Strong finish to LSU regular season will require key contributions from many
Head coach Will Wade wants consistency overall from his LSU Basketball team and that includes the frontcourt. With star Tari Eason, big man Efton Reid, veteran Darius Days, versatile forward Alex Fudge and forward Shareef O’Neal, LSU’s options need to find the right mix.
O’Neal, who added eight points and three rebounds against Mississippi State, would be a nice piece to get more out of down the stretch.
“Feel like Shareef has played well, but we need some consistency,” Wade said on Monday. “He’s done some good things and now we need that every day and I think he can do that for us. He’s been doing the extra work that he needs to to stay consistent, so I’ve been pleased with that.”
Against Georgia on Wednesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Georgia comes in with a smaller lineup that’ll change LSU’s rotation. Wade said when meeting with reporters that the Bulldogs create some issues.
“They do a lot of the same concepts and it was the concepts that gave us problems,” Wade said. “The personnel gave us issues, but they run the same concepts and those gave us issues.”
Eason will continue to be critical for LSU Basketball’s chances and paired with point guard Xavier Pinson, they’re a dangerous duo.
“Just getting it to him in the right spots at the right time,” Wade explained. “The timing is just better. The spacing is better. It’s the difference between throwing a strike and throwing one low and outside where you can’t do much with it. With a strike you can catch it and go and attack. There’s a big difference with that and it helps the timing with everything.”
LSU Basketball players continue to vie for minutes
When it comes to the rotation, minutes are ultimately earned in practice for LSU Basketball.
“We’ve got some guys on our team that no matter how they practice you know how they are going to play in a game,” Wade said. “We’ve got some guys that practice how they play and for some of those guys you mentioned it’s how they practice. If they can’t show you in practice, they can’t do it in a game. Other guys can sit on the bench in practice and play in games, but some of the guys you mentioned are not those guys, so a lot of it is determined by how they practice.”
Getting players to finish strong this regular season would bolster LSU Basketball’s NCAA Tournament resume in a big way.
“We have to finish strong. We’re two-thirds of the way through. People come for the ending of the movie, so we have to finish it off strong. Three home games and three road games, we have to get off to a good start and put ourselves in the best position down the stretch.”
