LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson participated in his first Southeastern Conference men’s basketball coaches’ teleconference Wednesday morning.
LSU’s first black full-time coach of a major men’s sport spent time commenting on multiple topics, including recruiting issues.
ONE-AND-DONE
NBA rules state prospective players are unable to join the league until they are 19 years old. The player must also be a year removed from his final year of high school, causing many prep prospects to attend one year of college before entering the draft.
“If someone’s a ‘one-and-done,’ we’re not going to pursue them anymore – no way,” Arizona coach Lute Olsen told The Los Angeles Times after losing standout recruit Brandon Jennings to a European basketball league.
Johnson said he considers the situation a little more complicated.
“You have to look at your team that you are trying to build,” Johnson said. “You look at your roster and make sure that if there is a young man that is a possibility of being ‘one-and-done’ or even a ‘two-and-done’ that you have some separation between your classes and you have guys who can come in and fulfill a role.”
Johnson said whether to recruit a top athlete who may be ‘one-and-done’ is a difficult decision.
“We all want to recruit the best player possible,” Johnson said. “But we also have to look at what is best for your program and your team over the long haul.”
LSU recently housed its own “one-and-done,” 6-foot-10-inch freshman forward Anthony Randolph.
After months of speculation, Randolph eventually declared in April for the 2008 NBA Draft, two days before Johnson was hired. He was selected No. 14 overall by the Golden State Warriors.
ROBBING THE CRADLE
Another topic of discussion during the teleconference was a statement from the National Association of Basketball Coaches opposing the acceptance of commitments from students who have not yet completed their sophomore season of high school – a decision Johnson agreed with.
“When a kid is a recruitable athlete, I am going to evaluate him, look at him and do everything possible within the rules,” Johnson said. “But it’s hard for me to get excited about a kid who is going into the ninth or 10th grade.”
Johnson said it is difficult to tell what to expect from a college player when recruiting him so far in advance.
“A lot can change,” Johnson said. “I’m not talking physically as much as I am talking mentally, between your ninth or 10th grade year in high school and your junior and senior year in high school.”
The NABC’s statement comes a little more than a month after 15-year-old Michael Avery said he would attend Kentucky.
“I really do believe every single coach has to try to do what they think is best for their individual institution,” said Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie. “You have a responsibility to recruit the absolute best players to give yourselves the best chance to win within the rules.
SHORTENING THE SEASON
The SEC coaches discussed with reporters the idea of shortening the season – a concept Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt brought up in a June interview with USA Today.
Hewitt said the season takes up too much of the players’ time in an era when the NCAA is putting more emphasis on academic success.
“Coaches say, ‘I used to start the season around Thanksgiving, and now I’m opening Nov. 9,'” Hewitt said. “It’s too early. There is a mixed message being sent out here.”
Johnson said shortening the season would be difficult to try because of money and revenue issues. He said he would at least like to see student-athletes have a break.
“One thing I am really an advocate of is a longer break between Christmas,” Johnson said. “It’s funny. Basketball is the one sport – because of the length of the season, whether you’re a quarter or a semester school – that these kids come on campus and they don’t get a break. If certain teams advance deep into the [NCAA] tournament, they don’t get a spring break.”
Johnson said he would like to see some sort of shortening of the schedule but does not expect it.
“I would be shocked,” he said. “I would be surprised.”
—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]