BATON ROUGE – Coach Trent Johnson and selected members of the LSU men’s basketball team met with the media on Monday for their normal pre-game session prior to Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game with Arkansas at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The game will be televised regionally on the over-the-air SEC Network and broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network. Tickets are available online at LSUsports.net.
Here are some of the highlights from Coach Johnson’s session with the media on Monday:
Trent Johnson Meets with the Media
February 22, 2010
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON QUOTES
Opening statement …
“Obviously, the last time we played Arkansas, they really handled us physically. They just did what they wanted. We had no excuses from the lack of competitiveness we showed in that game. Since then, I think we’ve been as good as we’ve been all year against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. We had some good offensive performances from Dennis (Harris) and Storm (Warren). We found a way to hang in the game. I thought Mississippi State was in the position in the first half where they started to get separation, and we fought our way back. I thought they were in the position twice in the second half where they started to get separation, and we fought our way back. We had a couple of opportunities on the offensive end with guys that were open and attacking the rim. In the middle of nowhere, Jarvis (Varnado) made some plays that are the type of plays you make at the next level in terms of blocks. He had six or seven in the second half. For us to still have an opportunity to make a play down the stretch with the exception of some defensive breakdowns, I can’t fault where we’ve gotten. It’s hard for everyone right now. We are getting better; we just aren’t winning. We’ve got to continue to work at it, and dwell on getting better the next opponent and the next game. That’s all you can do in this business. At this level, it’s hard to win. We won’t make any adjustments defensively or offensively.
“I think Aaron Dotson is going to be cleared today. Sean Eddy just called and told me he had a bad case of asthma. I’m pretty gun shy of letting him go full scale at practice. I will look at him in some shooting drills and go from there. There’s no guarantee he will be playing on Wednesday. When it’s your lower extremities or your breathing, I’m still gun shy. You see kids across the country dying in athletics, and you have to be careful. He’s had his string of bad luck since the middle of last year in high school.”
On Alex Farrer‘s status …
“He wants to play, and he’s been cleared to play. There’s nothing that can worsen his situation. He’s dragging his knee a bit, and for me, as much as I want him to play because he wants to play, I still have to look at his welfare and health. I’m going to go a little longer on it and take a look at him at practice today and tomorrow.”
On if he feels the team has had bad luck …
“I think you create your own luck. One of the things we talked about at the first days at practice applies to the situation against Mississippi State. There is a three point line, you extend above the line, and you don’t help at the point of attack. We were in that situation up to the guy coming at the length of transition with Daron Populist leveling the ball against one of the best point guards in our league. It forced him into a decision. Bo gambles out, leaves his man, Zach rotates over, and doesn’t close out above the three-point line. That’s the ball game. Was that luck or poor execution? I think that’s poor execution. I’m not singling out someone individually. Last year, we were in a lot of games similar to this game where we executed, but we had guys make plays. This year we are in a situation where we’ve been in our share of games that could have gone either way. We haven’t executed. In all of that, the thing I’ll always emphasize is that you put yourself in that situation, and it doesn’t matter as long as you understand the things that are correctible and the things that are not. Our effort is in our ability to block out and not be afraid or timid of taking a shot. In all that, you create your own luck. Snakebitten? I don’t know. Is it because Alex is hurt? I feel for him. Is it because Aaron had knee surgery that cut his high school career in half? Is it because Garrett Green has had a bad back and not played at this level in two years? Dennis is a red shirt freshman and hasn’t played basketball in two years? We are how many games into it? It’s about being productive, getting better and in the end producing. That all starts with me.”
On the team playing better …
“I’ve always given guys more freedom than they probably need on the offensive end. You look at some of the shots we’ve made at times. They are playing a lot tighter and more committed on the defensive end with a sense of urgency. I’m basing that off of whether it is Dennis, Bo, Chris or Garrett. This group hasn’t been tight. If there is anything I do well, I relax and let them play. You have to understand that urgency at the other end of the floor that gives you a chance to win is defending, rebounding and taking the ball. You should always be tight there.”
On the what marks the improvement …
“More games. The more games kids play, for me, the questions are great. But you can’t put a finger on games played. Is it an excuse? It’s hard enough to play this game if you are out there every day. Forget the two guys that are gone. Between Aaron, Dennis Garrett Storm and Zach, the amount of minutes they’ve played at this level—my goodness. That’s another thing. Everyone wants to fast forward and talk about next year or this great recruiting class. They are still coming from high school into college. The amount of games they play during the summer against quality competition, not a pick-up game against a pro, but the amount of games, sense of urgency in a competitive extensive environment. Kentucky has John Wall. They were playing with USA basketball. The biggest improvement that I think we will all see at the end of the year is Trey Thompkins. He played USA basketball, and that’s why he’s playing with a level of confidence, so it’s games versus people that are better than you, which is what’s been happening for us.”
On Bo appreciating what Garrett Temple did for the team last year ….
“Hopefully, that is the case. Everything that is going on with the team, whether it is Bo or Tasmin, has been addressed in the spring. From this standpoint, our security blanket, like Marcus Thornton was last year because as much as people thought we were running good offense, he’d make great shots and make us all look good, Bo or Tasmin whoever it may be , said it was going to be difficult this year and asked how we were going to deal with it. I always talk about it being proactive. The silver lining in all of it is they are continuing to come out and work. I think we are getting better. No one has quit. There was a time during the Mississippi State where there was some friction in the timeout with guys going at each other, but they got it under control and moved forward.”
On how he feels Bo and Tasmin have dealt with the season …
“At times, it’s been good. At times, it’s been bad. Bo and Tasmin? Where is Coach Johnson in this equation? It’s my responsibility in this situation. Our record is what it is. As opposed to how those guys have dealt with it, I feel like if there is any finger-pointing or any responsibility, it always starts here. That’s one of the things I’ve always asked myself. ‘Have I done a good enough job of educating them at what’s coming in front of them? Have I done a good enough job of putting guys in positions where they can shoot the ball?’ I go back and look at tape and see where someone was open and didn’t knock the shot down. So be it. I tell them, ‘You’ve heard me talking about this before? Now, here it is. We are dealing with it.’ Then, if they aren’t doing it, I think, ‘What am I doing wrong that they don’t understand?’
On the significance of Tasmin’s milestones with career starts and 2,000 career points on the horizon …
“It’s huge. I learned over the years to take a deep breath and appreciate some of the guys that I’ve been fortunate enough to coach. He is one of those guys. I see him every day. I saw him every day last year. His demeanor, temperament, respect for his teammates and his joy for this game has not changed. We are as close as you can be in a two-half year span. He won’t throw his teammates under the bus. I don’t think you realize how special that is. For him to go to the Hornets game last night, he talked about the joy of cheering for both Garrett (Temple) and Marcus (Thornton), knowing that Garret and he are the best of friends. From my standpoint, knowing how hard the game is to play if you aren’t explosive and been through what he’s been through in terms of the milestones, not being long and lean or a super athlete, but being a very good basketball player in this league where I think everyone knows you see some of best players regardless of sport, it’s special. I don’t know if we will ever have another guy like Tasmin that will be that good for four years and put up the consistent numbers while going through the ups and down of being on a Final Four team his freshman year then his sophomore and junior year and then getting hurt. We all have our deficiencies, but Tasmin doesn’t have a lot. He loves to play basketball and loves to compete. I’m basing that off being a head coach in 11 years. I get more satisfaction and appreciation out of guys that make themselves good players than I do a guy, who is a big-time athlete that can just dominate, put up numbers and doesn’t work hard.”