LSU Recap

Sorry guys - Time got away from me at work today (no, I'm not kidding, I did actually work today - yes, it was weird). I will not have time to put together a full recap from the LSU game. Fortunately (or unfortunately) most all of you, I am sure, got to see enough of the game to draw your own conclusion.

When you think back and draw that conclusion, you will undoubtedly come to the same realization that all of us will. - - - Last night the Aggies got outplayed, outcoached, outhustled, and just flat out whipped.

Also - do not blame the officials. They were inconsistent and there were certainly some questionable calls (even the LSU announcers agreed), but great teams find a way to overcome ancillary issues such as inconsistent officiating.

LSU came out with an A&M-like attack playing very aggressive and tough man-to-man defense. The Tigers took it right to the Aggies who had no idea what hit them.

Coach Gillispie saw the same thing we all saw in saying:
"They really came to compete and we didn't match their intensity. We played like deer in the headlights; they outhustled us and got all of the loose balls."

He also was pretty hard on Acie Law (who quite frankly was terrible last night and had all kinds of problems on both ends with the bigger and more athletic Garrett Temple).

"He's got to be more aggressive," Gillispie said. "You have to do much more as a senior leader. I thought he looked more scared than anybody on the court. I have no understanding of why someone with the kind of experience he has would look like that."

OUCH. Acie was 1 for 11 on the evening and had 3 turnovers and 3 assists.

Joe Jones, who has to stop guarding people with his arms, and has to start guarding people with his feet, was only on the floor for 16 minutes before fouling out, but Joe did manage to score 12 points in his limited time on the floor.

Marlon Pompey was back last night, who in the world knows why? I'm sorry, if it makes me a bad guy, so be it, Marlon Pompey has no business being on the floor. If someone associated with the program wants to tell me differently, let's engage in that dialogue. What I see when Marlon plays is an out of control guy who is a turnover waiting to happen and a liability to this team. More Bryan Davis and Junior Elonu and less Marlon Pompey.

Marlon's line last night - - 14 minutes, 0 for 2, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 turnover, 4 fouls.

That's just super.

Was this really the appropriate time to bring Marlon back? Coach, do that against Fordham, Jacksonville, and Grambling, not in your biggest game of the season at LSU.

Is Marlon a better option than Junior Elonu? Anyone who has seen Junior play will tell you no. Junior is just as athletic and brings you more on the offensive end. Elonu did not touch the floor last night; I guess he had a bad week at practice.

Two things we can not overlook coming away from last night's game was the superior play of Antanas Kavaliauskas and the emergence of a mean Bryan Davis.

Coach - Any reason why you decided to not feed AK over and over again on the block? Anytime someone not named Davis was guarding him, he was unstoppable. AK was the sole reason the Ags were only down 3 at the half

Bryan Davis finally showed flashes of why most people regarded him as one of the most highly soughtafter prospects in the state last year. Bryan came in and had 2 huge blocks and in his signature play, went all out after a streaking Glen Davis and hammered him to the floor preventing a certain dunk. There is no way it should have been an intentional foul, but it was a great play by a talented big man who finally showed a little mean streak. It was great to see.

One last quick note on the numbers; players not named Kavaliauskas or Jones combined to go 7 for 32 (just about 22%). You simply can not win in this game when shots are not falling. This number also includes a mind-boggling 8 missed layups.

OK - Sorry again for the scattered thoughts.....

I thought Kevin Sherrington put together a pretty good piece on the game, take a look if you have 5 minutes to read it:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt
/columnists/ksherrington/stories/
120606dnsposherrington.33cb822.html

The Aggies take on #1 UCLA on Saturday at 1:30 on CBS. The "A Team" of Billy Packer and Jim Nantz will be calling the game. I can't promise anything, but I will try to get a full preview out by Friday afternoon for you guys.

Don't let this loss to LSU get you down - 4 or 5 losses along the way are actually pretty healthy for these guys.

What we will find out on Saturday is whether or not these guys have any - ahem - guts. (Change out the "g" for an "n" if you like).

OK.

Carry on.
-sb