Last season as the LSU men’s basketball team struggled to its worst finish since 1998, Tasmin Mitchell sat and watched.It was all he could do.Mitchell, a junior forward, missed all but the first three games of the season with a stress fracture in his left shin that forced him to have season-ending surgery four weeks into the season.”It was very hard sitting back watching a couple of game situations where I knew I probably could have helped out in,” Mitchell said. “Last year was a really hard season for me just to sit back and watch, but I overcame it, and now we’re onto this year.”Now with a new coach, a bevy of new teammates and a healthy shin, the Denham Springs native is ready to move forward.”I never really like talking about the past because it’s over with – even the great past,” Mitchell said. “I’ve seen a lot and been through a lot – coaching change, teammate changes and all that stuff … I really like this situation we’re in right now.”The Tigers amassed an 8-13 record to start last season before coach John Brady was fired and replaced by interim coach Butch Pierre.Pierre, Mitchell’s godfather, led the Tigers to a 5-5 record to finish the year at fourth place in the SEC West.In April, LSU hired Johnson.Having three coaches in a year could be a difficult task for some players to adjust to, but Mitchell said he is keeping a positive attitude.”This is really my second coach,” he said. “I wasn’t really coached by my godfather. I like the coaching change now a whole lot better than when I came here.”While sitting, Mitchell said he learned some valuable lessons about playing on both sides of the ball and having a good relationship with his teammates and will use them this year as the Tigers try to rebound from an 18-loss season.LSU was picked by the Southeastern Conference coaches and the media to finish second in the SEC Western division. The Tigers have three preseason All-SEC selections, tied for most in the conference with Tennessee.Mitchell was among LSU’s first team All-SEC selections, but he said the team cannot rely on individual play to be successful. “We need team chemistry to win,” he said. “We need to play as one, and we need to play like [LSU coach Trent] Johnson says. We need to play good defense. Defense wins championships.”Senior guard Garrett Temple has been Mitchell’s teammate for three seasons, and said he could see a difference in the forward’s approach to the game as well.”Tas learned a lot by sitting out last year. During the season he was telling us how much he was seeing and how he was looking at the team from a coach’s standpoint and how many deficiencies we had as far as chemistry and defensive play,” Temple said.Mitchell is already showing signs he has returned to his old form.In LSU’s Purple and Gold scrimmage, Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points, but Johnson said the forward still shows signs of someone who missed significant time recently.Johnson said Mitchell struggled with fouls in a scrimmage against Tulane, which was closed to the media.”He looked pretty good the other day, but … he got in foul trouble early,” Johnson said. “There’s some rust there, but he’ll work through it.”Johnson said Mitchell will be a major part of this year’s team, and Mitchell said he looks forward to the opportunity.
 
 
 
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