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LSU Tigers Basketball: It’s Going to be a Process for Johnny Jones and the Tigers

By James Fitzgerald

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One of the biggest reasons why the upcoming college basketball season is going to be exciting is because of the possibilities that come along with the 3rd ranked recruiting class the LSU Tigers have coming in.

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LSU Tigers basketball is going to be one of the major national storylines in college basketball from the time the ball gets tipped off in November.

Johnny Jones’ bunch has the potential this season to be the team to knock off the SEC king of the mountain Kentucky Wildcats.

Coach Jones has to be commended for the job he has done reviving the LSU hoop program. He has been the coach in Baton Rouge since 2012 and has accumulated a record of 61-37 in that span.

The belief in what he is building in “The Bayou” is obvious and is evidenced by the fact that he was able to attract the top recruit in the nation in 6-foot-10 forward Ben Simmons.

Ben Simmons, along with five-star 6-foot-4 shooting guard recruit Antonio Blankeney, and four-star 6-foot-4 shooting guard recruit Brandon Sampson, are a big reason why hoop fans believe this is the best opportunity for a changing of the guard in SEC Basketball.

But it is going to be a process for the LSU Tigers. It is going to take a little bit of time for these freshman pieces to meld together with the existing upperclassmen players LSU already has in the cupboard.

That process began in Australia for LSU when the Tigers did their tour “Down Under” playing games from August 15- August 22nd.

In the end, the Tigers finished their Australian trip with a record of 3-2, but there were some lessons learned.  The team was able to learn how to battle together for tough wins, and battle back after a tough loss.

Jan 31, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Johnny Jones during the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the LSU Tigers 73-67. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

For example,  their 91-88 victory over Queensland, Australia was a test of their will. The Tigers were tied with Queensland and there were 40 seconds left in the game. Ben Simmons was able to tip in a game winner after his initial shot was missed and Antonio Blankeney was not able to tip in Simmons’ original miss.

That win moved their record to 2-1 and the Tigers learned how to persevere in a tight game late.

Even in their 97-95 loss in their second game to the Sydney Kings, the team learned that they can battle from a halftime deficit and that they are going to have to tighten up to maintain the lead after they battle back.

It comes with youth, but given how tough the teams were that they played in Australia, it was a nice test for them as they prepare for the 2015-16 season.

Being able to come back from a loss to Sydney after battling back at the half,  and getting a win against Queensland on a tip in the very next game shows the character of this team.

The team showed that the mix of youth with Simmons and Blankney is going to be solid along with in place upperclassmen Tim Quarterman and Keith Hornsby.

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    • Though LSU left Australia on a sour note losing to Melbourne 82-64,  (a team that they had beaten 97-89 in a previous meeting during this trip) the Tigers had done enough to be able to be confident about what they can accomplish when November comes.

    This is going to be a process for Johnny Jones, Ben Simmons and company. This is only the beginning.

    The next step in their process is going to be learning how to win with expectation when the NCAA season starts.

    The actual process begins when the Tigers play in the Legends Classic after they knock out their two exhibition games against Southwest Baptist Nov. 6th and November 13th against McNeese State.

    When the real bullets fly, this LSU Tigers team is going to be ready to prove that all the hype surrounding this years’ team is legitimate.

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