LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor beamed about the upcoming season at Tuesday’s annual media day.Smiling and joking with reporters, Chancellor conceded the Lady Tigers must make major adjustments after losing eight seniors  — most notably former All-American center Sylvia Fowles.Chancellor said replacing Fowles’ defensive presence will be the toughest challenge because of the pressure it will place on perimeter defense.”We’re going to have to double [team] from the wing because we have no dominant post defensive player,” Chancellor said. “We never once doubled down with Sylvia.”Chancellor said the Lady Tigers will miss her offense, but their current post players can collectively match most of her production.”You can’t replace a kid shooting 55 percent for a four-year period,” he said, “But we have better shooters at other positions.”One reason Chancellor isn’t too worried about his team’s scoring output is because of junior guard Allison Hightower, whom he dubbed the team’s “leader” and “best player.”Hightower, who was named to the preseason All-SEC second team Tuesday, averaged seven points per game and made 37 percent of her 3-point attempts last season.Chancellor said he thought Hightower might succumb to the pressure of wanting to be the team’s go-to player, but Hightower, who appeared in all 37 games and started two last season, keeps surprising him.”We’ve asked her to call more plays,” Chancellor said. “She’s stepped up and beyond my wildest dreams, exceeded my expectations.”Hightower said it hasn’t been easy for her because she’s usually a quiet player.”I’m a cool and collected player,” Hightower said. “[Coach] has just asked me to step outside my comfort zone and become vocal on this team.”Chancellor said he will shuffle players in and out of games more than he ever has but joked that his starting five is already set in stone.”Our best starting lineup is Allison Hightower and four more,” he said.Chancellor said LSU’s youth has forced him to consider several playing rotations.The Lady Tigers, who media members picked Tuesday to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference, have seven freshmen on their roster. LSU forward Kristen Morris is the team’s only senior, but she hasn’t started a game in her career.Chancellor said inexperience has resulted in numerous turnovers so far in practice, but he knows he will need to be more patient with his young players.”I’m not handling their mistakes very well,” Chancellor said. “I’m going to have to find a way to live with those errors.”He said the freshmen are playing “full speed ahead” and have responded well to the coaching staff, making the Hall-of-Fame coach confident the team can achieve its post-season goals.”I would never coach if I didn’t think we were playing for an SEC championship,” Chancellor said.Baton Rouge will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in March. And Chancellor has already chalked up his first guarantee of the season.”And we’re going to be there,” he said.—-Contact David Harvey at [email protected]