BATON ROUGE – Head Coach Johnny Jones will blow the whistle shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday to begin the countdown for the start of the 2016-17 men’s basketball season.
For Coach Jones it is the start of his fifth season as head coach at LSU and he will put the team through the allowable 30 practices prior to the team’s season opener on Nov. 12 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Wofford. It will be the first of three games in seven days prior to the team’s Thanksgiving trip to the Bahamas for the Battle for Atlantis.
The Tigers, 19 wins a year ago and tied for third in the league with 11 victories, has two returning starters back in Craig Victor II and Antonio Blakeney, who over the final 10 games was at his best, scored over 30 points twice during the year, earning All-SEC freshman team honors. Blakeney averaged 12.6 points for the season, 14.2 in conference games and 17.4 points over those last 10 games.
The Tiger team will have a strong local flavor again this year with sophomore Brandon Sampson, who appeared in 27 games last year, joining freshmen Wayde Sims and Skylar Mays. Sims is the son of former Tiger Wayne Sims and has been on three straight championship teams at University High School. Mays played on two of those teams before competing his senior year for Findlay Prep in Nevada.
Follow updates on the program at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball. Ticket information and $25 season ticket deposits can be found at LSUtix.net.
Coach Jones met with the media prior to the start of practice on Wednesday and here are some of his comments:
Johnny Jones Media Session – October 4, 2016
Opening statement…
“It seems not long ago we had just finished playing in a very tough, hard fought game and a setback for us in the semifinals of the conference tournament. We’re very excited about the start of practice (Wednesday) and the guys that we have returning and the new guys certainly give a lot of reason for optimism. We’re excited for those guys to be able to get together in full-scale practices. We’ve had it to where we’ve been able to get together a couple of times a week and now starting tomorrow we’ll go full-scale two to two and a half hours on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning, and then we’ll have Sunday off and get back to work on Monday. Knowing the season is right around the corner for us and not a lot of time, the guys are really chomping at the bit for the opportunity to get back on the floor.
On the differences between this season and last season…
“It’s a big difference for us and what this team is about compared to last year’s team and the hype that was brought with last year’s team and everything surrounding them … It’s a bit different. But we’re hopeful that the experience that a lot of the guys got from playing on that team will carry over and have an opportunity to impact this season.”
On his message to the team in the offseason…
“I wanted them to realize what they were able to go through last year. They were a team that had the opportunity to take everybody’s best shot. They played in front of a lot of people … They did a tremendous job of playing at home last season in front of what was most of the time a packed house and having the third largest increase in attendance in the country. These guys went through a lot last year and they should be able to benefit from that. We’ve got freshman coming in and guys coming in from junior college and we’ve got to make sure they understand that it is a different level, a different league. The guys returning will have more responsibility on their shoulders and I’m hopeful that the hard work that we went through in the off season, they will benefit from it.”
On if there was an emphasis on any certain area during the offseason…
“We recruit guys because they can make points and score baskets. We were second leading scoring team in the conference at the end of last year and one of the top three in terms of field goal percentage. So we can make points. The emphasis was really on the defensive end on the floor and getting stops. We wanted to make sure we got better on that end and were an overall improved team. Last year I thought we got caught up in worrying about fouls because guys went to the bench early. I thought we got a little bit more hesitant. We did not have what we have this year – a solid rim protector in Duop Reath and I think he provides that for us. Aaron Epps has continued to improve and will also be able to provide that for us. I thought that was something we really missed last year and I thought it showed in the (opponent’s) field goal percentage and their ability to score against us.”
On expectations of the incoming JUCO players (Duop Reath and Branden Jenkins)…
“We’re going to expect a lot from Duop Reath on both ends of the floor. He’s good on the inside and I even think he’s good on the perimeter because he’s got good feet and good length. He’s a shot blocker along with being able to rebound the ball well, so a lot will be put on his plate early on. Branden Jenkins provides something that we didn’t have last year. He’s an energy guy that’s extremely fast and plays tenaciously on the defensive end of the floor. He really takes pride in how he plays on defense. But we’ll probably have to wait and see on him because we’re not sure when he’ll be back full speed.”
On the journey of Skylar Mays…
“I’ve been knowing Skylar for a long time. The first time I laid eyes on him may have been 7th or 8th grade. His 9th grade year I had a chance to watch him a lot because him and my son were on the same high school team, and so I’ve been watching him for quite some time. He left at the beginning of his senior year for Findlay Prep, and one of the reasons he went out there, he wanted to try and possibly play against some better competition and get some exposure that those type of venues allow. I thought it helped him, I think he’s improved due to the caliber of competition he played against out there and the work load the was put on him. I’ve been extremely impressed with him since he’s come back this summer. The amount of time and hours and energy he’s put into the gym alone to try and get better paints a picture of how much better he’s gotten since his high school days until now, and the impact he made taking his team the national tournament last year.”
On Craig Victor II‘s energy…
“You want guys like Craig to play as hard as they can, and you’re hopeful it rubs off on his teammates. With the minutes that those guys get I think that if we can put that type of pressure on our opponent night in and night out. You’ve got guys like Epps and Duop who can improve and shown their moxy for playing at a high level. We’re hopeful for other guys like Wade Sims or you name it there’s other guys that play forward spots, Elbert Robinson and those guys it will be a plus for us. They all have to play at the level of Craig.”
On what it means to have Antonio Blakeney back…
“It was music to our ears when Antonio Blakeney came out and said he would be returning for his sophomore season. He had a chance to fore go his sophomore season and it show maturity for him to pull out as quick as he did … He has a chance to make an impact on this team. He knew that there were some areas where he needed to continue to improve and get better and take some of the questions out for his draft status. I think he’s one of those guys you would automatically look to as someone projected to be a leader of this year’s team. I think he’s taken ownership of that …”
On fan base responding to an exciting brand of basketball…
“That’s certainly what we’re building towards. Each year our fan base has improved and the one thing we will still have on our chest is ‘LSU’ and that’s what our fan base is about. If we continue to play the right way and have success on the floor our fan base will welcome that because that’s what they are. We certainly hope that they are back this year because of what they were able to provide for us. Last year, we went 8-1 in conference play at home last year and our fans played a huge part in that. We’ll certainly need them again this year.”