BATON ROUGE — Only 1,700 tickets remain for LSU’s game against No. 15 Xavier in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday night and less than a thousand remain for the Tigers’ game against Arkansas next Saturday, a contest that has been designated as the celebration of 100 years of LSU Basketball.
Saturday’s game against Xavier is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. The LSU-Arkansas game on January 31 will start at 4 p.m. and will be surrounded by activities celebrating the centennial season of Tiger basketball.
“The crowds are growing and bringing more enthusiasm and excitement to the arena,” said Joe Alleva, LSU director of athletics. “It is encouraging to see the growing support for Tiger basketball.”
Tickets are only $5 for youth (ages 3-12) and for adults start as low as $11 for the Xavier game and $14 for the Arkansas game. Tickets are available at the LSU Athletic Ticket Office, online at LSUsports.net and by phone at (225) 578-2184.
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON QUOTES
Opening statement …
“Xavier is pretty good. Obviously, there is a lot of rich tradition with their basketball program and they have had a nucleus of players over the years. A lot of them have been good players that have gone into the NBA. This is a basketball team that is very skilled at any time one of any four guys can come out and transition, which causes some problems for us on a transition defense. Mentally, they are a very tough team and what you would expect from a team that has had a lot of postseason experience and tradition. We are going to have to be very good and one thing that concerns me is offensively, we talk about making good hard cuts and setting good screens from start to finish. Going back to Mississippi State, to start the game, I made the comment that it looked like we were walking in mud because we weren’t cutting hard and sharp, but we were able to get by because of our length and our execution in the second half. Against a team like this you have to be at your best and cut hard. It will be a matter of will and mental toughness and who has ability to execute and get worn down. This is a team that is coming in here where we have to beat them, they will not beat themselves.”
On what he feels the team has accomplished this season …
“I feel that we have gotten better. We have thirteen games to play and its not my first dance now. I told them I didn’t want to take away from their excitement because their record is what it is, but there are games to play and possession left to compete. As much as it may be hard for them, they have to stay grounded and understand that have to come out and play there is not a team on our schedule that we aren’t capable of competing with and possibly winning, but there isn’t a team on our schedule we aren’t capable of losing to.”
On the first time he realized Bo Spencer could be point guard …
“It was more to where I felt comfortable after we had gone through games. For me, we had a conversation when things weren’t going well and you could tell he really wanted to play basketball and had a level of toughness.
“I want to say maybe two or three weeks into practice. We hadn’t had a game and there was a lot going in the confines of practice and he had to weather the storm and he showed a level of toughness and a basketball IQ. It takes time. I don’t make rash decisions.
“We have thirteen games to play before we go to the SEC Tournament. We have a lot of room to grow. Do I fully anticipate there being a period where we could struggle? Yes, no question . We are going to have to weather some storms like a lot of people are. If anyone is thinking, “We are taking off.” Our margin of error is what it is.”
On what if he looks at this game as important for recruiting …
“Because this is the SEC, I tend to think of as even if we don’t play well; guys understand that we have spots available. If we do play well, plus two. I dwell on the positive, not on the negative. Our Utah game was on TV. National exposure is what it is, but I’m about substance. This is LSU and we are going to play a certain way and we want kids that want to be here and compete at a high level.”
On what he highlights to his team about games …
“You don’t have to show them what they did well. Kids are no different that coaches. When I feel like I didn’t do my job I go back and rehash that. When I feel like we weren’t playing well, those are the things I bring up to them, but not in a negative fashion. You have to show them and say, ?This isn’t us.’ Then you show them what they are capable of.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On the first time Coach Johnson approached him about being point guard …
“As we started to meet over the summer, he told me I was going to be a big part of this team and that I would be point guard with a lot of things falling on my shoulders.”
On what Coach Johnson told him was expected of him as point guard …
“He told me I was going to have to be able to run the team and coach the guys on the floor. He told me that when everyone got down on the floor, I was the one that was going to have to keep them up by showing good leadership. He told me there were going to be bad times and good times and no matter I did, just stay poised and be a leader.”
On what he feels he has improved on since last season …
“I think I have improved on my defense and leadership. Being poised with the ball and always thinking about scoring. I want to make my teammates better.”
On how he feels about playing a physical team such as Xavier …
“That’s why we go to the weight room everyday, to get ready for games like this. (Xavier) might by 6-6 and 225 lbs but we have use our physical abilities against them and slow them down from posting up and what they are good at.”
On what he feels the game against Xavier will accomplish …
“We have talked about this. We didn’t play well at Utah and came back to an Alabama game where people say maybe we ought to have won, but we competed and didn’t win. Then we beat two teams we were maybe supposed to beat and when Mississippi State came in, we beat them pretty soundly. I think we have done all that we could have done with the exception of Alabama up until this point. We have another big test on hands with Xavier and it will challenge and show us where we are at this point in the season. I think it’s the perfect time for this game. Even if we have a slip-up, it still won’t count against our conference record. It’s just good to test us and see where we are in the national rankings.”