It was a difficult couple of days in the apartment shared by LSU senior guards Andre Stringer and Shavon Coleman.
After returning home from an 85-67 loss to Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference tournament in Atlanta — a loss that took the Tigers’ fate out of their own hands — the seniors were left twisting in the wind with nothing to do but hope and pray they’d be given another chance to don the purple and gold.
And whether they’ll admit it or not, doubt crept deeper as projection after projection had the Tigers failing to make any postseason tournament.
Stringer played back through the regular season in his mind, thinking about what could have gone differently and dreading the thought of his career ending on such a low note. The more time that passed, the worse the uncertainty grew.
Then late on Selection Sunday, the National Invitation Tournament’s selection committee granted LSU a reprieve. Coleman and Stringer pumped their fists in the air, and just like that, LSU’s season, as well as the collegiate careers of its two seniors, was reborn.
“Once we didn’t get into the NCAA, it was very stressful and we had to wait another whole hour for the NIT,” Coleman said. “But once I saw our name pop up, it was very exciting. It was a great release.”
LSU was granted a No. 5 seed and a trip out west to play No. 4 seeded San Francisco tonight.
Junior forward Johnny O’Bryant III is the third inhabitant of the apartment. As the news flashed across their TV screen, all he could think about was his two roommates and how happy he was being able to spend a few additional days with them as teammates.
“I was excited for those guys as seniors,” O’Bryant said. “Andre is like a brother to me, so keeping his career going will sit well with me once this thing is all over with.”
When teams begin the season with NCAA-or-bust aspirations, a NIT bid can be taken as an unwanted consolation prize, often making motivation a problem. Combine that with some sluggishness from flying across the country on a short turnaround, it can be that much worse.
Lessons learned from a 96-76 thrashing at Oregon in the first round of the 2012 NIT — a game O’Bryant, Stringer and point guard Anthony Hickey started — should help deal with what O’Bryant called “a long trip.”
For a second, throw out the fact that LSU’s returning players can benefit from the experience and exposure of playing tournament games on the road. Any LSU player in need of a fire in his belly need only look into the eyes of their two brothers in arms who very well may be suiting up for the last time.
Stringer is a four-year letterman and has been a solid piece of the program during two separate coaching regimes. Coleman has only spent two seasons at LSU, but his leadership and hustle quickly melded him into the core of the team.
Neither will ever have their jersey hanging from the PMAC rafters, but they’ve been good, tough players since their arrivals in Baton Rouge.
Both Coleman and Stringer tried to keep the focus on the team as a whole, not wanting to make themselves the center of attention or a rallying cry — they didn’t have to.
“We have to make it happen for our seniors,” Hickey said. “We have a chance to play with them again, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
LSU dropped a 69-61 clunker to Georgia on Senior Day at the PMAC. It won’t get another chance for a proper send off at home, but if they make a run to the NIT Championship in New York City, I doubt anyone will be complaining.
James Moran is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Beacon, N.Y.