BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson met with the media Wednesday to discuss the preseason so far as the calendar continues to count down toward the Nov. 12 season opener with Nicholls.
Admission for the season opener is free of charge with a tip time of noon prior to the 6 p.m. football game with Western Kentucky.
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Here are some of Coach Johnson’s comments from earlier this afternoon:
On last week’s scrimmage …
“Last week we made progress. We had our scrimmage and we were able to play everybody and looked at each player. We played an extra 10 minute segment, and it was very favorable to our team. We’re showing the capabilities of having a better assist to turnover ratio. Our rebound differential hasn’t been where it needs to be, but I like that no one has separated themselves from an individual standpoint. Our assists to turnovers are good. I’m looking at combinations with the freshmen, mainly because I’m trying to put them in situations they haven’t been in. That way, I can find out how long they can play for extended periods of time; I can find out what kind of decisions they are going to make when things get tough; and, I can see how they’re going to react when they’re not on the floor and think they should be. These are things you have to look at with freshman. I know what to expect out of the guys that have been in the program for two or three years.”
On depth within the team …
“Our goal for our first official game is that whomever we play, we’re prepared to attack, know their strengths and weaknesses and understand our roles on the team. But, if you’re not playing at maximum level or at maximum intensity with a sense of urgency, then you’re probably not going to be on the floor. We practice long, and we practice hard. These next two days, they’re going to be really pushed like they haven’t in the past. They are focused and concentrated on what we’ve been trying to teach and push through. There are still things to be learned by freshman players. Johnny (O’Bryant III) is fatigued now, because he’s never run this hard. Anthony (Hickey) is fatigued, and he can’t just use his quickness to go by a guy. John (Isaac) needs to learn how to play at two different speeds. Defensively, he wants to attack a guy. He’s physical and aggressive. But now he has to learn to slow down and offensively remember the set. That’s what we need to find out from those three. The veteran players understand playing through fatigue.”
On challenges during the scrimmage …
“We did a good job keeping them under control. Defensively, we did a good job. We were down at the half and obviously down at the second half. We had some separation and played well. The most important thing about going into a scrimmage is structure. My whole goal was to run only certain plays and see how the players handled them. This team will be very interesting when we play a very good team, because we will be able to see where their confidence level is. They’re gradually getting more confident in their own ways.”
GUARD RALSTON TURNER
On his performance …
“Last year, things would get thrown at me and catch me off guard. I understand a lot of the little things better, and I’m starting to see plays develop a little quicker. I’m very aware that I have a lot of work to do. I’m not quite there yet, but I work at it every day. It’s a work in progress.”
On team preparations …
“Overall as a team, the past two to three weeks we’ve worked a lot on defense. Coach (Johnson) says the offense will come, but first you have to be able to stop somebody. Coming into LSU as a freshman, I had never been taught proper man-to-man defense. It was new to me, and I’m still constantly working to get better.”
CENTER JUSTIN HAMILTON
On the team …
“We all feel like we have a really good, strong group. We all work together, and we push each other. Each guy brings his own unique qualities. We’re all defending more, and we’re a lot more confident than last year. Our biggest area of improvement is to keep being aggressive. Last year was really hard to watch, because I really wanted to help the team win. Since I’ve been at LSU, I’ve wanted to win. I feel like we’re doing everything we need to do to have a big year and do successful things.”