Sporting News speculated whether preseason scouting combines organized by college basketball programs would become a trend after the University of Kentucky held its own prior to the 2014 season last November.
“Probably this year, Duke could, but I don’t think anybody besides Duke and Kentucky could get that many pro scouts there for a combine,” said University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino when the publication asked him about the possibility.
What a difference a year makes.
With the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, taking its cue last week, No. 19 LSU became one of three programs in the country to host NBA scouts for two open practices.
LSU coach Johnny Jones said representatives from 28 of 30 NBA teams showed up for at least the first of two sessions Oct. 13-14, watching potential 2016 first round picks like freshman forward Ben Simmons and junior guard Tim Quarterman.
More Tigers, such as freshmen guard Antonio Blakeney, had an opportunity to raise their stocks in front of professional organizations before the 2015 team has played a meaningful minute this season.
If one thing from the LSU’s combine was evident, it’s the amount of eyes on the basketball squad in Baton Rouge — as many as there have ever been.
“I thought yesterday the guys did a good job, especially playing under — I guess you could say — the lights and the type of pressure and the eyes on them,” Jones said at LSU Media Day. “Because all these guys have great ambitions to hopefully one day be playing at the level and for possibly one of those 30 organization.”
Even at Media Day, which coincided with the second open practice, Jones noted how many reporters arrived for the Tigers’ second media appearance of fall practice. In his mind, all this extra attention is good because the opposite wouldn’t be a positive sign.
It’s a different position than Jones has ever held, even when he was an assistant on former LSU coach Dale Brown’s staff. Brown’s teams in the early 1990s, which included future NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, had as much attention as any other basketball team in school history, but Jones was more focused on recruiting.
So the promotions aspect, particularly with this year’s roster, is new but very enjoyable for him.
“It’s important because you want those seats filled,” Jones said. “You want people coming out. You want them anxiously awaiting an opportunity for us to tip it off, and they can come out and support really what we’re doing. I welcome really being on this side of it than the other side where there’s no excitement around the program or it’s going the other way.”
For Jones, this year is the culmination of something he started in spring 2012 when he assumed the job at his alma mater. Under his direction, the Tigers have recorded 19-, 20- and 22-win seasons, achieving their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2009.
But with Simmons, the preseason SEC Player of the Year, Blakeney and Sampson to go along with the returners, the preseason expectations are clearly inflated. Jones wanted to do the combine as soon as possible to eliminate the distractions, but he saw how the Wildcats, a 2015 Final Four participant, were able to hold the event last season without it hindering their success once the season started.
Senior guard Keith Hornsby, one of the most experienced players on the roster, said he realizes the talent of this team needs to be met with the appropriate effort every day, especially when the regular season begins.
“That was one of our issues last year,” Hornsby said. “Some of the beginning games, with lesser Division I teams, we underestimated them. We had to realize that everyone can play in there, especially now that we have all of this hype. They’re going to want to kick our butt. They are going to want to come in and teach us a lesson. If we don’t let that get to us, we should be fine. We have a lot of potential here.”
Blakeney said early practices prove how competitive this year’s team can be, especially after LSU’s preseason tour of Australia in August.
No better example of that competitiveness was shown when the freshman guard accidentally butted heads with Quarterman in one-on-one drills, causing a small cut on Blakeney’s forehead. In the Oct. 14 open practice, the elder guard, again by accident in one-on-one drills, knocked a piece of Blakeney’s tooth out.
But Blakeney literally tossed the chipped tooth to side and kept participating in drills.
“I don’t know if I would have done that,” Quarterman said with a laugh at a media session Tuesday. “He was just thinking off emotion. That just shows the type player he is, the type of guy he is, on the court.”
When Blakeney, Quarterman and the rest of the Tigers step on the PMAC court for first official collegiate contest, the view from fans will be different than in recent memory. But Jones and his team expect to match those expectations, including the player who brought much of the hype with him.
“I don’t really get nervous when I step on the court,” Simmons said. “It’s something I’ve been doing since I was four years old, so I enjoy it.”