The LSU men’s basketball team has one last exhibition game to get everyone acclimated before beginning the regular season Friday against the Southern Jaguars. The Tigers face off against the Southeastern All-Stars at 7 tonight in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“It’s important to play well every night, but it’s still an exhibition game that really doesn’t count,” said junior guard Antonio Hudson. “It’s just a game for us to see where we are.”
The Atlanta based Southeastern All-Stars are 0-5, losing to Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, New Orleans, Indiana and Georgia. The Bulldogs defeated them 105 – 68.
The Tigers are coming off a 68-64 season opening loss to Global Sports.
“I don’t think we need to get our head our down,” said junior guard Xavier Whipple. “We have a lot of young guys so we took that game as a learning experience. It was just getting everybody’s feet wet.”
Hudson said he thinks the team has progressed since the first exhibition game.
“I believe we are progressing, but we are taking minor steps day by day,” Hudson said. “Practice is getting kind of rough. We’re at a point where we need to get over the hump. We’re young and it’s something new for the returning players for the pressure to be on us.”
Whipple said it is important for a young team to be able to test themselves in exhibition games.
“I think they are very important because you know they don’t count,” Whipple said. “It’s good to see where you at. It gives the freshmen a chance to get their feet wet, but it also gives us a chance to take on our new role.”
Last week, the Tigers’ roster underwent a couple of changes after losing two players in a week.
After starting in LSU’s first game, freshman forward Mildon Ambres left the team. Ambres played for 10 minutes and scored five points for the Tigers in the loss.
“It was the strangest thing,” coach John Brady told the Associated Press. “He started in the exhibition game and then we didn’t hear from him for a day. His dad said Mildon felt he was being played out of position. If his heart’s not in it, maybe it’s best he leaves. It’s not easy here. Most players leave because they see they see they aren’t going to get much playing time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Sophomore forward Tim Bush also quit the team and plans to transfer. Bush only played 36 minutes in 10 games during his freshman season scoring seven points, tallying four assists and grabbing 15 rebounds.
The Tigers also landed a top commitment last Thursday. Glen Davis of University High sent in his national letter-of-intent papers. Davis has earned consecutive Class 2A All-State honors, averaging more than 23 points per game.
“We are extremely excited about Glen Davis joining our basketball team and family,” Brady said. “We envision Glen having an immediate impact on our team. He obviously has the size, but in addition possesses great hands and surprisingly quick feet for a person of his physique. He has been well coached in high school by Ari Fisher and understands what winning is all about. With the signing of Glen, it continues to give us a collection of talented young players.”