When someone talks about Jaime Lloreda and his success this year — Do You Get It?
When someone calls him an “old school” type of player — Do You Get It?
When opposing coaches call him such terms as “a load” and “a warrior” — Do You Get It?
When you see double-doubles featuring consistently gaudy rebound numbers — Do You Get It?
Finally, when people comment that Jaime Lloreda is a talented reason LSU is competing for a top spot in the SEC and an NCAA Tournament berth — Do You Get It?
Got it?
He’s not as flashy as Stromile, he doesn’t have the power of Shaquille or the gregarious smile of Jabari, but he has the ability and the drive to score and rebound at the most opportune times.
“Fans don’t see the subtleties of his game,” said LSU head basketball coach John Brady. “He doesn’t jump over people like Stromile (Swift) did and he doesn’t make spectacular plays, but he’s the guy you put your hat on in crunch time. Down the stretch, he just gets all the rebounds there were to get.”
He not only leads the Southeastern Conference in rebounds, he is dominating it. His February 10 average of 12.0 rebounds per game for the entire season is better than anyone else in the league by 2.1 boards a game and his 12.4 league game average is a staggering 3.7 rebounds better than anyone else in the league.
“Coach told me to go for every ball,” Lloreda said after a typical 17 point, 18-rebound performance against Arkansas (Feb. 7). “That’s what I do … it’s something I like to do.”
Plus, oh yea, this too. His rebound average is the second best in the nation.
“He’s just a rebounding machine,” said Brady.
“That’s just me. I used to watch Dennis Rodman a lot on TV. He’s a crazy guy. Every ball, he got. I always loved how he played, his toughness,” said Lloreda, a senior from Panama, who hasn’t gone tattoo crazy like his hero.
Two things tell you a lot about the art of rebounding. Jaime will be the first LSU player since Shaquille O’Neal in 1990, 1991 and 1992 and Geert Hammink in 1993 to average double figures for the season at LSU. The other thing is that it’s been 11 seasons since there was a double double at LSU. In the SEC, there have only been four double figure rebound averages since then, meaning double doubles averages at the end of the year are rare indeed and the numbers Lloreda is putting up place him in rarified air.
It’s the style of play I love about Lloreda that impresses me a lot more than others. But it’s a style that should impress the heck out of all those NBA scouts coming to the Maravich Center. I call it old school … others call it the finesse game … I just think it’s a damn good way to play in a day when everyone pays more attention to style than substance.
You watch a game and you see Jaime driving to the goal for a lay up … You see Jaime fighting for position on the low block, getting position and battling for another bucket … More than anything, you watch Jaime rebound, rebound, rebound and then rebound some more.
“I’m just low key, and I play hard,” said Lloreda. “I don’t think I’ve got the strength in my legs for the dunks. It’s more easy to lay it up than dunk it, and it’s the same two points as a dunk.”
So we come to the final three home games of the season and I wonder if you really do get it. Have you fully comprehended the type of player you’ve seen and enjoyed? A player who will league here with at least 40 wins in two years and more than likely, two NCAA berths in as many years.
When you stand together as one and applaud his work ethic, his desire and his success on Senior Night, then maybe I will finally think you, the fans, got it.