second in the SEC, and should do well in the SEC Tournament. They will be a top 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. All that will probably happen if the team does not progress beyond where they are at this point.
Still, think back to December. This team took a leap forward from December to January. It is possible for teams, especially young teams, to take one more leap forward as they head down the home stretch. For this team, get back to finishing around the rim and make some of the wide open outside shots they have been getting and the sky's the limit.
HEY REF
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