Forward Aiysha Smith had a quick answer.
While Smith and point guard Temeka Johnson were not on the first or second All-Southeastern Conference teams, Smith said it really does not matter because the Tigers have the ultimate prize — an SEC Tournament Championship trophy and an outstanding shot at a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
“We really don’t get the respect that we deserve,” Smith said. “So we just have to come out and earn it, just like we did in the tournament. People on the teams don’t really have an SEC Tournament Championship.”
Both Smith and Johnson were voted Honorable Mention by the SEC Coaches and were selected to the third-team All-SEC by the Associated Press. Freshman Seimone Augustus, the team leader in scoring, was voted to the second team in addition to her Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards.
The situation has left LSU head coach Sue Gunter flustered and looking for a change in how the All-Conference teams are organized.
“I don’t have an answer for that,” Gunter said. “I will say this, there’s a lot of great players in this league. There’s no question about that. I think this is one of those times where maybe we should have a team by positions.” Gunter also said another possibility could be for both the first and second teams to include 10 players each, among other options like an all-defensive team.
“I was disappointed, [but] it speaks about the depth and balance of our team,” Gunter said. “It’s a little bit mindblowing to me that Temeka and Aiysha were pretty much ignored.”
Smith’s 13 points per game average may not be among the top 10 in the league, but the senior was a preseason candidate for the Naismith Award.
“It’s just politics and everything,” Smith said about the voting. “The popular people, no matter if they had a good year or a bad year — not that the people didn’t deserve it, they did deserve it. It wasn’t that big of a surprise.”
Johnson was diplomatic about her exclusion from the first or second teams. She was third in the conference in assists, seventh in steals and second in assist to turnover ratio. Perhaps her most impressive stat is her shooting percentage of 52 percent, almost unheard of from a point guard.
“I tip my hat to the people that were on the teams,” Johnson said. “If we play like we played against Tennessee and we get in that zone again, it doesn’t matter what people say about us. It doesn’t matter what people say about me; as long as I can play with my teammates and get them involved and do whatever it takes for us to win.”
Johnson scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and distributed seven assists while successfully dissecting the Lady Volunteers defense in the SEC Tournament Final.
While Johnson reiterated she did not care about the snub, she said her performance against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Championship game may have given voters something else to think about.
“Hopefully [the voters] did [feel foolish],” Johnson said. “But I can’t do anything about it. It’s not in my control, I really don’t care about it.”
Notes: Gunter received the Russell Athletic/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 2003 Region Coach of the Year for Region 3. Gunter is among eight coaches who received the award in eight different regions. She will vie for the national award which will be presented April 7.