Imagine having Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell in their prime playing together on your favorite basketball team.At first, the thought sounds great — three of the greatest players in NBA history on one team at arguably the most important position on the court.But then you have to wonder who you should start and how much playing time you should give them.This is the “problem” LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory has this season at middle blocker: three amazingly athletic middle blockers in seniors Brittnee Cooper and Lauren DeGirolamo and sophomore Michele Williams, along with two talented backups in junior Tania Schatow and freshman Ally Judkins.”It’s a luxury to have Lauren DeGirolamo basically coming off the bench as a middle blocker,” Flory said. “We did a great job of moving her around in the middle [Friday night] and letting Cooper block on the right side and let Michele move around … Having those three on the court at the same time really enhances our options offensively.”The middle blocker on a volleyball team is like a center on a basketball team, putting herself in the middle of the court next to the net.  On offense, she awaits any ball set to her to slam it down for a dunk.On defense, she stands poised at the net, moving from side to side following the opponent’s attack to try to get a block.”Middle blockers need to be quick to beat the other team’s block,” Williams said. “We attack, but we also need to pull the other side’s middle blocker away from our outside hitter so our outside has a one-on-one with the other team’s block.”Being an effective blocker is one distinguishable characteristic that separates the outside hitters from middle blockers.Cooper said Flory emphasizes to her team the importance of being a well-disciplined blocking team.They have taken her emphasis seriously, as the Tigers have averaged 2.55 blocks per set this season (No. 2 in Southeastern Conference), which is up from their 2.39 blocks per set average last season (No. 3 in SEC).”She wants us to always have our knees bent and our hands up high, ready to penetrate over the net,” Cooper said. “She also wants us to stay balanced and not commit to one person.”Cooper is the leader of the pack for the Tigers’ middles.The 6-foot-3-inch senior from Houston was chosen by the SEC coaches as a member of the preseason All-SEC Team, and she has proven herself so far this season.Just four weeks into the season, Cooper has flashed her All-American skills by earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week in week one of the season and SEC Offensive Player of the Week the following week.She also leads the team in two other statistical categories, averaging 3.44 kills per set and 1.23 blocks per set. She was named to all-tournament teams in all three of LSU’s pre-SEC schedule tournaments.”The reality is, everybody is trying to stop her, and nobody can,” said Tennessee coach Rob Patrick. “She’s hitting .400 while everyone is committing [to stop] her.”But the arsenal of four fellow middle blockers is what makes the Tigers a threat at the net.Williams, a member of the SEC All-Freshman squad last season, was the tournament MVP at the Shamrock Invitational and has averaged 2.46 kills per set and 1.00 blocks per set, No. 3 and 2, respectively, behind Cooper on the team.DeGirolamo, a 2007 All-SEC First Team member, has been a solid force this season for the Tigers both at the net and on the back row, averaging 0.98 kills per set, 0.70 blocks per set and 2.05 digs per set.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]