Editor’s note: Longtime Baton Rouge sportswriter, author and television host Lee Feinswog takes his unique approach to sports to dig deeper into LSU Athletics. Look for these features online and in official athletics department publications throughout the 2014-15 season.
They both were there to wrap up their respective seasons. But their challenges as they optimistically look ahead to next November are somewhat different.
LSU women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell, for one, doesn’t have to worry about her players turning pro.
“I’m glad we know our kids are here for four years,” Caldwell said. “We take pride in the fact that we have 100 percent graduation rate with those who have exhausted their eligibility here.”
In Wednesday’s gathering, Caldwell spoke first.
Then former — and former is the key word — men’s player Jarell Martin took over, declaring publicly his intention to turn pro, and then men’s coach Johnny Jones spent time going over his season.
Caldwell does have one player who has to decide if she’s coming back, but Anne Pedersen‘s situation is a bit different: The junior from Copenhagen, Denmark, who averaged 5.4 points while playing 24 minutes per game, graduates in May and has to decide if she wants to stay and play another year.
Everyone else who can be back should be for the Lady Tigers, who finished 17-14 this season after being eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by South Florida. And that 17-14 comes with an asterisk, because the Lady Tigers were 7-7 overall, 0-1 in the SEC, when Danielle Ballard returned to the team after a first-semester suspension.
All she did was lead the team in scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) in the 17 games she played, and receive a handful of postseason honors after having her four best scoring outings against ranked teams.
LSU entered the 2014-15 season not only without its best player, but dealing with the graduation of two stalwarts, Jeanne Kenney and Theresa Plaisance,
“We were obviously faced with the challenge of competing at a high level in our non-conference schedule without our best player, Danielle Ballard, but I was extremely proud of the young ladies effort to continue to keep us in games and win games for us during a very trying time for our team,” said Caldwell, 83-50 at LSU.
“The maturity of this team to respond when one of your teammates is missing from game action, that showed a lot of character. I’m proud of our team for responding even more so with the return of Ballard.”
She pointed out that the Lady Tigers finished fourth in the perennially tough SEC, which is no small accomplishment.
“We are again excited at the fact that we were selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament although we fell short of our goal to continue to advance,” said Caldwell, whose team has been to the NCAA Tournament in all four of her years. The experience that the young ladies had in their run and the experience of having your name called on selection Monday, those are memorable things. Those are things that they will be able to take with them forever. We are looking forward to the next upcoming season.”
LSU’s men, too, are excited about next year, especially with the arrival of Ben Simmons, regarded as the top high school player in the nation. And certainly it’s possible that one year from now, just as it was last year with Johnny O’Bryant III announcing he was leaving, to Martin on Wednesday that Simmons could be doing the same.
Such is life in big-time men’s college basketball.
“I feel for Johnny and his staff from a recruiting standpoint,” Caldwell said. “Because every year you’re having to replace guys.”
Not that Jones was complaining. To keep up with the Joneses, so to speak, LSU has to have players who are so good that they can leave school early.
Which brings up the next part of the equation, Jordan Mickey. The junior-to-be from Dallas led the nation in block average (3.64) and, should he stay, has LSU fans drooling at the prospect of a lineup that includes him with the outstanding trio of guards of Tim Quarterman, Jalyn Patterson and Keith Hornsby, along with Simmons, big-guy transfer Craig Victor, and a sure-to-improve Brian Bridgewater.
Mickey is on the clock but not on deadline. He has until April 26 to declare if he does.
“We had two all-conference guys,” said Jones, 61-37 after three seasons back at his alma mater. “Sometimes, I don’t think these guys get enough credit for how hard they worked on their game. The time and the energy that they put in along with practices and the coaches to prepare them to continue to get better.
“We had two guys that were on the first-team all-conference this year. The only other team that can make that claim would be Kentucky, the No. 1 team in the country that is here in our conference and are continuing to play right now.”
Of course, those “Joneses” referred to earlier really meant Kentucky, which each year sees its top players declare early and then re-loads. Which is why Jones didn’t seem distraught but proud that Martin, who led his team in scoring (16.9 ppg) and was second only to Mickey in rebounding (9.2 rpg) was leaving.
“For Jarell to be able to sit up here today and make that type of announcement, I think speaks volumes about the type of program and the type of talent that we have in here.”
For his part, Martin remained the level-headed nice young man he has been since starring locally at Madison Prep. When asked what he would do with his newfound money, the probable NBA first-round draft pick said simply, “I’m going to be real smart about it. Invest it and everything and make sure my family is good. That’s the main thing.”
And the first thing he’ll buy for himself?
“A condo,” he said. “I’ll need a place to live.”
He could, of course, live as far away as Boston or Sacramento or as close as New Orleans. He has the tools to do well at the next level.
But as far as LSU is concerned, the Tigers have to look ahead to Jones’ fourth year and build off the school’s first NCAA Tournament trip in six years.
“We’ve got a great group of guys returning for next year’s team,” Jones said. “Although Jarell made his announcement today, I know how we felt when Johnny (O’Bryant III) made his announcement and said that he was leaving. Johnny had done a tremendous job of coming in and helped lay that ground work and foundation. I think Jarell has served that purpose in a lot of the same ways, and we’re hopeful in these guys that are retuning.”
Jones pointed out that it’s been hard to “flip an entire roster in having all new players in year three. To have that type of success, it’s a great credit to the guys that are on this team and how they’ve bought in and the unselfishness.”
LSU had a maddeningly frustrating end to its season, getting stunned at home by Tennessee but winning at Arkansas before losing to Auburn in the SEC Tournament in overtime to squandering a huge lead in the NCAA Tournament game and losing to NC State on a last-second shot. The fine line between winning and losing, especially in the SEC and NCAA tournament games, was excruciating to watch and certainly had to be tough to experience.
Simmons, Hornsby, Quarterman, Patterson, and, perhaps Mickey, all will have that in mind when the team regroups in unison in October.
“As close as those guys got this year,” Jones said, “I know that it left a taste in their mouth to keep them hungry for the future.”