by Joey Papania
LSUsports.net
BATON ROUGE — When the time came for Torris Bright to choose a college, his impressive high school resume could have landed him anywhere in the country.
He scored 70 points in a single high school game and also enjoyed single game efforts with 21 assists and 10 steals. He finished his senior season one rebound away from a triple double with 33.3 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds per game.
The Louisiana Sports Writers Association named the four-year letterman at Slidell High School All-State three times. The talented young athlete had college coaches salivating at the mere thought of signing Torris Bright.
But it was John Brady, a young, ambitious coach that lured Bright away from the rest of the nation. Brady came to LSU with the undaunted task of nursing a wounded program back to prosperity.
Prior to Brady’s arrival LSU had suffered through four straight losing seasons and had won just three out of its last 16 SEC match-ups. The program was in pieces, and it was the job of Brady and his staff to put those pieces back together.
“I wanted to come to LSU and use my talents and abilities to turn around the basketball program,” Bright said. “Starting as a freshman put a lot of pressure on me, but it showed that coach Brady had a lot of confidence in me.”
Not only did Bright step immediately into a starting role, he remained there starting all 34 of the Tigers games as a true freshman. He also led the Tigers in minutes, playing an average of 33.4 minutes per game.
Though coach Brady and his staff still have much work to do, Bright has helped fuel the Tiger progress ahead of schedule. Hampered by scholarship restrictions, LSU needed players that could provide an immediate impact.
The Tigers have not benefited from such immediate impact in the backcourt since Chris Jackson stepped onto the floor in 1988. Though Bright’s numbers may not be as prolific as Jackson’s, his impact is just as, if not more imperative than that of Jackson’s.
In his first season with LSU, Bright helped guide the Tigers to the NCAA Sweet 16 and to its first SEC title in almost 10 years.
“We shocked everyone last year,” Bright said. “We knew our potential, and we could have really gone farther than the Sweet 16. Anything can happen when you make it to the NCAA Tournament.”
But the Tigers journey has been impeded time and time again. After losing two of the most prominent big men in the country in Jabari Smith and Stromile Swift, LSU’s lone post player, Brad Bridgewater, was sidelined with a torn ACL before the start of the season.
To make matters worse, the only scholarship player coach Brady was allotted to sign, JueMichael Young, was a partial qualifier, and 11 games into the season, senior Lamont Roland went down with a season ending injury.
“Our expectations have changed a lot with Brad and Lamont going down and JueMichael not being able to play,” Bright said. “We have a lot of pressure on us, and we have to practice harder, play harder and stay focused. There are many people out there that don’t think we will do well this year, so we will just have to prove them wrong and open their eyes like we did a year ago.”
Bright knew his role in the 2000-2001 season would differ from a year ago. With the absence of Swift and Smith, the Tigers lost almost 38 percent of last season’s points. Not only has Bright had to take on a scoring role, but he has also had to take on a leadership role, a role that he has accepted, but is still adjusting to.
“I need to take better control of the team and run the team more than I did last year,” Bright said. “In high school, I was more of a leader by example. But as I have matured as a player, I have learned to take better shots, and I have started to become more of a vocal leader.”
So far this year, Bright has already increased his production. He is shooting nearly 49 percent from the floor, 44 percent from beyond the three-point line and 76 percent from the charity stripe. He is among the league leaders in assists, steals and three-point percentage.
Through all the hardships this season, Bright still knows that the Tigers’ ultimate success this year is in the hands of the team.
“We can make the season whatever we want it to be,” Bright said. “Whether we have a winning season or a losing season and how far we will go is up to us.”