One word has become synonymous with the LSU men’s basketball team this season — young.
It’s been a culture shock for the four freshmen, who were thrown onto the court early in the 2010-11 campaign.
Freshman guard Matt Derenbecker went from shooting hoops in the tiny gym of Country Day High School in Metairie, La., to playing in front of 24,330 roaring Wildcat fans in Kentucky’s Rupp Arena.
“I realized this is college basketball when we went to Kentucky,” Derenbecker said. “When Kentucky scored or made a good play, you couldn’t hear anything.”
The four freshmen and zero seniors earned the Tigers the title of least-experienced squad in the Southeastern Conference, according to Kenpom.com.
“Experience is crucial,” said Aran Smith, president of NBADraft.net. “You can have some kids that come in and really know how to play and contribute right away, but experienced players are so valuable.”
Mississippi State (10-8, 2-2) and Georgia (14-4, 3-2) represent the veteran SEC teams, both with top-100 rankings on the website.
“Anytime you have a team that has a number of players that have been there before, it goes a long way,” Smith said. “The experience factor is great.”
Kentucky (15-4, 3-2) has thrived without a veteran lineup, boasting the No. 14 ranking in the country despite having the 312th most experienced team in the country. The Wildcats throttled LSU in their Jan. 15 matchup, 82-44, but have lost two conference games already to Alabama and Georgia.
LSU, who is suiting up its youngest team since the 2005-06 season, ranks 326th out of the 345 NCAA Division I teams in game experience, according to the website.
Despite the influx of young players, LSU coach Trent Johnson has been vocal about not worrying about the youth of his players.
“We’re 19 games into this deal, so as much as you want to talk about [the lack of experience], that’s all about excuses,” Johnson said. “The big picture is: Are we getting better?”
 
The Tigers are without a player with more than two years of experience.
“We knew going into this we were a young team,” Derenbecker said. “The stuff we are going through is all new to us. We’ve never been through it before.”
The four freshmen, three of which have started at least four games, account for 52 percent of the team’s points.
Freshman guard Ralston Turner’s team-leading 13.7 points a game and freshman point guard Andre Stringer’s contribution of 12.9 a night helped the freshman class lead the team in the points department.
“There’s a lot of things we haven’t seen,” Stringer said. “There’s a lot of situations we aren’t ready for.”
Experience in those situations has led to successful seasons in the past for LSU.
The Tigers’ most seasoned team the past four seasons also had the most wins. LSU’s 2009 squad, winners of the SEC championship, recorded 27 wins with the nation’s 22nd most experienced team. Those Tigers made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament, losing to eventual national champion North Carolina, 84-70.
Players like current New Orleans Hornet Marcus Thornton, current Portland Traiblazer Chris Johnson and current Milwaukee Buck Garrett Temple were stalwarts of that team.
The other three LSU teams were no higher than 208th in the nation in experience. None of those teams claimed more than 17 victories.
The lack of seniors has forced this year’s team to find a group of players to fill the leadership void.
Stringer said junior forward Storm Warren, junior guard Chris Bass and sophomore forward Eddie Ludwig take the reins of the team at certain times, but no dominant figure has emerged.
“We don’t have a stone-cold leader right now,” Stringer said. “We have a lot of guys that like to be a leader as far as being vocal.”
Sophomore guard Aaron Dotson said he’s seen a difference between this year’s team compared to last season’s group, which was led by then-senior Tasmin Mitchell. Mitchell departed LSU as the leader in minutes played (4,692) and third in scoring (1,989).
“In some ways it’s been different,” Dotson said. “We’re doing a lot more drills and stuff. We’ve been breaking down stuff and learning different defenses.”
 
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]