COLUMBIA, S.C. – The LSU men’s basketball team looks for its first road win and first Southeastern Conference victory when it travels here Wednesday to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST) at the Colonial Center.
The game will be televised on the over-the-air syndicated SEC Network (WAFB-TV, Channel 9 in Baton Rouge; check local listings in your area) and the radio broadcast will be available on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge) and in the GeauxZone at LSUsports.net
The Tigers are 0-1 in the league, 9-6 overall after a 66-49 loss at home to Alabama on Saturday. South Carolina is 10-5 and 1-0 in the league after an 80-71 win at Auburn as guard Devin Downey had 33 points for the Gamecocks. But what Coach Trent Johnson is most concerned about is his own team.
“For me it has always been the case that no matter who you are playing it is about competing on every possession,” said Johnson in his Monday media session. “With this basketball team, as good of kids as they are, that is not there. That is the bottom line. I have talked to them about this. How can you play 33 games and play college basketball and not have energy every time out? Let’s don’t say all the right things, let’s do all the right things.”
Bo Spencer led LSU with 13 points, while Dennis Harris had 12 and Tasmin Mitchell 11 points and nine rebounds, but the Tigers struggled from the field, was out rebounded and taken advantage of inside by the Crimson Tide.
“They hit us in the mouth, but it wasn’t a big knock out. They have a pretty good basketball team and they hit us in the mouth,” said the second-year LSU coach. “We had guys falling down trying to catch a pass on the press and stuff like that happening. That game was decided from a physical and mental side. When you look at what was done in the paint and on the glass that is what I am talking about. So that leads into the next round, which is the second round of 16. Are you going to get back up and physically get after it? We just need the energy.”
Darrin Horn is in his second year at South Carolina after a very successful stint at Western Kentucky. The Gamecocks advanced to the NIT a year ago.
“South Carolina poses a little bit of the same problems as McNeese and Alabama did in terms of intensity and full court presses,” said Johnson. “They want to turn you over and speed the game up to force you to make decisions. We all know Devan Downey is pretty special. The thing that is impressive to me about him is that he is so much more efficient that he was last year in terms of letting things develop and happen and still scoring a lot of points and getting a lot of steals.”
LSU will return to Baton Rouge after the game Wednesday and travel to Florida on Saturday for a night game with the Gators, televised by FSN. LSU returns home on Jan. 20 to face Auburn at the Maravich Center.
Basketball Press Conference
January 11, 2009
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON
Opening Statement …
“South Carolina poses a little bit of the same problems as McNeese and Alabama did in terms of intensity and full court presses. They want to turn you over and speed the game up to force you make decisions. We also all know Devan Downey is pretty special. The thing that is impressive to me about him is that he is so much more efficient than he was last year in terms of letting things develop and happen and still scoring a lot of points and getting a lot of steals. We are going to work on a lot of the same stuff in terms of transitions, taking care of the ball and passing and catching with two hands.”
On what he means by the term “edge” …
“When I talk about ‘edge’ it is a mental and physical toughness. I am not just talking about our guys, but I am talking about players and athletes in general. For me it has always been the case that no matter who you are playing, it is about competing on every possession. With this basketball team, as good of kids as they are, that is not there. That is the bottom line. I have talked to them about this. How can you play 33 games and play college basketball and not have energy every time out? Let’s don’t say all the right things, let’s do all the right things.”
On getting ready for the next game after getting beat at home …
“Obviously when you look at this team this year we have gotten our bell rung, but it has never happened at home. It was a league game, there was some excitement, and then Alabama came and just hit us in the mouth. They hit us in the mouth, but it wasn’t a big knock out. They have a pretty good basketball team and they hit us in the mouth. We had guys falling down trying to catch a pass on the press and stuff like that happening. That game was decided from a physical and mental side. When you look at what was done in the paint and on the glass that is what I am talking about. So that leads into the next round, which is the second round of 16. Are you going to get back up and physically get after it? We just need the energy.”
On how Storm Warren will respond after having a rough game …
“Storm cares. He is one guy that you know it is eating him up inside. I know he is in a position right now where he wants to get it corrected. His whole game is physical and energy.”
On if the team is too nice …
“Too nice? Yeah. They are a nice group, they are nice kids and they have good team chemistry. They know that I am struggling with the rebound differential and other things I am struggling with, but the bottom line is that this is stuff that has been addressed going into this year. It is the difference between winning and losing. I am talking about being aggressive and having a physical and mental approach. As much as coach’s sometime worry about scoring the ball, scoring hides a lot of your deficiencies. Our deficiencies are mental and physical. Again, Alabama comes in here and scored 66 points. How did they score them? 30 plus points in the paint. That is a physical approach. It is between the ears now. I am not a big false motivator. I don’t do a lot of those things. My intensity and my approach is making sure that everybody knows why we are getting our tail handed to us. We are going to continue to do these things until we get some consistency, and then go from there.”
On who will guard South Carolina guard Devan Downey …
“You can’t simulate his quickness. I think he is one of the best point guards in the country. We are going to use Chris Bass and Bo Spencer. We are going to be working in the zone which we have been practicing since day one, because we knew it was going to come to a point in time where we were going to have to use it.”
On if mental toughness it the only thing keeping the team from winning on the road …
“No. Well obviously you have to defend and rebound, but all of those things lead into it. To me there is no question. If this same basketball team, with the performance they had against Washington State, if that was at home we would be ok. The home fans and their enthusiasm, that is not a part of it. I think it helps the kids, but what kind of kids does it help? Tasmin Mitchell‘s best game was last year in Starkville against one of the best shot-blockers in the country. It is a mental thing, there is no question about it. From my experiences, for the good teams it doesn’t matter. They can beat anybody anywhere.”
On if the toughness develops as the season goes on …
“It is interesting. It has been my experience that you can enhance it as a coach. Kids can get put in competitive situations with challenges and some respond and some don’t. Usually with young teams it takes a while because everything is new to them, but you can look round the country and look at some teams with young players and it doesn’t matter. I think the more and more they are put in situations like that, the ones who really want it will be alright. That is a question that a lot of coaches have answered many different ways. I think you can enhance it. I am going to use two extremes as an example. Tasmin Mitchell, he could score the ball in China and it wouldn’t matter to him. Now Eddie Ludwig, he can come in at home or anywhere else and he is going to be himself. He is going to try to do the best he can and not be nervous. He is a freshman who hasn’t played a lot but I trust him to put him in the game at any situation and he will get done what I want to get done.”
On how the team is going to approach the next 15 games …
“It is continuing to understand and teach what we have to do individually and collectively to get better. That gives us a chance to win. I knew going into the season that our inability to pass and catch, our inability to do those little things and compete at a high level on defense was going to hurt us. Now that it has started happening, now they understand why. Coming off the year we had last year, even though there was a difference nucleus and even though I told them how much harder it was going to be this season, until that happened then you get to see how they respond. I can see it in their faces in some timeouts, it is like I am talking to ghosts and I am trying to tell them that they will be alright. During the course of the season you are going to see who is going to grow and who really wants it. I look around the locker room, and the system is the same as last year but the guys around are new. I am not talking about winning games, I am talking about watching tape and seeing how hard you are playing.”
On what he misses more from last year, the scoring or the defense and rebounding …
“It is the leadership. Garrett Temple led, but he led by example and led by being vocal. He was a leader and he also defended, rebounded, and took care of the ball. That is like splitting hairs. If you were to ask me what this team needs more than anything to develop, it would be leadership. Yes, Marcus Thornton scored a lot of points but that always hides your deficiencies. He put us on his back a lot of time. In terms of growth and the foundation, it is what a guy like Garrett Temple embodied. That is what we need most.”
Television Affiliates
Baton Rouge, LA, WAFB, CBS
Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston, AL, WTTO, CW
Bowling Green, KY, WBKO, ABC
Charleston, SC, SC, WMMP, MNT
Charleston-Huntington, WV, WSAZ, NBC
Charlotte, NC, WAXN, IND
Chattanooga, TN, WDSI, FOX
Columbia, SC, SC, WIS-DT2, NBC
Evansville, IN, WTVW, FOX
Greensboro-H. Point-W. Salem, NC, WCWG, CW
Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-Anderson, SC, WYCW, CBS
Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, AL, WAMY, MNT
Knoxville, TN, WVLT, MNT
Lafayette, LA, LA, KLAF, MNT
Lexington, KY, WKYT, CBS
Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR, KATV, ABC
Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt), AL, WJTC, NBC
Montgomery (Selma), AL, WCOV, FOX
Myrtle Beach-Florence, SC, WWMB, CW
New Orleans, LA, WUPL, CBS
Oklahoma City, OK, KXOC, IND
Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC, WNCN-DT, NBC
Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA, WDRL, IND
Shreveport, LA, KMSS, FOX
South Bend-Elkhart, IN, WHME, IND
Spokane, WA, SWX