LSU Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Tigers
By Ben Dickson
Projected Starting Lineup
For the purpose of this slide, we will assume LSU goes with the traditional starting lineup of two guards, two forwards, and a center. It is very possible they could roll out three-guard lineups, though, and we will cover that in the next slide.
Javonte Smart – Point Guard
Javonte Smart enters his junior year as one of the best point guards in the entire nation. The Baton Rouge native was named to the preseason All-SEC First Team and tabbed as one of twenty on the Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List.
Smart was extremely steady for the Tigers last season, averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 31 games played. He led the team in assists while also shooting 48.2% from the field.
Throughout the 2019-20 season, Smart thrived in his role as the main distributor for LSU. Not only was he able to stay on the floor for the majority of the game, he also rarely turned the ball over. His 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio in conference games was first in the entire conference.
Smart is in great shape to control the Tigers backcourt this season while looking to prove himself as one of the country’s best at his position.
Cameron Thomas – Shooting Guard
The highly touted Cameron Thomas should be a major contributor right away for LSU. The consensus 5-star recruit from Chesapeake, Virginia brings a ton of talent immediately for the Tigers.
Thomas absolutely lit up the stat sheet during his senior year at Oak Hill Academy, averaging 31.5 points per contest. The freshman, who is Oak Hill’s all-time leading scorer and led the 2019 NIKE EYBL circuit in scoring, is a certified bucket getter. Thomas can be classified an elite scorer who can score in a volume of ways.
It will be interesting to see how Thomas’ game translates to the college level, but there is no doubt he will play a major factor in LSU’s offense.
Darius Days – Forward
As he embarks on his junior year, Darius Days should play a much bigger role for the Tigers. Despite only playing 23.5 minutes per game in 2019-20, Days filled up the stat sheet, averaging 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Days is a force to be reckoned with in the paint. He shot a remarkable 68.8% from inside the arc during his sophomore season. He is also efficient at the charity stripe, shooting 77.1% for his career, and can step out and knock down the occasional three-pointer.
One thing that cannot be underestimated from Days is his offensive rebounding prowess. His 2.5 offensive rebounds per game only ranked fifth in the SEC, but the second-chance opportunities those lead to cannot be underestimated.
Trendon Watford – Forward
While Florida’s Keyontae Johnson was named SEC Preseason Player of the Year, it can be argued that there is no better player in the conference than Trendon Watford.
The former 5-star recruit had a very good freshman campaign, averaging 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. His performance was good enough to warrant SEC All-Freshman honors. Watford begins his sophomore season with a lot of hype to live up to. The forward was named to the preseason All-SEC First Team and the Karl Malone Award Preseason Watch List.
Despite just turning 20 years old, there is no doubt that Watford is ready to lead this team. If there is one thing that Watford, who returned to school after testing the NBA Draft waters, needs to improve on it is his 3-point shooting. If he can get his 26.9% three-point shooting mark up, Watford will be ready to take that step from All-SEC to All-American and potential first-round draft pick.
Watford is a great playmaker at the power forward position, and the Tigers will only go as far as he does for this upcoming season.
Bryan Penn-Johnson – Center
After playing only 49 minutes and appearing in only 11 games in 2 years at Washington, Bryan Penn-Johnson is a bit of an unknown for LSU. The former 4-star recruit redshirted his freshman year in Seattle and soon transferred after that. The NCAA granted him a waiver for immediately eligibility for this upcoming season.
Penn-Johnson is quite literally a big piece for the Tigers. Standing at 7’0″ and 260 pounds with a 7’7″ wingspan, he will be a force to be reckoned with in the paint. He shapes up as a rim protector on defense and someone who should be able to score inside on offense as well.
Penn-Johnson should have the inside track to the starting center job, but there are bodies behind him who will be ready to contribute too.