Still unaware of his freshman forward’s future plans when he sat alongside Jordan Mickey at a press conference on Wednesday, LSU coach Johnny Jones had a hunch.
“I know what a bright young man he is and how he evaluates and how he looks at things,” Jones said. “He’s extremely smart. I knew he made the right decision.”
Mickey announced to Jones and the rest of his team that he would hold off on his NBA aspirations and return to the Tigers for his sophomore season, a year removed from starting all 34 games of his freshman season.
In that season, Mickey earned a spot on the All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team and All-SEC Defensive Team, while league coaches selected him to the conference’s second team.
Still, Mickey saw facets of his game that needed improvement before jumping to the next level.
“I need to continue to get bigger, stronger, faster and improve on my skill set,” Mickey said. “It was a tough decision. Coming back was the best thing for me to continue to improve my game and help my team win some more games next year.”
Mickey, the Tigers’ leader in rebounds and blocked shots last season, said he reached the decision Tuesday after more than a month of seeking advice from family, friends and NBA scouts.
While Mickey was not allowed to speak directly with NBA teams, Jones said his season received positive reviews from the representatives who contacted him.
Mickey’s father, James Wright Sr., said the feedback added to the difficulty of the decision.
“He’s right on the border of being able to play in the NBA,” Wright said. “Coming back to LSU is something he was really excited about doing as well. We think, overall, coming back would improve his stock for next year, so we think that’s best for him as a family.”
Wright said the family met multiple times with Jones and “people from the outside” to reach the decision.
With the departure of All-SEC forward Johnny O’Bryant III to the NBA, Mickey’s return was a welcome sign for Jones, who hopes he and classmate Jarell Martin can assume leadership roles in place of O’Bryant and departed seniors Andre Stringer and Shavon Coleman.
“You want to make sure he has the ability to move out of the shadows of those upperclassmen,” Jones said. “[Martin and Mickey] got to start showing that this offseason and take a shared responsibility of ownership of the team.”
Step one in that offseason? Teaching a new crop of Tigers.
Without O’Bryant, Mickey will share the frontcourt with 6-foot-11 signee Elbert Robinson, a Garland, Texas, native who will need to learn the intricacies of the LSU offense.
“Elbert’s an extremely good player and he’ll pick up on things pretty fast,” Mickey said. “Just a few simple things to teach, it won’t be that bad. I’ve done it before in high school.”
Mickey said Robinson and incoming guard Josh Gray are keys to the Tigers’ success in 2014, even calling the team a potential NCAA tournament qualifying team in explaining his decision to return to Baton Rouge.
It’s a sentiment shared by the entire family.
“Any kid’s aspirations are to play in the NBA,” Wright said. “But that will come. Right now, we’re all on board to try to win a championship here.”