Nearly 60 percent of last year’s scoring is gone. Over half of last year’s minutes played and assists recorded are never to be heard from again. Just less than half of the total rebounds from last season are lost.
When four contributing seniors are out of eligibility, a youth movement must take form. And that is exactly the situation LSU basketball coach John Brady finds himself in heading in to the 2003-04 basketball season.
“It sounds pretty bad,” Brady said of the production lost from last year’s NCAA Tournament team at LSU media day. “But we’ve got a good core of players returning that did some significant things for us last year. Also, we’ve had an excellent recruiting class.”
With Ronald Dupree, Brad Bridgewater, Collis Temple III and Torris Bright departing, a Top 5 recruiting class nationally was just what the doctor ordered, and just what the LSU program produced.
“I think to go what we’ve gone though,” Brady said, “and proven the things that we’ve proven by having the success built to us being able to have one of the better recruiting classes in the country. I think people now see what this program is going to become. I like our recruiting the way it’s headed for the following year.”
The Tigers signed five freshmen last year, and they include 6-foot-8 forward Brandon Bass, 6-foot-9 forward Regis Koudjia, 6-foot-8 forward Darnell Lazare, 6-foot-9 forward Ross Neltner and 5-foot-11 guard Taurean “Tack” Minor.
Bass is the most highly decorated of all the freshmen, being named a McDonald’s All-American and a Parade All-American last year and Class 4A All-State at Capitol High School in Baton Rouge.
Koudjia was not far behind Bass in the accolades department, as the native of Africa was named Third-team Parade All-American and led the Laurinburg Institute to the prep school national championship in 2003.
Brady hopes the combination of two Parade All-Americans can make more of an impact than the one who he has already coached, Memphis Grizzlies forward Stromile Swift.
Swift led LSU to a Southeastern Conference championship and a berth in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament his second year on the team.
“What I’m banking on and what I hope happens is two Parade All-Americans can have the impact of one, I see us getting pretty good,” Brady said. “That’s what I’m counting on.”
Minor was a scoring machine in high school, averaging 37 points per game in his senior campaign at Booker T. Washington. He scored 72 points in a double-overtime game for his team last season.
There were reports in high school that Minor had some attitude problems, but Brady said that should not be a problem.
“He’s intelligent, he’s emotional, he’s competitive and he’s high strung,” Brady said. “He and I will get along fine.”
Neltner and Lazare are both what Brady called “four-year guys”, not far from the mold of last year’s graduating seniors.
The Tigers returners include 6-foot-9 senior forward Jaime Lloreda, who averaged 12.3 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game last season.
Also, point guard Xavier Whipple returns after starting the final 13 games last season.
Guards Antonio Hudson and Darrel Mitchell return after contributing valuable minutes off the bench last year.
Brady is counting on Hudson to return to his freshman form after an inconsistent sophomore campaign. His freshman year he averaged 10.3 points per game, and Brady said he has re-committed himself to basketball.
“He had some distractions after his freshman year,” Brady said. “He thought it was easy a little bit and probably didn’t work as hard as he should. He got into college life a little bit, had a little too much fun and it showed up in his sophomore year. He was inconsistent. But he really re-dedicated himself in the spring, he’s had an excellent summer, he’s had an outstanding preseason and I got a hunch that he’s going to return to his freshman year form.”
Hudson said he is excited about the first practice Saturday and the first game Nov. 6.
“I just can’t wait, man,” Hudson said. “We’ve got a lot of expectations on us. I can’t wait to prove people right. The worst thing to do is not to meet expectations.”
Hudson said the highly-touted freshmen class has been impressive in workouts.
“The group of players the coaching staff brought in are unbelievable,” Hudson said. “They’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of potential. If the leadership is right on the team, the team will be right.”
He said he’s especially excited about the potential of the inside game with Lloreda and Bass holding down the middle.
“With Jaime and Brandon in there, they are going to draw some double teams and leave certain people open,” Hudson said. “So it could be our time to shine.”
Minor said he has heard some horror stories about Brady’s practices, but he think he is ready for anything.
“I heard it’s going to be real hard and you just run a lot,” Minor said. “I’m ready. They’ve been running us and getting us in shape, and I think I’m in top shape.”
Minor said he still plans on putting the ball in the basket often, but he will share the wealth because he understands the team concept.
“People are looking for me to score,” Minor said. “But I’m going to work on my passing a little bit. That’s only going to make my game better by passing and not scoring as much and getting my team involved.”
Whipple said the team is definitely coming together and he is looking forward to the season.
“We’ll be alright with team chemistry,” Whipple said. “After a couple of weeks of practice, I think everybody will fit right in.”