Will Wade and Naz Reid both feel like they’re in the minority.
Reid’s the rare fan of Wade’s toughest drill, Southern Miss Rebounding, which has been a practice staple for two weeks of intense sessions.
Wade’s a fan of the way Reid’s been playing, despite lagging offensive numbers that lag no more after LSU’s 91-50 win over Incarnate Word on Sunday. Reid, back in the starting lineup after a one game absence, scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 22 minutes.
It’s the stuff that doesn’t show up in every box score that pleases Wade the most, though.
“I think Naz has been playing well,” Wade says. “I’m the vast minority. I know everybody else feels like he hasn’t been playing well. He did the same stuff today. He tried to take a charge. He dove for a loose ball in front of their bench. He takes good shots, for the most part. They just weren’t going in, and today, they went in.”
That effort has been on display behind the closed practice doors, where LSU has been getting after it for two weeks. The Tigers had just one game in 14 days entering Sunday’s contest, leaving plenty of time for two-a-days and physical, exhausting practice sessions, headlined by the rebounding drill Wade said his players most loathe.
Except Reid.
“I actually enjoy Southern Miss Rebounding,” Reid says. “It’s a battle. It shows who wants it more. It’s fun, when everyone else is competing against you. Being able to translate Southern Miss rebounding and stuff like that against another opponent, it’s absolutely fun. It’s something to enjoy, especially when you’re winning.”
It’s not just lip service from Reid, either. Wade says Reid’s in-game effort manifest by dives to the floor and attempted charges taken starts in practice.
“That joker, now, we practice hard the last couple days, multiple times, and he was in on every rebounding drill, blocking out,” Wade says. “He’s trying to get better. I thought his shot went in today, but I think he’s done a lot of things to help us win.”
The drill work paid off for the rest of the Tigers, too. LSU outrebounded UIW 43-20 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, led by Kavell Bigby-Williams‘ 10 rebounds – six on the offensive glass. He also tossed in 14 points for his first double-double of the season.
The message in those practices has been simple and translated Sunday, Bigby-Williams says: “Just be more physical than the other team, more tough. That’s something (Wade) has been stressing in practice. We’ve been doing rebounding drills, because obviously we’ve not been rebounding as well as we can. Today, we showed it.”
Though the final margin of victory was LSU’s largest of the season, it did not come without adversity. Freshman forward Emmitt Williams and senior guard Daryl Edwards were each sidelined with injuries, leaving the Tigers with just seven available scholarship players and walk-ons Marshall Graves and Will Reese. Four of those seven scholarship players found themselves in first-half foul trouble, which meant both Graves and Reese saw action.
Graves, in particular, delivered, finishing a game-high +31 in 20 minutes and knocking down two threes.
“I love it,” said Skylar Mays, who scored 13 points, dished out 6 assists, grabbed 5 rebounds, and swiped 4 steals. “It’s hard to say between (Graves) and Daryl who’s the better shooter, but they’re in the top two on the team.”
The coaches know that, too. That’s why when the defense gets two stops in a row and needs just one more to get off the floor during Southern Miss Rebounding, it’s Graves who gets the call.
“Guys like Marshall, he’s a really good shooter – you get two stops, and then Marshall hits the 3, and Coach says zero, and you’re back to zero,” Bigby-Williams says.
Mays and Ja’Vonte Smart, meanwhile, provided the first half spark to overcome a slow start. The pair combined for 16 straight points – the first seven from Mays, the last nine from Smart – to break open a close game and help the Tigers close the first half on an 18-2 run.
With starting point guard Tremont Waters one of those sidelined by foul trouble, Mays and Smart combined for 29 points, 11 assists, six steals, and just one turnover in the win.
“I was really proud of Skylar and Ja’Vonte,” Wade said. “They carried us in the first half.”
LSU’s attention quickly turns to a three-game non-conference stretch that will be as tough as any test they’ve faced all year. It starts with Wednesday’s trip to undefeated Houston, followed by a Saturday tilt with St. Mary’s in Las Vegas before a return home to face undefeated and top-25 ranked Furman on Dec. 21.
“We’ll see what we’re made of,” said Mays.