Will Wade’s concerns center on defense

LSU’s preseason basketball practice has not gone smoothly.

Early in the morning on the first day of official team practice, junior forward Wayde Sims was shot and killed near Southern University. It has been a challenging 3½ weeks for the Tigers players and staff as they grieve over the loss of Sims.

Then, coach Will Wade’s name surfaced in the federal trial involving two former Adidas employees and a player-runner. The defense attorney indicated there was a tape in which it seems that Wade was in discussion with Christian Dawkins concerning a 2019 basketball recruit.

But now it is time for Wade to focus on getting his team ready for the upcoming season, which begins in two weeks – against Southeastern Louisiana at the PMAC.

“We are making progress,” said Wade at LSU’s Media Day on Monday afternoon. “We are about halfway through from the start of practice to the first game. There are things we need to continue to work on.

“We need to build better habits and better attention to detail. You must do that with younger kids. You must earn the right to win. From now on, it’s how you produce and what you do as we move forward.”

Before practice began, Wade expressed worries about the Tigers’ defense. He was sure that LSU would be able to score. However, Wade knows that the Tigers cannot allow 75 points per game as they did last season and contend for a Southeastern Conference championship.

“We are not playing solitaire (on defense),” Wade said. The biggest things are team defensive concepts. The guys know their job. Now, they have to focus on playing as one on defense. Every time there is a dribble, everybody has to be moving.

“Our point of attack defense must be better. We must be better on ball screens. We must try hard and pay a little more attention to detail. Right now, we foul a lot. Our shot-blocking should be better, but we don’t want them to get to the rim. Our post defense is our worst part.”

Reportedly, the Tigers committed around 40 fouls and gave up nearly 90 points in their double-digit scrimmage victory against South Alabama last weekend. LSU will get another opportunity to sharpen its defense in a scrimmage against Texas this weekend in Houston.

Wade feels comfortable with using a nine-man rotation – five perimeter players and four post players. The perimeter players are Tremont Waters, Skylar Mays, Daryl Edwards, Ja’Vonte Smart and Marlon Taylor. The post players are Kavell Bigby-Williams, Naz Reid, Darius Days and Emmitt Williams.

Unlike last season, Wade believes he can use a variety of lineup combinations.

“We can play big or we can play small,” Wade said. “We can play fast or we can maul you in the paint. We can be a pressing team and get the ball up and down the court.

“We can play zone. Last year, we only used a 1-3-1. In that zone, just three things can happen – they miss a corner three, you steal it or they dunk it. Now, we are going to use a 2-3 zone. You can use that zone in some different ways. We will mix and match defenses this year.”

Having a deeper rotation means a greater competition for playing time. Certainly, the four freshmen are accustomed to logging major minutes.

“We have spent a lot of time talking to the players about (minutes),” Wade said. “We’re playing to win. If you help contribute to us winning, you’ll play. If not, you won’t play as much.

“I tell the players, ‘I don’t determine playing time. You do by how you prepare and how you act.’ We have a lot of different parts which can fit together.”

Sims would have been part of the depth on this team. Sims was a backup post player last season. He had been working also as a small forward this summer.

"Wayde meant a lot to us,” Wade said. “The more we are on the court practicing and playing, the more we miss him. It is pretty glaring with him not there right now. Our guys have moved on the best they can. We’re getting a little bit better every day. It is going to take a while.”

LSU has just one injured player at this time – the 6-foot-6 junior college transfer Taylor. He broke the knuckle on one of his little fingers last week.

“We had to put a plate in (Taylor’s) pinkie finger,” Wade said. “He’ll be out two or three weeks. We should have him back for the Southeastern game or the (North Carolina) Greensboro game. I am disappointed Marlon is out because he is missing the opportunity to play in these scrimmages.”

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