Getting buckets earns all the hype, but it’s keeping points off the board that makes the difference.
The LSU basketball team learned that last season.
The Tigers finished second in the Southeastern Conference in scoring with 78.8 points per game. But they missed the Tournament because they posted a sub-.500 record when allowing 75 points or greater, which accounted for 71 percent of their losses.
When LSU held opponents under that threshold, though, coach Johnny Jones’ squad won 11 out of 15 contests.
“One of the areas we feel like we really have to improve on is on the defensive side of the floor,” Jones said. “You have to play as a team, and that’s a commitment that we have to make as a group.”
Gone are four of the top six scorers from last season, but the Tigers made a concerted effort to establish a defensive identity instead of replacing the points it lost.
Sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney, this year’s likely No. 1 scoring option who tallied 18.6 points per game after his breakout 31-point performance against Mississippi State, said while he worked on his ball handling and playmaking skills during the offseason, heavy focus went on his on- and off-ball defense.
“We’re harking on the defensive end,” Blakeney said. “Last year we were real good at scoring. We were the second leader in the SEC in scoring, but we gave up a lot of points.”
There were a lot of points surrendered, indeed.
LSU finished the season ranked 288th in the country with its defense allowing 77.1 points per game, which is why the Tigers made a concerted effort to establish a defensive identity first.
Bringing in Lee College transfers Duop Reath and Branden Jenkins was the biggest step in that process.
Reath is a defense-first big man the Tigers sorely missed last season. The 6-foot-10 South Sudan native boasts a 7-foot-2 wingspan that swatted 2.5 shot attempts and corralled 8.4 rebounds per game during his sophomore season at Lee.
Jones said Reath is an incredible athlete who has filled the role as the rim protector his defense needs.
“I take pride in defense,” Reath said. “That’s the only way you can win games. Me being a big guy inside, I’ve got to protect the rim.”
Jenkins will be on the sideline to start the season with a torn meniscus he had repaired in August, but he will more than fill Tim Quarterman’s shoes on defense. He finished eighth in Region 14 last season with 50 steals.
“Branden Jenkins brings a great deal of speed,” Jones said. “Probably one of the most tenacious on-ball defenders that we’ve had since I’ve been here. He’s extremely fast, lengthy. He has a desire to defend.”
Jones said the returners understand the importance of excelling on defense as well and have made waves improving in their own right. He singled out sophomore guard Brandon Sampson, who he touted as the team’s best perimeter defender early on last season before tapering off as the season progressed, as a difference-maker.
If all the guys buy in completely and their chemistry is there, it will assuredly culminate in improved defensive play, he said.
“With the commitment and with the right chemistry, we can be a better defensive basketball team,” Jones said.
“We’re harking on the defensive end’: LSU working toward finding defensive identity
October 17, 2016
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