Before the season began, LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson said the one player he was comfortable putting on the court was junior forward Malcolm White.
The expectations skyrocketed for the Ole Miss transfer, who sat out last season because of NCAA rules for transfers. Many people expected White and junior forward Storm Warren, the team’s top returning scorer, to lead LSU in most categories.
That hasn’t been the case so far this season.
White is LSU’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 8.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Warren is averaging 6.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
White said the size difference in non-conference games has given the big men trouble. Nicholls State, which handed LSU its first loss of the season on Nov. 16, didn’t have a player over 6-foot-6.
While many assume the 6-foot-9 White would dominate smaller competition, he said he can’t assert himself offensively the way he can against a big team. White played only 10 minutes against the Colonels after foul trouble.
“Most of the non-conference games, you’re not going to find too many guys [6-foot-9-inches] or [6-foot-10-inches] or big guys,” White said. “It makes it difficult to be as physical as you want to be.”
Many times White has to chase around a smaller, quicker player, which can be exhausting through the course of a game.
“Some of these guys we’ve played have been undersized wing players,” Johnson said. “That takes away from his ability to be physical and bang when you start looking at how the game’s called.”
When White gets early fouls, Johnson hasn’t been hesitant to put in sophomore forward Eddie Ludwig or junior forward Garrett Green.
Ludwig and Green have combined for 8.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
“A power game’s only going to work against so many people,”
Johnson said. “Eddie enables you to play one low-post guy and the other four to play the perimeter.”
Despite the big men’s lack of scoring, LSU is still 5-2 and on a three-game winning streak heading into its 11-day layoff for finals week.
A big reason for the streak is LSU’s young talent. Freshman guards Andre Stringer and Ralston Turner are the Tigers’ leading scorers, averaging 16.1 and 12.6 points per game, respectively. When they’re shooting and scoring, the big men consequently get fewer shots.
“I try not to worry about how many points I’m scoring,” White said. “Even if it’s just boxing a guy out and letting Storm get the             rebound, it really doesn’t matter as long as you get the win.”
Though White’s numbers may not be stellar, he has been relatively efficient. He is shooting 50 percent from the field, the same number he shot during his sophomore season at Ole Miss where he averaged 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
White has shown promise when he stays out of foul trouble. He recorded his first career double-double against Tennessee-Martin, scoring 12 points and adding 15 rebounds. The Skyhawks’ tallest player was 6-foot-9, the same height as White.
When White struggles, so do the Tigers. In LSU’s losses to Nicholls State and Memphis, White had a combined seven points and six rebounds after getting in foul trouble.
He said he thinks once the Southeastern Conference season begins and he sees more men his size, he will have the opportunity to be the player he wants to be.
“Once SEC play starts I’ll have to step up a little more inside,” White said. “But right now the perimeters are doing a great job scoring the ball. I think that’s great.”
 
 
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]