The semester is already finished, just as basketball season is getting underway.The LSU men’s basketball team has played a mere six games, and the majority of the campus community will be on break when the Tigers (4-2) truly begin to learn about themselves.”We are going to lift weights on Dec. 3 and concentrate on finals,” LSU coach Trent Johnson said in a news release. “We have to get some guys healthy, and then we will get back in the gym and practice.”Johnson has seen the best and worst of times so far this fall, against both good and poor competition.The Tigers blew past Louisiana-Monroe, 82-62, to start the season, and they dropped the hammer on Western Kentucky, a recent NCAA tournament participant, 71-60.”That’s a good basketball team we beat,” Johnson said following the win. “Obviously, they return the nucleus of a team that was a basket away from going to the NCAA tournament.”There have also been the ugly wins — the Tigers had a horrid shooting night in a 56-45 win against Indiana State, shooting 34 percent from the field.”It was not pretty,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, the lid will be off the basket tomorrow.”There was also the sluggish 66-58 win against Louisiana-Lafayette on Dec. 1.Any enthusiasm created by the team’s 3-0 start was tempered when the Tigers took a Thanksgiving trip to New York City for the NIT Season Tip-off.LSU was beaten soundly in consecutive appearances by then-No. 13 Connecticut and Arizona State.Connecticut senior guard Jerome Dyson and sophomore guard Kemba Walker each scored 20 points on LSU in an 81-55 rout. Two days later, LSU entered halftime with a seven-point lead against the Sun Devils only to see it evaporate in a 71-52 loss.”You know, I just thought the kids were embarrassed in terms of the way they competed versus a very, very good UConn team,” Johnson said.  “We didn’t do a very good job in transition D. We didn’t do a very good job of rebounding the ball.”Senior forward Tasmin Mitchell has struggled to find consistency in the early part of the season. He struggled to make shots and hasn’t found a rhythm so far. He leads the team with 15 turnovers.”He struggles with losing. It was good to see him relax,” Johnson said. “Going into the locker room, he was the first guy whose face I saw. He was visibly frustrated because he knew we weren’t playing very well.”Mitchell showed signs of his old form Dec. 1 against UL-Lafayette, when he exploded for 26 points and 10 rebounds.”I think it was just me all along,” Mitchell said. “I was just playing with too much pressure on me. I just have to go out there, relax and play within myself, no matter what the defense does.”While Mitchell has struggled, sophomore forward Storm Warren has used the early going to establish himself as a scoring threat in the post.Warren has four double-doubles in six games, falling short only in the NIT games against UConn and Arizona State. Like Mitchell, he also had his best night of the season against UL-Lafayette, notching 18 points and 16 boards.”I’m just coming out ready to play and staying prepared,” Warren said. “I’m not underestimating anybody and just bringing my all to the floor. That’s how we all play.” The Tigers don’t play for the duration of finals week, but they return to play in earnest during the break, playing 11 games in the month between semesters.LSU needs the week off to recover from a string of injuries. Junior point guard Bo Spencer, sophomore forward Garrett Green and freshman guard Aaron Dotson are all nursing various injuries.Spencer and Green are both dealing with sprained ankles, while Dotson has been battling knee tendinitis for the majority of the young season.- – – -Contact David Helman at [email protected]