Storm Warren has seen a Southeastern Conference championship and the SEC cellar in four years at LSU.
The senior forward enjoyed every moment.
Warren will be one of three Tiger seniors honored at tonight’s final home game, concluding a subtly spectacular career during one of LSU basketball’s most trying eras.
“It’s overwhelming. I can’t believe it’s here,” Warren said. “The ball’s gonna stop bouncing for all of us someday, so I just want to enjoy the moment. I think my mom will be crying more than me, for sure.”
The Monroe native’s career hasn’t been flashy. He’s never led LSU in scoring for a season, only grabbed the most rebounds once and hasn’t made a single 3-pointer.
But the gangly 6-foot-7 Richwood High product will still finish his career among the top 25 in rebounds, shooting percentage and steals in the LSU record books.
“His sophomore and junior year, as soon as practice was over, Storm was there in the gym working on his 15-foot jump shot,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “The bottom line is Storm Warren made himself as good of a basketball player as he can possibly be.”
Not bad for someone who didnt’ play the game until he was 14.
“I was just a regular kid — not even playing sports — until [Richwood basketball coach] Terry Martin Sr. got hold of me,” Warren said.
Martin Sr. — the father of former LSU guard and Warren’s longtime friend, Terry Martin — saw the lanky Warren’s competitiveness and threw him to the wolves against varsity players during an eighth grade practice.
“That was a head-spinner,” Warren said, chuckling. “But coach Martin taught me how to play basketball. Everything’s blossomed from there.”
Martin Sr. was more than a coach to Warren. He was essentially a surrogate father, housing Warren — who is one of eight siblings — for three years during high school while the student’s family endured tumultuous times.
“Like all of us, Storm is a human being before a basketball player,” said senior forward Malcolm White, Warren’s close friend and road-trip roommate. “Some of us have tough roads, whether it’s family or otherwise. Basketball is entertainment and being athletes doesn’t keep us from life’s trials. I think Storm would agree that he’s a stronger person for the way things happened.”
Martin Sr. will be on the floor with Warren and his mother for tonight’s pre-game Senior Night ceremony.
After leading Richwood to consecutive district championships and earning Class 3A MVP honors, Warren became one of the state’s most sought-after talents.
Even former coach John Brady’s firing and Johnson’s arrival couldn’t dissuade Warren from heading to Baton Rouge.
“I picked LSU because I wanted a school that would make me happy,” Warren said. “I thought it like this: If I were injured in my first practice of college and never played again, would I still like the place? And I have been [happy] at LSU. Almost every day.”
Warren arrived on campus as raw as they come. He was turnover-prone, couldn’t shoot consistently beyond the lane and lacked sufficient court awareness.
But Warren’s rebounding skills, relentless hustle and energetic presence — he still inspires student-section cheers for his unique name and ferocious dunks — earned him prominent playing time as a freshman on LSU’s 2008-09 SEC championship squad.
After that early success, the bottom temporarily fell out of the program. Five seniors graduated off that title squad, seven more players transferred in the ensuing two seasons and the team faltered to consecutive 20-loss campaigns.
An infusion of new talent and improved depth this season has LSU (17-11, 7-7 SEC) back in postseason contention and dreaming of more championships down the road.
“Those two years were a roller coaster,” Warren said. “I knew it’d be a rebuilding process, but I didn’t think we’d fall so hard, so fast. Getting things turned around and leaving this program moving toward better things … I’m proud of that.”
Warren has been an integral part of the Tigers’ renewed relevance, albeit in his typically unsung manner. He’s averaging just 8.3 points and five rebounds while playing in every game and starting 13.
Still, Warren has lowered his foul and turnover totals in his final season while shooting a career-high 72 percent from the free throw line. He propelled LSU to a crucial one-point December victory at Houston with game-winning free throws in the final seconds.
Warren has also found success beyond the hardwood. He’s set to graduate in May with a degree in sports management, becoming the first member of his immediate family to complete college.
“We’ve connected a lot through taking academics seriously and graduating college,” said fellow senior Chris Bass, the only player who has been with Warren at LSU all four seasons. “He’s a stand-up guy. Always smiling, but rarely joking. That’s how Storm approaches everything. You admire men like that.”
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]