You know, in looking at the line, that was my reaction too. Temple has another so so game (more turnovers than assists), Martin has another very good game. Mason turns it up a notch, as does Lazare (all things considering). And, Tack does not play, and Voogd plays 20 minutes. I don't get that--Voogd in all his time has four assists to go with three turnovers and no points. If what you say is true, and there's more friction between Brady and Tack, it is perhaps the wrong (or right, depending on your perspective) for Tack to have a beef. The back court is crowded, and Terry brings more points and a potential to open up the offense, and Tack's role on this team is a mystery. What's interesting is that Temple has played less well since Martin has come on board (which is interesting because didn't Martin and Temple come out at the same time... could there be a little self-consciousness in Garrett now that Martin has come on board?). So, should Tack get some more minutes at the expense of Temple? Tack, IMO, brings more the court than Voogd, but the dynamics are different now that Terry is here. You can essentially have Voogd out there to not turn the ball over and pass it to shooters (Martin & Mason) and Big Baby, hustle on d, which is what Tack has not yet shown the patience to do. The other thing to consider is, is losing Tack all that bad given the recruiting situation? LSU might free up another schollie in a year when there are several 4 star talents trying to sign with LSU which has a limited number of spots to give... Things could get interesting. :geauxtige :bball: :champs: LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. THE EXPERIMENTING CONTINUES...
http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=735058 That has probably hampered his play in general.
This is also an excellent point. Tack needs to be a better contributor as PG, but dominance in the paint is killing us right now. I didn't think we'd miss TT this much. But, the season is still young.
I miss TT also but I miss DM even more right now. We need someone to control a team and able to knock the big shots down from the PG position. With him, Temple could play his natural spot and have the energy he needs for defense. Big Baby can take care of himself down there with a pace that DM provides. However, TT dunking and blocking all over the place made for some exciting LSU games.
what no one talks about is how much easier the game is for the guards with T-T on the court. NO ONE NOOOO ONNNNNE could penetrate on us last season. In the Duke game, I remember the tv guy saying Brady told Voogd to let Paulus go by so Thomas could swat him. this year, the guards have more options and are far less predictable to guard.
Minor is a cancer on this team. It's all about Minor, not LSU basketball. I was hoping he would mature over the last two years, but it isn't happening. Here we are 11 games into the season and Brady benches him to send a message. I don't know how many messages needs to be sent before he wakes up. I say we move on without Minor...
While I agree DM was the heart of the team last year, a leader and a guy to step up and take that last shot, I'm not sure I'd put him above T-Time at this point in terms of missing him. Look, the reality is our outside shooting has improved as a whole, with Martin really stepping up, and Mitchell and Temple both improved. From a true PG standpoint, DM wasn't the best PG, he was an undersized SG forced to play point. If you look at his A2TO ratio last year versus Temple, I think you'd find that Temple has done a better job of handling the ball. I agree though, DM, would have provided a quicker defender and a guy that folks had to focus on. This year, that guy is Terry Martin from early showings. Down the road, I think that this LSU team will be more dangerous from the perimeter, with a rotation of Martin, Mason, Temple and Mitchell all being solid guys that can hurt you in different ways. The Tack thing is really confounding. I've been pulling for the guy since he got here, b/c you can tell the kid's got some talent, but it's hard to know what's going on here. The Advocate today reports that his not playing was "coach's decision" so clearly Brady is sending the message... I'm not opposed to it, if there are really issues, obviously, but you hate to see it come to this. One, Voogd plays more, which is fine when you see him out on the court against the Miss Valley States of the world, but is he really going to step up against the likes of UConn? Two, it sends the message to the world (probably wrongfully) that Brady doesn't get along with his players. Especially, when he always seems to have his issues at the point position. Now, I don't believe that's the truth, b/c he was fine with Torris Bright (arguably the last decent "true" point we had), but you've got Tommy Mason-Griffin (who's a friend of Tack's) who's coming in in '09. Hopefully, Tack realizes that any good point guard is going to be a team player, and he'll get his head straight before it gets any worse.
