BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson met with the local media Monday afternoon in preparation for Wednesday night’s trip to Starkville to take on Mississippi State University.
The matchup of Tigers (12-7, 2-3) and the 18th-ranked Bulldogs (16-4, 3-2) is set for 7 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum and will be televised on the SEC Network (WBXH in Baton Rouge).
This will be the fourth road game in LSU’s first six SEC games and the second of back-to-back road trips LSU has made.
Here are some of Coach Johnson’s comments to the media on Monday:
LSU Men’s Basketball Media Session
January 23, 2012
HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON
Opening Statement…
“You guys probably already have the injury update. Johnny (O’Bryant III) will be looked at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. If he is cleared, obviously, we will use him on Wednesday (at Mississippi State). Justin (Hamilton) and Jalen (Courtney) will both not practice today. Justin is having some sinus problems, and Jalen has a little strep throat. They both should be ready to go on Wednesday.
“Mississippi State, a lot better and really talented, but I’m not so sure there is a better player in terms of being efficient and productivity than (MSU’s Arnett) Moultrie. You look at his numbers, you look what he has done versus very, very good teams and very, very talented teams, a la one being Vanderbilt on the road (last Saturday) which is a great win for them. Then what he did versus a team as talented, as athletic and as long as Baylor. This, by no means, is a one man team. I have a lot of respect, and I admired the ways Dee Bost has competed and won games for them since he has been there. Jalen Steele is shooting the ball very well. Obviously, Renardo Sidney is a hand full, and Rodney Hood is probably as good as a freshman as there is in our league. They are very talented, very talented and are playing very well. Another league game, another challenge (for our team). We will go long and hard today (at practice) then we will leave tomorrow after class and probably get up there around 4:30 p.m. We will practice from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (in Starkville), strap it on and get after it Wednesday night.”
On Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie…
“I said this today on the (SEC) conference call. There are a lot of guys in our sport that are athletic or great athletes. What he is, is a great athlete, but he is a great basketball player with skills. Then when you put that with 6’11 about 250 (pounds), and he has a nice edge to him. When I say edge, I mean in a positive way, very nasty. He turns left shoulder, right shoulder in the post, and he shoots a nice medium range jump shot. He passes the ball well.”
On what Arnett Moultrie (Mississippi State) has brought out of Renardo Sidney…
“I think that whole thing starts with Dee Bost. What he has done for Renardo from the video tapes I have been watching, is they can play so long without Renardo having to be on the floor and be so effective. He is taking the pressure off of Renardo because they can come with Moultrie at the post and they can put Wendell (Lewis) in at the four. They still don’t lose a step, and they are really quick, really quick with that lineup. They are very versatile and very balanced.”
On Justin Hamilton‘s consistency helping perimeter get open looks …
“Justin’s consistency, in terms of how he is playing, is obviously going to help. I don’t anticipate our perimeter struggles to continue. I thought Ralston (Turner) did a good job getting into the lane a couple times and getting some easy shots. Again, we got good looks, and I think that game (at Florida) went exactly the way we wanted it with the exception of the first half. We had two guys in foul trouble in our perimeters, and their press hurt us. We had a couple of guys out there who quite frankly weren’t ready for that environment, but I think Justin has to continue to do what he is doing. I thought Billy (Donovan) made the decision just to leave him one-on-one, and it worked for us. For whatever reason, he (Donovan) didn’t want to double him (Hamilton). Again if he would have doubled him, I don’t know if the ball would have went down the way we were shooting it. I still liked the way that thing played out for us, but it was just our undoing in the first half as opposed to what happened the second half as opposed to what Justin has been doing. Justin is going to continue to take what the defense gives him. Now he is a situation (at Mississippi State) where he is going up against a different type of player, you know 7 foot, 260 (pounds) you know 6’11, 240 (pounds). It is going to be interesting to see how he responds. What we are going to need for us to be effective and win games here, we are going to need our guys to starts knocking down some shots and start making some plays.”
On Ralston Turner going to the basket more against Florida…
“It was there just because the way they (Florida) played him … It is a confidence thing, but we have options. We have things we can go to. It is just a matter of guys stepping up, making those plays and feeling confident that they can do that. But also let’s not make a mistake, the people they are having to make plays against are pretty good players in their own right. Like I tell them, I don’t worry about it. If it is open and it is in rhythm, you just need to continue to play and go from there. I think Ralston, I think Andre (Stringer) and I think so on and so forth, they have to continue to work. Anthony (Hickey) is doing a very good job. I thought he played very well against a very, very good back court. I just felt bad for him because he had a couple ill-advised fouls in the first half …”
On the play of LSU’s defense…
“There is nothing we are going to change defensively. Our last two times on the road, we have been up against a Florida team which is averaging 85 points at home so that thing (Saturday’s game) was to our liking. Prior to that, I think Arkansas was averaging up into the 80’s (at home), and they were at 69. I think for us what we are doing offensively and what we are doing defensively there is nothing wrong with it. It is just the law of averages hopefully will catch up. When you run an inline ob and a guy comes off wide open when you are down eight (points), you would like to think it (the shot) is going to go in sometimes. Our ability to take care of the ball in the second half, we need to make sure we are consistent and get that done in the first half. We had 10 turnovers (in the first half) in Gainesville, and we had one in the second (half). Prior to that up in Fayetteville, I want to say we had 15 (turnovers) for the game and had 11 at half. Our assist-to-turnover ratio in those last two games on the road has been on the plus side.”
On Chris Bass…
“Chris works, and he has a great support system starting with his brother (Boston Celtics forward Brandon Bass). He works, he is a senior and he is very coachable. For me, again I said this before, what has happened with him off the floor has probably been one of the most impressive things for me on an academic standpoint because school does not always come easy for him like it does for a lot of people. He is special, in terms of as long as he has been here, last year it was Andre Stringer and this year it is Anthony Hickey, a lot of guys would want to throw the towel and go somewhere else and play at a lower level. Other guys would say ‘Woe is me’, rip the coaches or be selfish, all those kind of things. Especially with a brother and Louisiana kid, it speaks volumes (about Chris) as a person. It speaks volumes of him wanting to be here and wanting to represent LSU.”
On the dynamic between Chris Bass and Anthony Hickey…
“Great, not good, but great camaraderie (between Chris and Anthony). I mean this in a good way, but they try to kill each other in practice. I try to encourage that because Chris is so nice, and Anthony is so competitive they go right back at each other. When it is all said and done, they are talking. Chris has been great for Anthony in terms of ‘Hey look his nose has gotten big, his veins are popping out. You know you just have to bear with it, coach is trying to help you’. Those kinds of things, he has been great. I don’t want to go off on a tangent, but it’s really sad in this day and age because kids like that are rare. Everybody wants to go somewhere, not because of the school, not because of the team. They want to go somewhere because of their minutes, because they want the ball and they want to do all of this. Then if things don’t go their way right away, they leave. They want to blame everybody else. So those kids (like Chris) are rare, they are rare now.”
On Dee Bost…
“He has great players he can go to, but the thing with Dee that he does the best is that he competes at a high level. He has courage, he is always making the big play or the big shot. He’s a winner. You look at some of the games they have had this year and when things have been going bad, he just basically says ‘Okay I’m going to make this play’. That is what he does. He is a winner, he shoots the three, he runs the team and he is a really good defender. Again, I can’t say anything more. For me, the biggest compliment you can give a point guard is he wins. That is all that he has done since he has been there, he has won.”