After setting multiple career and season records at Dacula High School in Georgia, freshman center Faustine Aifuwa was destined to be a huge lift for LSU coach Nikki Fargas’ team immediately, especially with the lack of size on LSU’s roster.
At 6-foot-5, Aifuwa was just what the Lady Tigers needed to fill the lane.
However, things didn’t go as planned for the promising freshman.
Prior to the first game of her true freshman season, Aifuwa suffered a knee injury that required surgery and sidelined her for the entire 2016-17 season.
Sitting out for an entire year came with new adjustments that Aifuwa had to make.
“It was a pretty difficult transition because we move at a really fast pace,” Aifuwa said. “However, my teammates did help me try to get conditioned and my trainer helped me get into shape. I was all for it. I wanted to be able to play and help my team.
Aifuwa said the rehab process was potentially a blessing in disguise for her.
“My biggest improvement would have to be my work ethic,” Aifuwa said. “Coming out of high school, my work ethic was not very good. Coming here, I knew if I wanted to play, I had to work hard and do extra when no one is looking. When recovering, that managed to help me a lot.”
With ample time away from the court, Aifuwa worked independently and gave herself the opportunity to strengthen her self-discipline and apply it in-season. When the team competed in Italy, Aifuwa got a taste of how fast the game would be and what changes she would have to make in order to adapt.
“I was nervous since I was injured and gone for a long time,” Aifuwa said. “After I got the first game out of the way, I was okay. Being that I would be a key role player for my team, I knew I had to step up.”
Aifuwa’s presence gives the coaching staff an opportunity to become more versatile with constructing the lineups. One lineup the Lady Tigers have the tendency to put together is comprised of four guards and one center, that being Aifuwa.
“Having Aifuwa gives us as a coaching staff a chance to mix up our lineups,” Fargas said. “It may be just her and four guards. We would move [Raigyne] Louis to the forward position and we go to our small ball.”
Aifuwa averaged 5.3 points per game and is second on the team in rebounds behind sophomore forward Ayana Mitchell with 5.0 per game.
Aifuwa wants to eventually become more than simply a role player for Fargas, but time and improvement will have to happen before she could attain that status.
“What she can continue to work on and be great at is her ability to defend and rebound on the other side,” Fargas said. “She still gets caught with a lot of fouls off of the late ball-rotation. Keeping her on the floor and her not getting in foul trouble will help our team a lot.”
