BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s basketball team held its annual basketball media days Tuesday in preparation for the 2006-07 season. Here are some of the opening comments from LSU Coach John Brady:
Opening statement…
“I want to apologize for not being here last week (when the women’s media day was held). I would rather us do this together, but I had already committed to go watch Tyrus (Thomas) play in his first exhibition game in Chicago. He practiced and played well and last night he hit a shot to send the game into overtime so I can tell they are pleased with his progression at this point.”
On last year’s team…
“Just to touch on last year’s team briefly because I have been here long enough to know that nobody is concerned with what you did a year ago however significant it may have been but they are worried about what you do tomorrow. Last year’s team was as fun of a team as I have ever coached in terms of the way they got a long and how they cared about each other. Those intangibles were really factors in how well we played from the midpoint of the season and beyond. I will always be appreciative of those players in the way they conducted themselves, not only in how well they played but the way they handled everything we had gone through a year ago with the state.”
On this year’s team…
“I told the team the first time we met the Sunday night before school started that our biggest challenge would be overcoming our most recent success. I stressed to each player that there should be no player on this team that takes away the momentum we created a year ago, in a way that would stop us from doing as well as we possibly can. Whether that is missing a class, missing practice, being late, not playing hard or whatever those things may be we cannot allow those things to happen. If we don’t handle the success we created a year ago by not doing what is necessary to grow, improve and stay competitive, then certainly we will be disappointed. I do feel that if this team handles that great success and does the things we need to do on daily basis to improve then this is a team that can accomplish something significant.”
On Glen Davis…
“He had a fabulous sophomore year and there is no reason he won’t do the same things this year and possibly better with his weight loss.”
On Darnell Lazare…
“He will anchor this team from a leadership standpoint since he is our only senior. Certainly he had his moments last year, particularly in the first half of the Duke game where he scored ten points in the first half. That helped us to have a lead in the game even though Glen and Tyrus were both in foul trouble.”
On Garrett Temple…
“He obviously established himself with his performance against J.J. Redick last year. He is one of the best defenders in our league. There is no reason why that would change. What we do expect is for him to improve his scoring. He is just like his older brother (Collis Temple) in that he gets up every morning at 6 a.m. and shoots 400-450 balls. With the practices we have had so far, he has shown to us that he has improved his shooting ability.”
On Tasmin Mitchell…
“He made the All-SEC Freshmen team last year and people have commented to me that ?Tasmin didn’t really have the year you thought.’ And I agreed. However, if you look at his numbers there isn’t much difference when comparing them to Glen Davis and Brandon Bass the years they won SEC Freshmen of the Year. The problem with Tasmin is he played behind the SEC Freshmen of the Year Tyrus Thomas and the SEC Player of the Year Glen Davis. But if you remember when Tyrus missed four games late in the season, Tasmin was able to average in the neighborhood of 18 points a game. This year it is necessary for him to go from 12 points a game to 16 or 17 points a game and I don’t see any reason he won’t be able to accomplish that.”
On Magnum Rolle…
“Not to compare him to Tyrus Thomas but I think what people will see is a similar progression in terms of how at first people didn’t know much about Tyrus to ?Wow! Who is this guy?’ I think Magnum has the same type of chance because he didn’t get a chance to show a lot of what who he was last year because of Glen, Tyrus and Darnell. This year he has improved his strength, is playing a lot harder and his confidence level is extremely high. In terms of running, blocking shots and the ability to shoot the ball his progression should be the same as Tyrus.”
On Chris Johnson…
“We are going to try and play Chris Johnson around the goal even though he is not as strong as we would like. He has gotten stronger, but hasn’t gained that much weight. We are going to try to get him around the basket along with Glen, Darnell and Magnum because I think that is the best opportunity for him to get some minutes.”
On Dameon Mason…
“He is extremely athletic and was a two-year starter at Marquette. He has played in some big games and knows what that is about. He will be part of our leadership stability on this team because he is extremely mature and has a great approach to how the game should be played. Him along with Garrett and Tasmin can be three good perimeter defenders because of their strength and length.”
On Terry Martin…
“In our first five workouts he has shown a strong ability to shoot the ball. I don’t know if he is as clutch of a shooter as Darrel Mitchell, but certainly with the loss of Darrel he can compensate for that. He can play three positions either the one, two or three spot. He will be eligible for either the Oregon State game or Washington game depending on how soon we get his grades posted.”
On Ben Voogd…
“He was overwhelmed at times last year because of the league that he came from and where he is now. Now his confidence level is very high and has improved.”
On Alex Farrer…
“He will give us an opportunity to shoot the ball at times and make shots from the perimeter.”
On Tack Minor…
“We will see how Tack handles coming back and fitting in. His biggest challenge will be to overcome our team’s most recent accomplishments. Certainly there is no question about his speed and quickness, but is he willing to do what is necessary to make his team better? Hopefully with sitting out last year and watching the team with the success they had, it will make him understand what it takes to get there.”
Following the end of the press conference, the media adjourned to the Maravich Center for pictures and player interviews that began following the conclusion of the LSU Lady Tigers practice. Once there, Coach John Brady reconvened the media gathering to issue this statement:
“Glen Davis is not here due to personal issues, I don’t know any details. I just got a phone call, he’s got some personal issues he’s dealing with and that’s all I know. As soon as I find out something, we’ll tell you what those were or whatever we need to do. He’s not here because of that and that’s all I know.”
The team then took team and individual pictures and interviewed by various media members. Here are the quotes from several of the players on the 2006-07 squad as recorded by LSU Sports Information:
Darnell Lazare, F, Senior
On the expectations for the season…
“This year we’ve got a little preseason buzz going around, so the bar is a little bit higher, but we’re looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to be an exciting year. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back from last year so we’re looking forward to the season.”
On what is going to make this season special…
“I think the camaraderie of the team off the floor, everybody enjoys each others company we have a feel for one another when we play together. And then returning off the high we had last year I think it’s going to be a good year for us.”
On playing without Darrel Mitchell and Tyrus Thomas…
“I think everybody has to step up their game another level. During this off-season everybody worked on their game, a lot of people went to some camps, had some individual workouts, so everybody’s taking their game to another level. Now it’s just a matter of putting it all together to be a good team.”
Magnum Rolle, F, Sophomore
On being a starter for the first time this season…
“It doesn’t affect me at all. I’m anxious to just go in and contribute to the team, whether I’m starting or coming off the bench. It’s really Coach Brady’s decision. I’ve been working really hard during practice, whether its running plays, playing offense, defense, whatever it is Coach Brady needs me to contribute, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m very excited coming from sitting on the bench to being back in rotation. It’s a good feeling. This team is not a selfish team, we love each other, and we share the ball. We’ve got some good chemistry right now.”
Tack Minor, G, Junior
On returning after his injury…
“It just made me think. The team really didn’t need me. That’s what made me change my mindset and be a team leader. If you have a big head that you’re going to do everything and that you’re controlling the team, and then you get hurt, you have see somebody else do it, and do it better than you. It makes you have doubts. I’ve realized that and I’ve learned from it and I’m just ready to get back on the floor.”
Dameon Mason, G/F, Junior
On how he plans on contributing to the team…
“I’m going to play a couple of different positions. Whatever they need me to do I’m going to try to do. Its still going to be team basketball still have the same concepts of inside, outside. It’s still the same team, just some different faces. We’re probably adding some things that are better, losing some things with Darrel Mitchell and Tyrus Thomas, but we added some things that will help also.”
On the leadership of the team…
“It’s part of my character, being a leader. The thing about this team that’s so great is that everybody has very definite leadership qualities. This team is full of leaders. It’s not just one person who keeps everybody in line, everybody keeps everybody in line, and everybody steps up when they have to say something. It’s an outstanding team to be on.”
Tasmin Mitchell F, Sophomore
On being the team that everyone looks at…
“Man it feels good. Last year all our hard work paid off. This is a new year we are not thinking about what we did last year. It’s time to move on to the present year. We are just trying to get better as a team.”
On staying hungry…
“The key to staying hungry is not to think about what happened last year. Last year was great there are a lot of memories, but we need to think about the present and come to practice everyday and work hard.”
On losing two big players…
“We have Darnell that is going to come in and play a major role from what he did last year. Now that Tyrus is gone we have Magnum coming in. With the guys gone, my role will increase and everything is going to be ok. It’s hard to replace players like that.
On the excitement of this year…
“Yes sir it will be an exciting year. With our fans coming out to supports us early on it will help. I won’t say we are a prefect team, but we are trying to do the right things this year to win.”
On stepping in to the role of the lost players…
“It’s hard to replace a great shooter like Darrell. But with me, Garrett, and Dameon Mason can do is try to combined together and cover the perimeter shots.”
Garrett Temple G, Sophomore
On the hard practices…
“It’s good to have this type of practice, so when we come into the game its like second nature.”
On blocking abilities …
“Definitely Tasmin came and he knew he needed to work on his ball handling. I think we knew that after the Houston game we needed to find some way to handle the ball better. I think we did a good job of that at the end of the season.”
Terry Martin G, sophomore
On coming to LSU…
“I really wasn’t happy with the school. I wanted to be closer to home because I was home sick.”
On his role on the team…
“To play defense and shot the ball. I want to be in when the team needs it the most of. I want to help the team win.”