LSU men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones has drawn praise for kick-starting a stagnant program that hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009.
But what effect did he actually have on the team?
Previous coach Trent Johnson left LSU in a precarious situation after his departure in April 2012. Leading scorer Justin Hamilton bolted for the professional ranks, the Tigers’ best 3-point shooter — Ralston Turner — transferred to NC State and senior forward Storm Warren graduated.
Jones inherited a team without two of its top-three scorers from the previous season and only two of the previous season’s starting five.
Even with the roster in turmoil, Jones was able to improve the Tigers’ record in various key statistical categories. They are as follows:
The biggest change came on offense. The Tigers in the Johnson era — especially in the 2009-10 season — played a slow offensive style, which proved to be inefficient.
POSSESSIONS
LSU averaged 66 possessions per 40 minutes under Johnson, while in Jones’ first year the team averaged 70 possessions per 40 minutes. By increasing possessions and being more efficient on those possessions, the Tigers averaged 71 points per game, up seven points from the 63 points they averaged in Johnson’s last three seasons.
FLOOR PERCENTAGE
The Tigers improved their floor percentage as well. Floor percentage is the ratio of scoring possessions to total possessions. Under Jones, the Tigers have scored on a higher percentage of their offensive possessions.
SHOOTING PERCENTAGES
The Tigers shot 40 percent from the floor, 32 percent on 3-pointers and attempted 582 free throws while averaging 65.4 points per game.
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS
Under Johnson, the Tigers attempted 1,947 field goal attempts, with 530 of those attempts being 3-pointers. Under Jones this year, the Tigers attempted 1,839 field goals, with 658 being 3-pointers.
REBOUNDS
When a team takes more 3-pointers, it leads to more chances for offensive rebounds, which often leads to high percentage shots around the rim. LSU improved its rebounding rate from last year, even with losing Hamilton, its top rebounder.
3-POINT EFFICIENCY
The Tigers were also more efficient when they shot those threes, as their 3-point shooting percentage went up to 35 percent after averaging 30 percent during Johnson’s last three seasons. Junior guard Andre Stringer improved his 3-point shooting percentage a full nine points from 31 percent last season to 40 percent this season, while shooting 25 more shots.
STEAL PERCENTAGE
The Tigers’ improvement wasn’t just on the offensive end. Jones implemented a more aggressive defensive style, which emphasized creating turnovers.
LSU’s steal percentage — an estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal — was 13.1 percent last year, up from 10.5 in the previous year. The increased percentage of possessions that ended in a turnover for the opponent helped the Tigers swipe a total of 50 more steals than they did in the 2011-12 season. Four Tigers averaged a steal per game — with junior guard Anthony Hickey leading the team with just under three per game — while two LSU players averaged more than one steal per game in the 2011-12 season.
By increasing both their offensive and defensive efficiencies, the Tigers achieved a .500 record in the SEC for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
But the biggest change under the Jones regime won’t show itself until next season.
Jones is bringing in the highest recruiting class to come to LSU since the 2003 season. The class is highlighted by small forward Jarrell Martin, the No. 14 player in the nation, according to ESPN.
Power forward Jordan Mickey and point guard Tim Quarterman round out the top half of LSU’s recruiting haul. Jones also secured help for the undersized Tigers with the commitments of 6-foot-11 center John Odo and 7-foot Darcy Malone — LSU only had one player taller than 6-foot-10 last season.
With the new players coming in and the returning players becoming more comfortable with Jones’ offensive and defensive philosophies, LSU’s basketball program can expect to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
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