With a one-point lead and 13.9 seconds to go in the second half, all of the LSU men’s basketball team’s fears stared it right in the face.
In a game they dominated for most of the way, the ninth-seeded Tigers let a 16-point, second-half lead slip away against eighth-seeded North Carolina State on March 20 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“As a competitor, you always want to remember [that loss],” said LSU coach Johnny Jones in his post-season press conference. “You talk about being able to break the rearview mirror, and you remember that experienced that you shared. What it does is keeps you hungry. It leaves you an empty feeling when that happens.”
Fans saw similar characteristics in many of LSU’s defeats in the 2014-2015 season, but the losses only tell part of the story. A story that has yet to be completed under Jones after his third year.
In fact, this season may have ushered in a new era for the Tigers on the hardwood even if the tournament loss was final game for All-Southeastern Conference forwards Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin.
Jones acknowledged there has to be balance between recruiting players who will leave early and role players who will stay longer.
“It’s important that you are recruiting at a certain pace and a certain level and have a balance of your recruiting in meaning that you’ve got to have some [players like] Jarell Martin, Johnny O’Bryant III, Shaquille O’Neal and guys of that nature,” Jones said. “At the same time, you have got to have someone that is going to be around the program for three or four years because that is where your nucleus of guys. Those role players are so significant.”
Even with the noticeable improvement for Jones’ 22-11 Tigers, in retrospect, this season was a learning experience for the head coach and his returning players. After racing out to an 11-2 start in non-conference play, LSU couldn’t find consistency against SEC opponents, finishing 11-9 down the stretch.
The team was young and lacked depth but managed to be one of the top teams in the conference with only six regular contributors.
The team had baffling losses to bottom-tier SEC teams — one of which came in its only game in the league tournament — but overcame a 13-point, second-half deficit in the Feb. 10 loss to then-undefeated and Final Four participant Kentucky.
For as many frustrating defeats as it had, the team had several gritty wins, including two victories against ranked teams on the road and a double-overtime win against Georgia, another NCAA Tournament team.
The team loses Mickey and Martin but keeps three starters and one transfer on top of acquiring a top-five recruiting class, including the consensus No. 1 overall prospect, Ben Simmons.
“We are glad that a guy like [transfer forward] Craig Victor is already here,” Jones said. “He will be a difference maker. We know we will have Ben Simmons coming in and the nucleus of guys we have coming back in the offseason with Elbert Robinson III and Aaron Epps — those guys who are real quality players and will certainly make an impact while they are here.”
It’s easy to take LSU’s demise in Pittsburgh as the lasting memory of a rocky season in Baton Rouge, but Jones is confident he has his program on the upswing after a year of growth.
“We’re always teaching our guys,” Jones said. “The thing is we have to allow at times our guys to play through certain things to mature and get better. You can’t save them from everything all of the time, and that a part of growing up. When you have a young team, sometimes they have to go through some things to get better and to learn those lessons so that in the future they have a better understanding.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.