Part of the job requirement to be a college coach is the ability to hype up your team.
LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson did his job extremely well Wednesday.
Among all the negativity following one of the worst two-year spans in LSU basketball history, Johnson smiled, took questions and remained optimistic — even if in reality, there isn’t much reason to be positive.
“There’s not a game we’ll play next year that, if we play well, we shouldn’t be able to compete with teams on the road or at home,” Johnson said.
Really?
The same team that was noncompetitive in seven Southeastern Conference games last season and won only three will be able to keep up with any team next season?
And when I say noncompetitive, I mean losing by an average of 24.4 points in those seven contests.
Johnson is banking on a drastic improvement heading into his fourth year at the helm.
He won’t lose any players from this year’s team except Aaron Dotson and Daron Populist, both of whom transferred for personal reasons.
The sophomore guard threesome of Matt Derenbecker, Andre Stringer and Ralston Turner will be a year wiser and more experienced next season. And the team will finally have senior leadership, especially in the post, with seniors Storm Warren, Malcolm White and Garrett Green.
But we’ve already seen what those guys could do — and it wasn’t pretty. Exponential change and growth can’t be expected.
Johnson is counting on new players Justin Hamilton and Johnny O’Bryant to right the nearly sinking ship.
The hype machine has been churning for these two since LSU fans knew this past season was a wash — and that was late January.
Tiger Nation kept the “Well, at least we have Hamilton and O’Bryant next season” motto on repeat for the following two months.
Hamilton has only been practicing with the team since transferring from Iowa State in 2010.
“At times he’s been one of our better players on the floor in practice,” Johnson said.
We’re talking about practice? Not a game. Practice.
White was another “practice hero” — a guy Johnson preached would make a huge impact on the team after sitting out when he left Ole Miss.
The forward didn’t do much in his first year at LSU after practicing for a year, recording 7.6 points and 5.1 rebounds a night this season.
But O’Bryant is supposed to be the real savior. Fans are betting the 2011-12 season on the Scout.com five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American.
The question is whether Johnson will be able to mold O’Bryant into the second coming of Brook Lopez or continue to struggle to find a feisty force under the basket?
I wouldn’t hold your breath on O’Bryant just yet.
The center measuring 6 foot 10 inches has the potential to pan out and dominate the SEC, but many there are many variables that need to work out before he can be crowned the king of basketball in Baton Rouge.
“We need to be patient with him,” Johnson said. “You’re not as good as people say you are. You’re not as bad as people say you are.”
At least Johnson agrees with me on this one. No hype involved.
Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter @TDR_Lambert.