While the Tigers have struggled with defensive lapses at times this season, the play of freshman forward Anthony Randolph and junior center Chris Johnson in the defensive post has managed to lessen the damage. Randolph and Johnson have cleaned up enough defensive breakdowns this season to launch themselves into the top-four for blocks per game in the Southeastern Conference, despite their team being No. 6 in the conference in scoring defense. “If I didn’t have them back there at all, we’d give up 100 points a game,” LSU coach John Brady said. Randolph, who averages 2.48 blocks per game, is No. 2 in the conference behind Mississippi State sophomore forward/center Jarvis Varnado – the country’s leading shot-blocker. Johnson is tied for fourth in the SEC, averaging 2.0 blocks per contest. While Brady applauded the play of his big men after Wednesday’s practice, he was quick to point out that some of Randolph and Johnson’s impressive statistics come as a result of poor perimeter defense. “There’s two ways to look at that,” Brady said. “They are athletic and long, and they do block shots. But certainly if they’re blocking shots, the ball may be getting too close to the basket too many times.” Johnson has remained tied for seventh in the SEC for overall blocks despite missing six games after exiting the team’s Jan. 2 game at Tulane early with a broken right hand. “It was harder [to defend the post] while [Johnson] was out,” Randolph said. “But it helped me in the long run because that gave me no choice but to get stronger mentally to guard the post players because it was mostly on my shoulders. That helped me mature a lot faster than maybe I would’ve had to if he was there.” Johnson continues to work on getting back to game speed after his four-week break from action. “I’ve got to get back to being comfortable being down in the post and blocking shots, because I catch myself favoring my hand,” Johnson said. “It really doesn’t hurt, but it’s in my mind that it was broken.” While blocked shots obviously challenge the opposition’s shot attempts, the rejections also help in other areas of the game – such as enthusing the team and fans. “I know blocks especially helped in the Villanova game,” Johnson said. “Everybody picked it up defensively and helped the team get a little bit of confidence and play better [defense] … and sometimes [blocks] can especially get the fans going, and that’ll really pump you up.” The Tigers used a season-high 14 blocks – four from Randolph and three from Johnson – to scare then-No. 21 Villanova before the Wildcats eventually managed a 1-point, come-from-behind victory at home Dec. 6. Junior guard Marcus Thornton said the presence of the twin towers also allows the perimeter players to more aggressively attack passing lanes. “If we overplay a pass or whatever, we know we’ve got [Johnson and Randolph] back there to help us out if we get too aggressive,” Thornton said. “But right now we’re just trying to be solid and stay in front of people and not let them get so deep in the paint that they have to come over and help so much.” As LSU’s perimeter players work on toughening their defense to alleviate the pressure placed on Johnson and Randolph’s shoulders, the two shot blockers may be able to improve upon their own play. “I heard [former Boston Celtics’ center] Bill Russell used to start a fast break with [a block], or he’d grab it out of the air instead of swatting it out of bounds,” Johnson said. “Maybe that’s something I could work on.”
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