Few things in basketball are more exciting than a blocked shot, and that’s something the LSU men’s basketball team has learned over the years.
The Tigers ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in blocks a year ago, averaging 5.9 blocks per game, while then-freshman forward Jordan Mickey became the first player since Shaquille O’Neal to block 100 shots in a season. Mickey blocked 106 shots during the 2013-14 season.
“[Blocks] can be big for a defense,” Mickey said. “It can be a big momentum change to get a block.”
LSU’s success on defense in the post a season ago hasn’t wavered since the departure of former Tigers’ forward Johnny O’Bryant III. The Tigers boast seven forwards at 6-foot-8-inches or taller, averaging a height of 6-foot-10-inches among them.
The Tigers’ increase in height heading into the 2014-15 season replaced many departed veterans while helping the team pick up where it left off on defense.
Junior guard Keith Hornsby said the Tigers have towers down in the paint, and it’s going to be hard for opponents to get easy looks at the rim with the size they have down low.
“[This interior defense] can be real good,” said sophomore forward Jarell Martin. “We’ve got long guys with myself, Jordan and [freshman center] Elbert [Robinson III] who are real long, so that’s a plus in the inter or when we can distract players or even get a blocked shot.”
In an exhibition game against Morehouse College on Nov. 7, the Tigers blocked 13 shots, including five from Mickey.
While the Tigers cooled off in their regular season opener, tallying three blocks against Gardner-Webb, the team has made its presence known on the low block.
Mickey said the team doesn’t try to focus solely on blocking shots, but it’s an asset he has used to his advantage over the years.
“Blocking shots is not mainly because of not playing good defense,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “A lot of times, Jordan would get blocked shots because he’s coming from the weak side. He may be blocking one of his other teammates’ guys’ shot because they’ve come in and he’s coming from the blind side or from the weak side and made a good block.”
Freshman forward Aaron Epps said blocks can be a tone-setter for a team while out on the court: It can strike fear and make opponents uncomfortable throughout the course of a game.
Epps, who had all three blocks against Gardner-Webb, brought his words to light. After Epps made his presence known in the paint keying up some huge blocks for the Tigers, Gardner-Webb elected to come out in the second half with more jump shots from the perimeter, enabling the Tigers to create a reasonable cushion to hold off a late Gardner-Webb rally.
Martin said blocks give the other team a memo of how the Tigers plan to go about attacking their opponent.
“That definitely sends a message out to the other team when you block shots, telling them that it’s not going to be that easy coming down in the paint and scoring,” Martin said. “You’ve got to be physical, and you’ve just got to come out and outwork us because we’re definitely going to bring the intensity and try to knock them in the dirt.”
Hornsby, who gets most of his minutes at shooting guard for the Tigers, said seeing players as tall as the Tigers have down low can be a huge distraction for a guard when driving to the basket.
The 6-foot-4-inch transfer from UNC-Asheville scored 17 points in his regular season debut with the team looking comfortable throughout the afternoon, but he said playing against considerable height is something that is hard to get used to.
“They always say when you’re a guard, you’ve got to look past your man, and when you see big seven footers down there, you have to be aware of it,” Hornsby said. “You could try to practice it all you want, but once you really get down to it it’s nothing like it.
“You can’t really prepare for that moment when all of a sudden, he’s right in your face and it’s like ‘Oh, got to get it off.’ So a lot of that just comes with playing a lot and some of that stuff will come naturally to you.”
The Tigers are a ball-hungry team, and with Mickey leading the way down low on a longer interior defense, this season has the potential to be a difficult one for opponents in the paint.
“Crowds love blocks, and when you hear the roar of the crowd after a block, it just fuels you,” Hornsby said. “Blocks are big, especially with [Mickey] down there. He’ll get some great blocks this year and the momentum will soar.
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.