BATON ROUGE – As the LSU men’s basketball team prepares to travel to Birmingham for a Thursday night date with UAB, LSU men’s basketball team visited with the local media Tuesday afternoon in the LSU media room.
The game is set for 8 p.m. at Bartow Arena and will be televised on the CBS Sports Network and broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network.
This is LSU’s final road game prior to the start of SEC play. LSU has one more game prior to Christmas on Dec. 22 at home against the College of Charleston (8 p.m.).
Coach Jones discussed the status of injured players Josh Gray and Tim Quarterman, but no official final status for Thursday’s game was announced. The third-year LSU mentor also talked about the various things that could happen if one or both don’t play and the ability to carry over one road win to the Thursday game.
Here are some of the comments from today’s media session:
HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening Statement …
“We are looking forward to another really challenging game Thursday at UAB, the same team that last year about this time knocked off a ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heel basketball team at UAB. It will certainly be a great challenge for us. They have played some really close games this year against a lot of really tough competition. It’s going to give us an opportunity to go on the road after another victory here at home to see if we can to continue to improve. We may be a little bit hampered because of injuries, and it may cause us to shuffle our lineup a little bit and put us in a different position. At certain times this year, we have had adversity or something has been different for us, and our kids have done an excellent job of filling that void and being able to fight through it. We are going to possibly be presented with that same type of challenge on Thursday night.”
On the status of Josh Gray and Tim Quarterman…
“Both guys were treated. Neither of them practiced (Monday). (Tuesday), they have gone through treatment. We had a visit as a team at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital to go the children’s ward, and neither of those guys was able to accompany us there because of being treated. We will know a little bit more about both (later Tuesday).”
On Josh Gray‘s injury…
“ … Outside of what had been reported earlier that he had a sprain. Nothing more has been said about it. We will have to wait and find out later on this afternoon if there is anything more to it or not.”
On Tim Quarterman‘s injury…
“Tim (Quarterman) got a little banged up toward the end of the game (against Sam Houston State). He’s been treated the same as Josh (Gray). Both have been off. There’s a good chance that Tim could be available for us Thursday.”
On the ripple effect if both cannot play…
“We would have to possibly move Jarell (Martin) to some two-guard if that happens and insert someone else there at the three. It could be one of several guys, but it could be possibly Aaron Epps, who is healthy now and would possibly have to play more minutes out there for us. It’s certainly going to present a challenge to us. It’s early in the season, and it’s just like everything else. It’s going to force some other guys to have to play. When that has occurred, guys have done an excellent job … (Brian) Bridgewater, Jalyn (Patterson) … When those guys have had to play extended minutes for us, they have done a good job.”
On Jalyn Patterson‘s style of play…
“It’s a little bit different, probably not as aggressive. He’s a good ball handler, good passer and can get the ball from A to B. He doesn’t take a lot of chances; a very capable scorer. He’s been in that position before. It just hasn’t been at this level for any stretches of time. We are very confident in him and in the role that he may have to play. The only difference is talking about the number of minutes because Jalyn has been injured as well. It’s going to depend on the depth and how long he can possibly go and the pace he can possibly go with this team.”
On qualities that Aaron Epps brings to the team…
“Aaron Epps brings length on the perimeter. In addition, he’s a capable rebounder, capable scorer from the three spot for us. He’s long, active and can get his hands on some balls. It’s going to take him a little while because he hasn’t been in the rotation or hadn’t been playing any minutes. It’s going to be different for him.”
On if the team has bad luck with injuries…
“I think 85 percent of the teams around the country could possibly say the same thing. When guys go hard and are competing at a certain level, unfortunately, those things happen. You battle with injury. I think it’s a sign of a good team when they are able to make adjustments and have guys and be able to get through it. It forces your team to grow up. It forces you to make some decisions early on in the season that may be beneficial for you in the latter part of the year because of the experience you had early on because of injuries.”
On performance on the road…
“I think the West Virginia game would help with a tough venue that we will be facing in conference play and playing at UAB. Any time you go on the road, it’s different. It’s different for your team, and it’s a learning experience for them. We have been at neutral sites, and we will be playing in two pretty good venues on the road prior to conference play. I think it’s good. It was good for our scheduling and will certainly be good for our guys.”
On the visit to Our Lady of the Lake’s Children’s Wing…
“I thought it was really good for our guys to have an opportunity to go to Our Lady of the Lake today and have an opportunity to interact with the kids and the families that are there. To see the families and the kids with their smiles on their face and our kids to be able to put some joy into their hearts and see the smiles on their faces made a difference. They knew they were making a difference, and that’s what it is all about. I think our guys understand that they are blessed. It’s a blessing to be a blessing to others. I think they were able to see that and share in that today.”