LSU men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones hasn’t only brought improved recruiting classes to Baton Rouge — the former sharpshooter has helped current LSU players with their shooting strokes as well.
Under Jones, the Tigers are improving their shooting percentages and making smarter decisions about where to shoot.
The most efficient way to score in basketball is to attack the rim. By doing this, players shoot higher percentages and generate free throw attempts for their team.
Junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III, junior guard Anthony Hickey and senior guard Andre Stringer saw upticks in the percentages of shots they took at the rim under Jones’ tutelage.
With more players like freshman forward Jarell Martin and freshman guard Tim Quarterman capable of attacking the rim off the bounce, the Tigers’ efficiency on offense could continue to improve.
The Tigers also should see an improvement in their defense around the rim. Last season’s squad only had two players shorter than 6 feet in the starting lineup, while this season’s team could start a lineup with no player shorter than 6 feet 5 inches.
In the 2012-13 season, the Tigers surrendered a 66.7 shooting percentage on shots at the rim and only blocked 6.3 percent of the same shots. For comparison, the previous years’ team only allowed 62.2 percent shooting at the rim and blocked 10 percent of the shots.