By Alex Restrepo
LSU Sports Informaton
When LSU’s leading returning scorer Tasmin Mitchell went down with season-ending ankle surgery in November, the Tigers needed a go-to scorer. It didn’t take long for LSU to find not just one but two.
LSU’s new leading scorers are both first-year Tigers. They both arrived at LSU with different backgrounds. Marcus Thornton, a Baton Rouge native, is a junior college transfer who says it is “truly a dream come true” to have the opportunity to play Division 1 basketball. Anthony Randolph is a Dallas native that was a highly touted recruit who received offers from a number of top programs.
LSU opened Southeastern Conference play with a 0-5 record. However, the two LSU rookies have led what Thronton calls a “rebirth” for the Tigers as they closed out the regular season by winning four of their last five.
Randolph and Thornton lead the rejuvenated Tigers into the SEC Tournament where they will face South Carolina Thursday at noon.
The two All-SEC performers know their next game could be their last this season but their late season success proves neither is ready to see their purple and gold premiere end anytime soon.
Learning from the Best
Growing up, both Randolph and Thornton looked up to NBA players who they thought played the game the way they did.
Randolph was a “big time” fan of Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. Randolph continues to follow the two NBA All-Stars and was even encouraged by LSU assistant coach John Treloar to study film on his childhood role models and other NBA forwards.
“When I watch film on those guys, I am following their balance,” Randolph said. “Everything is under control. They are balanced whenever they go to the basket. Watching them has helped me a lot by just learning and studying their moves.”
Randolph’s improvement was showcased in the final eight games of the regular season when the 6-foot-10 forward averaged 19.9 points and 8.4 rebounds. The freshman sensation notched double doubles in four games during that stretch.
As beneficial as the NBA film studies are for Randolph, he says interim head coach Butch Pierre has been his biggest learning tool.
“I feel more comfortable with coach Pierre here,” explained Randolph. “It is just like family with the coaches and players, and he is a big reason for that. He is one of the biggest reasons I came to LSU after seeing what he has accomplished and the people he helped bring here like Glen Davis, Tyrus Thomas and Brandon Bass. Seeing a guy like Tyrus, who specializes in blocking shots, go so high in the draft was cool. I kind of do that but still contribute with other things.”
Pierre knows Randolph will one day make the leap to the NBA like Davis, Thomas and Bass did and says Randolph has only “scratched the surface” with what he can do on the basketball court.
“I have been very fortunate to coach a lot of big guys that went on to the NBA,” said Pierre. “Randolph has the potential to be one of those. I built a good relationship with Anthony and his family during the recruiting process. He is a player that is still in his developing stages.”
Thornton was intrigued by Joe Johnson, who currently plays for the Atlanta Hawks.
“When I was growing up, I was a huge (Michael) Jordan fan,” explained Thornton. “As I got older, I started watching Joe Johnson. He had a similar game to mine and I tried to follow him and pattern my game after him. Hopefully I can reach his level one day.”
Thornton said his aspirations of playing in the NBA got a reality check when he first arrived at LSU. The Baton Rouge native said the transition from junior college to the SEC was tough at first. Most notably, the amount of games and the players’ speed is what originally caught him off guard.
Pierre said when Thornton first arrived on campus, he wasn’t sure what the team needed from him. Early in the season, Pierre challenged his first-year Tiger to give the team everything he had.
“Marcus is not your typical junior college player,” said Pierre. “He is a great kid with good habits. He goes to school and works hard with a great attitude. He did struggle at first. When we were struggling earlier in the year, I use to tell him that ?you are a good player on a bad team.’ He asked ?Coach why are you so cold about it.’ I told him that is just the way it is.”
Pierre explained to his newcomer that the team needed “a little extra” from him for the Tigers to turn around their misfortune.
Thornton answered Pierre’s challenge at Auburn on Jan. 30. The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter lit Auburn up for 38 points, including a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to put LSU ahead 81-80. Thornton provided that “little extra” Pierre wanted by bringing down seven rebounds.
“Before the Auburn game, we had let a lot of games slip away,” said Thornton. “I didn’t want that to happen again. I felt I had to do whatever the team needed me to do to get our first SEC win. They gave me the ball down the stretch and I was able to hit some crucial shots.”
At the time, Thornton’s 38 points was the most scored by an SEC player since 1995. He had an encore 38-point performance in the season finale against SEC West champ Mississippi State.
One-Two Punch
Thornton and Randolph have gelled well together and are the second best scoring tandem in the SEC with 35.1 combined points a game.
Thornton said he was motivated to be a top scorer early in year when Mitchell went down with a ankle surgery.
Thornton was well aware of Mitchell’s abilities before he got to LSU. Thornton was staring at Tara high school from 2001-04 when Mitchell was making a name for himself in Denham Springs. They were two of the state’s premiere players and Mitchell outduled Thornton for Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball title in 2004.
“Taz is a great player and knows the game very well,” explained Thornton. “Taz going down kind of hurt us at first. He was the leading scorer before I got here, and I have known him since high school. I was looking forward to playing with him when I signed. I know what he is capable of so seeing him go down was disappointing. With a big part of the team like Taz out, everybody had to step up their role.”
Randolph believes he and Thornton’s success on the court is enhanced by the friendship they built off of it.
“He is a joker and a real cool guy to be around outside of basketball,” said Randolph. “He is a great scorer. It is almost impossible to stop him when he is hitting jumpers, but even if he is not hitting them, he can drive to the basket. He is an all-around great player.”
Randolph’s demeanor surprised Thornton when the two first met. Knowing he was highly recruited out of high school, Thornton thought Randolph would be more talkative.
“At first, he was quiet and just didn’t say much,” said Thornton. “As the year went along, he started expressing himself a lot more. He has become a better player down the stretch and has shown more emotion on the court.”
Randolph’s emotion is exemplified the most whenever he blocks a shot. The towering forward says a block can change the momentum of a game more than anything else.
“More than anything, blocks get your team pumped up,” said Randolph. “Just to be able to stop a player and throw the ball on the other end of the court lets your opponent know they aren’t going to get anything easy.”
LSU’s dynamic duo will play in its first conference tournament beginning Thursday.
Thronton says the team sees the SEC Tournament as a new season and is excited for the challenge.
“We are going in the tournament with a lot of momentum,” he said. “Coach Pierre has been harping on us a lot saying we have the potential to win every game. We are going in there smelling blood and we hope to survive through it by playing as hard as we can every possession.”