BATON ROUGE – A big Saturday of events at the Maravich Center culminates with an important Southeastern Conference men’s basketball game as Florida and LSU meet for the second time this year, this time at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Tigers and Gators are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip at the Maravich Center in a game televised by ESPN and broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network.
LSU is 9-6 on the season in the league (16-12 overall) and in a tie for fourth with Vanderbilt, two games behind league leading Kentucky and one-game behind South Carolina and Texas A&M. Florida is 17-11 overall and 8-7 in the league. Both teams lost on Tuesday night as Arkansas beat LSU, 85-65, in Fayetteville and Vanderbilt knocked off Florida in Gainesville, 87-74.
Prior to the game, the statue of Bob Pettit in the plaza area in front of the Maravich Center practice facility will be unveiled by the LSU/NBA icon in ceremonies beginning at 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to the event.
Coach Johnny Jones met with the media prior to Thursday’s practice and here are some of his comments:
Opening Statement…
“After an off day Wednesday, we are looking forward to getting back out on the floor in preparation for a very good, talented Florida basketball team Saturday. We have to get back and sharpen up from our second half that we had at Arkansas. We did not execute at the level we needed to offensively. We had some defensive breakdowns mainly caused by some turnovers; others were missed shots that they were able to get out and fast break against us. They somewhat fed their energy off of the fast break opportunities they had in the open floor. When we played them half-court defensively, especially in the first half, we did a much better job. Once they had the lead there in the second half, they fed off some issues, then, they knocked down some big threes, which allowed them to become a very confident team. That’s something we have to make sure we guard against a Florida team that is very fast, quick. They’re good defensively. They certainly get the ball up the floor. They have guys who can knock down shots on the perimeter with a steady force inside. We are going to have to be all-around defensively at another level here at home. On the offensive end, we have to execute much better than we have the last couple of games.”
On the team’s energy…
“Anytime you play at the level that we do and you’re playing a team on the road, you’re generally playing off of energy of your crowd. Teams do a magnificent job of that. Anytime teams make a run on you like that, it’s a little bit tougher and harder to recover. Teams with experience are very capable because you understand that you are going to go through runs, people are going to make runs. Now, you make sure you understand how important it is to get consecutive stops. Then, you have to make sure you execute at a high level in making sure that you score. Experienced teams are more equipped to be able to do that. Being less experienced and having a guy like Keith Hornsby out, who is one of those guys who can get you a basket during those tough times, he’s a difference maker in that area. Other guys have to understand they can step up and make plays. It’s just an issue whether the number of stops consecutively we can get against good teams like that to get ourselves back on the offensive end to make plays.”
On if points in the paint are a problem…
“Mainly, it was really noticeable the other night. They had a big kid come in averaging about two points per game, and he wound up going 6-of-6 from the field and played well inside, made a couple of physical plays one-on-one against some of our post guys. We have to do a better job of defending the post. To our guys’ credit, sometimes they are worried about fouling and how aggressive you can be defending the post. That’s an area that you have to allow the officials to dictate and worry about. We have to make sure that we play because when we don’t, what happened the other night can happen. They had a guy go off that had 17 points in the second half and their other post man ended up getting 11 points in the second half. It’s hard when you’re trying to defend and guys are getting those types of high percentage shots. That doesn’t fair well for having an opportunity to be successful against teams like that, especially when they start knocking down threes like they did and they start working their inside-out game.”
On the team’s chemistry…
“The team is getting along. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the chemistry. Anytime you lose or have setbacks, something we aren’t accustomed to, because that hasn’t really happened to us, it’s how you respond. What we can point to is what has happened to other teams in our league that have gone through two or three game setbacks. Others have gone through five or six. Teams in other conferences have had the same situations and have been able to bounce back. There’s no need for us not to. We can certainly use other teams as an example that our guys are close to and that they can identify that it’s not out of the norm. Those things happen, you have to make sure that you can bounce back from it.”
On defensive communication…
“We are probably not the most vocal group defensively. That certainly helps when you are more talkative out there on the floor. We have gone through multiple types of defenses that we’ve run this year. We’ve run multiple zones, trying to slow opponents down, giving them different looks. The more you talk, the better off you are. That’s an area where we have to continue to grow and get better.”
On the national attention on Ben Simmons and how it has affected the rest of the team…
“…It’s new to all of our guys. To be able to respond to that, anytime you have a guy that’s’ getting attention, it’s just like anything else, the more attention that someone else is getting with people around, the more of an opportunity it is for all of our guys to have a chance to be seen. It lends good for everyone to get exposure. At the end of the day, if you take that approach and look at it that way, it’s a good thing. If there is any jealousy or animosity or if you have a team like that, then it can be a problem. We are hopeful that’s not something that wears on our team. Our guys have done a good job of accepting the role that Ben plays and the attention that has been brought to our program because of his presence here.”
On his message to Tim Quarterman regarding the offense…
“Quarterbacks, I explained to Tim Quarterman, are guys that come out and they command, control. They are able to, in terms of being a point guard, be in control of running their teams out there, regardless of if it’s handing a ball off to a great running back. The example I used for him was those guys are gaining yards, and you don’t get your name in the paper because of the fact that you have a great running back who runs it well, or you throw it numerous times and guys are making catches and you’re getting credited for touchdown passes and completions. Regardless of what that is, whatever your duties call for, you have to try to maximize it because at the end of the day when your team wins, that’s our goal. He just has to understand how important it is that he has to run our team as a guard, regardless of what’s being asked of him and do that to the best of his ability, which he is capable of doing. He understood what’s going on and how he could be more effective with our team.”
On the Bob Pettit statue…
“It’s great anytime you have someone like that—the statue of Bob Pettit and what he means to this university from the tradition, legacy that he left and the impact that he’s made and the way he’s conducted himself since then. You talk about the model. To see this happening for him at this time and for him to have the opportunity to witness it, I’m really excited about that. You can come in and look at his jersey. I’ve been doing it ever since I was in high school, looking up there and seeing his number up there, and then, to see him sitting behind the bench over there at half-court during games, and knowing the impact he not only made here but in the NBA as well, being a part of LSU means a great deal. I’m looking forward to him having his day on Saturday.”
On Pettit’s legacy being forgotten…
“…That would be like someone overlooking Pete Maravich and the impact he made. Bob Pettit was able to take his team to the Final Four in 1953 and played three years and made numerous all-star games in the NBA. When you look at his background and in back-to-back years—I’m familiar with his history, so I can certainly respect what he was able to do regardless of what era he played in, he certainly made an impact. I have a picture hanging in my office with him with the ball and Bill Russell trying to defend him. I can understand the guys he played against, the impact he made, and I certainly appreciate it and respect it for what he was able to do in that era.”