By Kent Lowe
Special to LSUsports.net
Sr. Associate Sports Information Director
It really only seems like just a couple of weeks ago I was in Albuquerque.
(Editors Note: Maybe we should clarify. He was in Albuquerque just 10 days ago with the LSU women’s basketball team. What he is referring to was his trip to Albuquerque last March for the Sweet 16. You’ll have to pardon him. His memory is a little shaky these days)
While the season ended at that point, it was one heck of a run. SEC Championship. NCAA wins. Packed arenas. Etc, etc, etc.
But that was then and this is now. (The first of many classic cliches I will spin this season.)
Another season begins this week with home games against Louisiana-Monroe and Norfolk State. Both of these teams will give this undermanned LSU team tests as to how far along they have come since opening practice on Oct. 15 and how far they must still travel.
Now I know all of you are probably wondering how “bad” this LSU basketball team is going to be. Well, that’s not the way to look at this season at all.
The question really should be how “good” will this LSU basketball team in relation to the talent on hand and the situation it finds itself in.
My opinion is that this team is going to do a pretty good job of staying in a lot of games it might appear to be overmatched in. It will be up to the players and coaches on this team to determine the ways to finish the game to give the Tigers the victory. If LSU learns to finish as it did a year ago, then there could be some surprises and I feel that a break even or winning record certainly isn’t out of the question for this team. With 26 regular season games on the schedule, there are certainly 13-15 games that can legitimately be put in the potential win category. Anything in that category would certainly be considered a success.
Now you say, how can that be for a team who had all the success of a year ago? Well, this is not last year’s team. Stromile and Jabari are in the NBA. We don’t need to go into the problems with the scholarship limitations, do we? Those of you who don’t understand them, please raise your hand. No sir, I said if you don’t understand, not if you think they aren’t fair. We all have thought they weren’t fair since that first ridiculous NCAA teleconference however many years ago that was.
But that’s what we have this year. The inability to replenish and grow the team has hit LSU finally because of the penalties. But there is a good news side of this thing. The re-growth of the team will start immediately and it is under way in a big time way. Three strong recruits have been signed and at least one more will come during the spring signing period. The LSU program is continuing to move forward in a good way.
That’s what is key to understanding the 2000-2001 season. No, this team is not as good as last year. Is it as bad as some people think? No way. But it is in that middle ground where it will have wild swings of good and bad play, probably. That’s why it will be so important at home for the fans to support and carry this team along. Now I’m realistic enough to know that 14,000 people are not going to show up every night to watch this team play. But the fans that want to watch a team trying hard and playing with that “Bradyball” intensity we’ve come to expect will be here and will be cheering hard and that is the first step to helping the team along.
So here we are on the brink of another season, not to be confused with a season on the brink. There is so much unknown about this season, I think that’s what makes it so intriguing. So let’s sit back, grab the popcorn and coke, kick our feet up and watch it unfold.
And as always, enjoy the games!!!