If the season opener wasn’t motivation enough, the LSU men’s basketball team doesn’t often have payback on the mind when an in-state school comes calling in the PMAC.
But the Tigers’ opponent this Saturday, Nicholls State, came into the Assembly Center last year and snapped LSU’s 82-game home winning streak against in-state opponents with stunning ease in a 62-53 triumph.
“The big mistake we made was thinking we could come out and take over just because we’re the big school,” said senior forward Storm Warren. “We have to make that happen.”
What this Tigers squad also hopes to make happen is a turnaround season, as LSU has struggled to consecutive 11-20 records and five conference wins in two putrid seasons since capturing a Southeastern Conference title in coach Trent Johnson’s first year at the helm.
LSU is 49-49 in three seasons under Johnson.
Three heralded freshmen in forward Johnny O’Bryant III, point guard Anthony Hickey and guard John Isaac join junior transfer center Justin Hamilton to bolster a squad that returns 76 percent of its scoring from last year.
LSU hopes the Nicholls State game will be a chance to flaunt its newfound depth.
“We want to be extremely fast-paced because we haven’t been able to do that due to depth concerns since I’ve been here,” Johnson said.
Hickey and Hamilton are expected to start at the point guard and center positions, respectively.
O’Bryant, a 6-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American, is LSU’s most heralded recruit since former lottery pick Anthony Randolph in 2007.
Hickey was Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky last year, a consensus four-star recruit as a dynamic defender and slasher and potentially the first Tiger point guard to start from the first tip since Torris Bright in 2000.
LSU won the SEC and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament that year.
The Colonels rode former forward Anatoly Bose’s 28 points, junior guard Fred Hunter’s timely 3-pointers and a confounding Princeton-style offense to success in last year’s matchup against the Tigers.
Sophomore guard Andre Stringer, the listed starter at shooting guard, said the team’s focus in preparation has been defensive discipline.
“There’s been a lot of stressing the backdoor screens,” Stringer said. “They run a very patient offense, so we’ll have to be committed to running off the screens and staying active.”
Nicholls lost Bose and two other starters from last year’s .500 Southland Conference squad, and the Colonels are picked to finish last in the conference’s Eastern Division this season.
Hunter and sophomore guard Dantrell Thomas were two of the Colonels’ top four scorers last year and combine with senior Ben Martin to create a relatively dangerous Nicholls backcourt.
“It’s going to be a test, especially for some of our big guys,” said LSU junior forward Eddie Ludwig. “We know what we’re up against from a defensive look, so we’ve been practicing guarding the perimeter a lot.”
Warren said the Tigers’ likely nine-man rotation has already created a comfort level missing from the thin rosters that characterized his first three seasons.
“Knowing you have someone behind you off the bench that can play as well as you, that’s a big deal,” the senior power forward said. “Our team could flow well, no matter who we put out there.”
Warren and senior Malcolm White will battle it out with O’Bryant at the power forward spot, with the two seniors each being listed as starting options for the opener.
Johnson said he expects a balanced offensive unit, but singled out sophomore small forward Ralston Turner — LSU’s top returning scorer — as the primary playmaker.
“Ralston will be our leader from that perspective,” Johnson said. “I know he can be counted on consistently to find the rim and create good looks.”
The game will also mark only the second time the LSU basketball team will play at home on the same day the football team hits the Tiger Stadium turf just across the street.
“The football team has been phenomenal this year, and we’ve got a lot of friends on the team,” Stringer said. “We want to show what we can do, too, with all the excitement around them.”
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]