BATON ROUGE — LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady and players Tasmin Mitchell, Chris Johnson, Alex Farrer and Garrett Temple met with the meeting Thursday prior to Saturday’s 8 p.m. contest at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Arkansas.
The game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and televised on ESPN Classic.
Tickets are available at LSUsports.net and at the LSU Athletics Department Ticket Office for $14 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 3-12).
Here are some of the comments from today’s conference by Coach John Brady and the LSU basketball players:
Coach John Brady.
Opening statement…
“I appreciate everyone coming. I just want to share some things with all of you. I have some players here too, and feel free to talk to them when this concludes. First of all, I’ve always tried to be to the point and honest in my approach when I am asked a question. I hope that I say the right things or take it in the right way. I know sometimes when you watch it on TV, I’m only given about 10 to 15 seconds, so I hope the context of what we are talking about isn’t limited to that. I can’t control that, but I am aware of it. I am also very aware of the disappointment, criticism and where our team finds itself. Some of the (team’s) problems are not self-inflicted, as you know.
“As a coach, my main concern is the players. My main concern is to do everything I can, in spite of the things that have happened, to give them the best chance to play the best it possibly can. I’m very open and honest with our team about where we are. I can’t shelter them. They read and they hear. My concern is for them and how they feel.”
“The main reason I am here today is because of my concern for them and to try to create the best atmosphere for them to have the most success they can possibly have. The responsibility of it all, I know where it falls. (The players) are positive toward one another and I’m positive toward them. We are creating a positive atmosphere recognizing what is going on around us, within the locker room and on the practice floor.”
“We have six more home games. What I am asking is for all of us, I know the players and the coaching staff is doing it, is to give this team the best opportunity for success it can have. Not taking responsibility or trying to do anything else but give this team an opportunity. They love playing for LSU, they are committed to being here and they wear purple and gold. Their attitudes have been good knowing full well what is going on around them. They know full and well about speculation and criticism.”
“I met with Skip (Bertman) Wednesday about this specific thing, nothing else, just about this team and my concern as their coach in providing them an environment they can achieve the most success in. Skip (Bertman) was on board with that. He sent out an email to TAF members, every student and season ticket holders. I have been told we touched about 30,000 people with that same attitude and same message and that is the reason that this press conference was called. Anything else, the decisions about where we are or where we are going will take care of itself at the appropriate time.”
“My main focus, along with our coaches and players, is doing what we can the best we can do it. We want to ask people to create an environment for them, in the last six home games, of support and understanding. We know exactly where we are; we know what needs to be done and what is going on. No one hurts more than the players, but their attitudes toward what we are trying to do have been great. I want to continue to give them the best possible environment I can to achieve success. We have been there before we know what it is about.”
“This team has taken some hits, but certainly I appreciate the attitude they continue to play with and the determination they continue to show. I want this team to have the best chance to have the success that they need and deserve. That success should be based on how hard they have worked and how hard they will continue to work. That is the reason I wanted you here today and I appreciate you being here.”
On if not having a game on Wednesday helps to change the pace up…
“We didn’t practice Monday, although we did watch tape for an hour and a half. We had two good practices Tuesday and Wednesday. We practiced about two hours and fifteen minutes with eight players and a couple of managers. We did the things we think are necessary. What we are trying to do is create a string of positive plays and eliminate negative plays. We have proven we can play some quality basketball for moments, but we need to play it for longer stretches in order to be on the positive end of the score at the end of the game. That is what we are trying to do right now.”
On the team improving on offense since the Mississippi State game…
“I think we have played more aggressively offensively since that game. After that game, it had to go up. If it went down, we would be in real trouble. Not that we don’t have our own set of problems now. Certainly after that game, our players agreed that game was strange in terms of the ball being shot well, but not going in the goal. Our shooting percentage has been good enough. It seems to me we have moments of play where we are not consistent in our scoring. It also seems to me in the last eight to ten minutes of the game we have a hard time making consecutive stops. I don’t know if that is because of personnel, lack of depth, inexperience or whatever the case may be.
“Down the stretch, we haven’t been able to get the number of necessary stops we need against quality teams. The last few days of practice that has been our main focus. We have been focusing on close outs, stopping double-penetration, helping recover, keeping teams from getting easy baskets around our goal and rebounding the ball. These were our concerns early in the year too when the team was whole. Our concerns were defending the goal and rebounding the ball.
“Now with the numbers it has become more evident of where we are with that. I think we stabilized the rebounding a little bit, but we have still been giving up too many easy baskets around the goal. Hopefully we can correct and stabilize that part of the defensive game a little bit.”
On how the team has changed since the Canada trip to now…
“Our team was as whole as it could be when we went to Canada. When you think back to Hawaii, in the first five minutes Tasmin Mitchell is out after Quinton Thornton tore a muscle away from his bone the opening week of practice and Chris Johnson broke his hand against Tulane. All of that is what happened in the past, but I’m talking about right now and what we need to do as a coaching staff and a team to play our last six home games and the last twelve games we have to have the best chance for success. That is why I’m asking people, regardless of what they personally think, to pull for these young men. They are aware of what is going on. There is no one stepping around or dodging anything. The fact of the matter is these guys are here committed to LSU. They are wearing that uniform and working hard. Everyone is showing up to practice. There is no dissention or animosity between coaches or players. They are as well aware of the situation of where they find themselves as I am as a coach. I know whose responsibility that is.”
“We are trying to control the things we can control and not make excuses for the things we can’t control. The focus for me as a coach has always been about the players and what is best for them. When I went to Skip (Bertman) (Wednesday), he agreed that this is a good approach. This is the approach that I thought was best and I have talked to the team about it.”
Junior Forward Tasmin Mitchell
On the progress of his recovery from injury…
“The foot feels good, everything feels good. I should be back within the next month.”
On how difficult it is to sit on the bench and watch his teammates play…
“It’s very difficult because I want to be out there with my teammates. They’re my brothers. Having been on the bench, I think it will make me a better player. I’ve been able to see the game from a coach’s point of view. The stuff that (the players) do on the court I get to see from a coach’s standpoint. I felt like I was letting my teammates down a little bit, even though (the injury) wasn’t my fault. I don’t know why I got injured, but I’m sure God has a plan and a reason and I’m just doing my best to get back out there as soon as I can.”
On what he thinks the problem has been with the team this year…
“We’ve been playing well in parts, but we just can’t get a whole game together. We’ll have a good ten minutes in the first half then a good ten minutes in the second half, but you can’t win like that in the SEC. You’ve got to put together a full, whole game.”
On if the team’s inexperience and lack of personnel hurt them this year…
“All of that ? inexperience, lack of depth ? that’s played a big role. We haven’t had a whole year together. With the injuries, the lack of leadership has hurt us. Garrett Temple and I are the only ones who really have a lot of experience playing at this level. The reason we had a lot of success our Final Four year was the leadership on that team.”
Junior Guard Garrett Temple
On the recent injuries and losses for the team…
“We really have never had the whole team together. In Maui, Quintin Thornton was out and Tasmin Mitchell only played the first five minutes of the game. Then Quintin comes back and Dameon Mason‘s out for the season and Chris Johnson gets hurt and we have a makeshift lineup, but we still have guys here with the talent to win games and compete at this level. We just have to figure out the formula to get that done. Hopefully, when Chris gets back in a few weeks we’re going to have it all together and give ourselves a chance to fight for the lead in the SEC West.”
On if it’s tough to be a player during a losing season with fan criticism…
“The LSU fans are special fans. When you’re winning, they’re the best. When you’re losing they’re going to be just like any other fans. The fans should come out and support us. We have a young team and young guys who are still playing hard. For Anthony Randolph to go out against Vanderbilt and get 19 rebounds ? I don’t think Tyrus (Thomas) or Glen (Davis) ever did that. We have guys that are still going to compete and play hard and we love playing the game of basketball and we love being at LSU. We still have 12 games left. My brother (former LSU basketball player Collis Temple III) was 1-7 in the SEC during his junior year and they won seven out of their last eight games and made it to the tournament. Anything can happen, especially in the SEC. We’ve got a chance against Arkansas. They’re 2-2 and we have a chance against them at home and I hope (fans) come out and support us so we can get that win.”