If you’re reading this, I assume you burned your house down last night in a rage and this is all you have for shelter, because I have no idea how you could possibly want to read about the LSU basketball team’s effort last night.
In the words of 2006 Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, they “are who we thought they were.” Green was referring to the Chicago Bears, but it’s even more applicable to the Tigers.
The Tigers blew late leads in both of their postseason games because of the same errors. They went cold from the field and the free throw line as their coach sat back and watched his team burn to ashes.
In the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Auburn ended the game on an 8-2 run and sent LSU packing early, thanks in part to five missed free throws in the final five minutes of regulation.
You’d think LSU could learn from the experience and grow from its mistakes. Wrong. The Tigers turned around and did it again last night, missing their final six free throws and allowing NC State to score with less than a second left, ending LSU’s season.
I don’t know who to blame. The coaches must have told the players to focus on their free throw shooting this week, but this is also the same staff that hasn’t put together anything resembling a game plan all season.
During the game, I expected the players to rally around their leader and say, “It’s not happening again.” Nope, that didn’t happen either, which got me to thinking, where does the leadership on this team come from?
I’ve watched every game, and I can’t really think of any point where someone on the floor pulled the team together and helped the Tigers keep their composure. This should’ve been a red flag to me when I sat down to pick my bracket, but it wasn’t.
I pushed LSU to the Elite Eight, figuring it matched up well with each of its opponents going forward: NC State, Villanova and Wyoming, according to my bracket. But the thing that matters most in the NCAA Tournament is how you respond to a team punching you in the face, and the Tigers haven’t turned around and thrown a punch back at anyone this year.
They had no toughness, no fight, and from what I saw last night, no heart.
Don’t get me wrong — these guys care and they’re giving it all they’ve got, but when it comes to crunch time, winners embrace it. They want to step up to the line and put their feet on the other team’s throat. It’s a mentality that comes from a leader, and LSU just didn’t have it. No one developed into that role, and the coaching staff never seemed to push the issue.
I’m sure they did, but whatever they tried didn’t work.
In most cities and with many fanbases, making the tournament is great, just as it was in Baton Rouge. But most Tiger fans can see the bigger picture. They see a team that should’ve done better, with two NBA-ready players and probably more that will get there in the coming years. They wanted to believe in this team, and every time they did, the Tigers let them down.
Sophomore forwards Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin likely won’t return for their junior campaigns, but the Tigers will get the nation’s No. 1 prospect, Ben Simmons, along with one of the nation’s top shooting guard recruits in Antonio Blakeney.
That duo, plus the core LSU should bring back, will have the Tigers in the same position they were in this year. But to get over the hump, the coaching staff has to develop its in-game coaching, and LSU needs to find an on-floor leader.
Otherwise, Tiger fans can expect more of the same gut-wrenching feeling they have right now.
Brian Pellerin is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Kenner, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @Pellerin_TDR.