I remember sitting in the PMAC in early November watching LSU play an early exhibition game against EA Sports. At some point in the first half, Glen Davis made his first appearance on the court. This was the first time I'd seen the guy. I must admit that at the time I thought he was simply way too big to play heavy minutes in games.... Then within no time I saw him diving onto the floor for loose balls, getting a block here and there, slapping the ball away making steals. All the while, he did it all so gingerly. He never tired out and has continued that type of all out play all year. He's gotten into much better shape and has only continues to improve. Davis, along with the other four starters have all played more than the usual amount of minutes for typical starters at their level. Somehow they maintain their composure and compete day in and day out. People often speak about LSU's lack of depth as being a problem for the team. I tend to see it very differently. I see a solid group of well-conditioned starters that can play 35-40 minutes a game and not miss a step. Not many teams have these types of players. Most teams HAVE to use their bench players because the starters NEED to come out regularly. This could be an advantage for LSU in the upcoming tourney. I'll take LSU's starting five right now against anyone in the nation. The more those guys are able to stay on the court, the better. Note: That is not taking away at all from the quality minutes Neltner and Whipple give on a consistent basis. Those two guys are tremendous players and contributors to the team. Obviously though, they are not the starters. Also, I am wondering if anyone here is familiar with the basketball team's strength and conditioning program. Any details?
That's an interesting proposition 99. I guess you could look at it like that for their in-game performance, and you're probably right. My biggest concern is their recovery time between games. It's critical that they can get their muscles healed after the games, and that can typically only be done with rest.
I had thought about that too. I figured we'd see their ability to play on short rest in the SEC tourney. However, LSU ended up playing Aubarn's dwarfs in their first game and in reality that enter game was nothing more than a light practice session. <end Aubarn smack> We will find out soon enough about their ability to recover - I hope. :bball:
I agree with you Grad. People always talk about the lack of depth being a major concern. I dont see it that way. I think that LSU has the ability and stamina to play those 7 guys the whole game. Physically I believe they can do it. The only concern for the team is what if they get into foul trouble. But, I dont see where 5 guys playing 33-40 mins a game hurts. Many teams have a lot of bodies, yet their bread and butter guys still play around 30-35 mins. I said this the other day, Kentucky has a great advantage over many b/c they can sub in 5 at a time and not miss a beat. But, after watching them play LSU I think the fact that they can sub in 5 at a time if needed helped them a lot more then LSU's lack of depth hurts the Tigers. If that makes any sense. I think the Tigers understand what they have to do. The 5 starts understand that they are needed for those mins and they step up to the task.
the format of the NCAAs enables depth-shy teams like LSU and Duke to make a run at the Final 4. whereas, in the conf tourney, you usually have to be deep to win it. I agreee with LSUgradin that this team, save UNC's starting five, are as good as anyone in the country. With only two games a weekend, LSU can go all out and not worry about any back to back games that would put them at a disadvantage. does anyone know, what time LSU would play on sat if we were to win thursday vs. UAB?
One thing I would add is that I would never have even come close to saying this only a month ago. Hudson and Mitchell have really stepped up their game in the past few weeks. The inside/outside game of LSU is just scary now with those two contributing like they are now.
I remember during Bird's last few years with the Celtics him, McHale, Parish and Johnson playing about 35-42 minutes a game because of their lack of depth. If they can do that playing an NBA schedule than I think these college kids can do it playing 2 games a week easily, under normal circumstances. Now playing a team like UAB could be a little more of a challenge though if they press the entire 40 minutes. Brady may have to sub a little more than normal.
You guys aren't talking about the big pink elephant in the corner of the room: foul trouble. What happens if we get, say, Davis and Bass in foul trouble against a deeper team? I can buy these guys playing big minutes, but what if Brandon Bass picks up, say, his third foul with 16:00 left in the game? We can't trade fouls with people, which is why I'm afraid of LSU facing a team with a physical frountcourt and some depth.
