LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor addressed the media Tuesday at Walk On’s Bistreaux and Bar, discussing the status of sophomore forward Katherine Graham and his team’s matchup Thursday against Mississippi State.Graham sat out LSU’s 75-67 loss to Vanderbilt with a knee injury.Chancellor said he was not encouraged by nearly all of the Lady Tigers’ points against Vanderbilt being scored by just four players.”We’ve got to find somebody else to score,” Chancellor said.Chancellor said he expects to make more changes to help spark the Lady Tigers.”You’d better be checking that lineup card,” he said. Chancellor said his team needed to cut down the number of turnovers they commit. The Lady Tigers turned the ball over 20 times in their 75-67 loss against the Lady Commodores.”I’m amazed we scored 67 points with as many turnovers as we had,” Chancellor said.TRACK AND FIELD READIES FOR NEW SEASONChancellor also took time to acknowledge LSU track and field coach Dennis Shaver’s accomplishments.The LSU women’s track and field team won a national championship last season, its first outdoor crown since 2003.”I don’t know if Dennis gets his just due around here,” Chancellor said. “This man is a coaching track machine.”Shaver said a new look could be expected from both the men’s and women’s teams.He said the teams feature a slew of good recruits and improved athletes to attempt to replace departed stars Richard Thompson and Kelly Baptiste, who swept the 100-meter dash at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.”The men’s team, I think, is going to be a well balanced scoring track team,” Shaver said.The women’s team also lost NCAA 400-meter hurdles champion Nickeisha Wilson, who decided to turn professional after her junior year.”You just can’t recover from that in just one recruiting class,” Shaver said. Shaver expects the Lady Tigers to still compete well in the sprint and hurdle events, an area they dominated last season with Wilson and senior Jessica Ohanaja.Shaver also discussed senior sprinter Trindon Holliday’s contributions this season.He said Holliday is adjusting to from football training to track practice, so the team is trying not to rush him into training for track — something Shaver said they may have done last season.”He’s coming from basically not doing a lot to getting thrown in,” Shaver said. “So we have to ease him in so he’s not getting too sore.” —-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]
Chancellor likely to shuffle lineup in coming weeks
January 21, 2009