One spot.
 
That’s all that’s left for the 22 walk-on hopefuls who took part in the LSU men’s basketball team’s open tryouts Wednesday night in the PMAC.
 
“Last year was different because we knew two, maybe three guys would have a role to play,” Johnson said. “Now with 13 scholarship individuals, we’re looking for one spot.”
 
Johnson said final decisions won’t be made for a few days, but there is one surprise already.
 
He said former Tiger Band tuba player Andrew Del Piero will join sophomore Daron Populist on the team this year, leaving only one more spot for another walk-on.
 
Del Piero is a 7-foot-1-inch, 250-pound junior from Austin, Texas. Populist was chosen in last year’s tryouts and was invited back to the team this season.
 
“Daron’s done a good job for us last year and has done a good job in the classroom,” Johnson said. “Andrew is a young man that hasn’t played a lot of basketball, but you can’t coach and teach 7-foot.”
 
The Tigers kept four walk-ons last season — Populist, then-junior Chris Beattie, and then-sophomores Zach Kinsley and Taylor Jacobsen.
 
Populist, who averaged 1.3 points in 9.8 minutes per game last season, was the only player from last year’s team on the court again this year at the tryouts.
 
Last year’s walk-ons combined for 6.6 points per game for the Tigers.
 
The leading scorer among the walk-ons was Kinsley, who was fifth on the scoring list with 3.4 points per game. He is expected to play for the University of New Orleans this year, said Kent Lowe, senior associate sports information director.
 
Johnson said the practice went well and every walk-on hopeful played “extremely hard.”
 
“I wish I could keep them all,” Johnson said. “But obviously the game of basketball is not like that.”
 
Former LSU basketball player and current Boston Celtic Glen Davis watched tryouts Wednesday from the sideline.
 
“I’d like to have him walk on,” Johnson said of Davis. “That wouldn’t be bad.”
 
Johnson said Davis had been around all day looking at the new practice facility and talking to players.
 
He also said former LSU basketball player and current Boston Celtic Shaquille O’Neal was there a week ago, and former Tiger Tasmin Mitchell is expected to be there tomorrow.
 
“These guys are big followers,” Johnson said. “They’ve been great supporters.”
 
 
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]