Tigers get no love in first basketball poll

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By Joshua Davidson

The first preseason poll for the upcoming Men's Basketball season was released last week and to no surprise LSU was nowhere near the list despite returning two starters from last seasons SEC Championship team.

The ESPN/USA Today poll did comprise of three SEC schools in the top 25 including No. 5 Kentucky, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 19 Mississippi State, while also having Vanderbilt, Florida and Ole Miss receive some votes outside of the top 25.

LSU did lose a good bit of talent from last seasons championship team, but its hard to imagine the Tigers not being at least in the mid to top of the SEC yet again this year.

Looking at LSU's roster right now there are several questions. Who's going to be a third scoring option? Can Garrett Green or Dennis Harris handle the center position? Does having four total walk-ons from the last two years hurt the team? One thing that is not in question is who's going to lead this team and does the coach have what it takes to salvage this season before a great recruiting class comes in next year.

Sure Coach Trent Johnson has his hands full with putting five guys on the court that are capable of competing with talented programs, but believe me when I tell you, this team will be better than most people think.

After seeing the purple and gold scrimmage last week, here are some predictions for this years LSU Tigers Men's Basketball team.

First off, Tasmin Mitchell will win SEC Player of the Year. This is the biggest year of the fifth year senior's life and he will come to play. Tasmin will lead this group of inexperienced ballplayers to an SEC Western Division title and perhaps even a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Tasmin's right hand man this season, like we all suspect, will be Bo Spencer. The junior point guard should be able to increase his shots now that Marcus Thornton is gone and there's no reason to believe he can't get his points to about 17 per game and assists to around four or five.

The dark horse for this team is going to be Aaron Dotson. The freshman from Seattle has a man's body and could potentially give the LSU offense a big boost with his jump shot and high basketball IQ. Look for Dotson to challenge senior guard Alex Farrer for minutes and maybe even take the starting spot at two-guard by mid-season.

The X-factor for this team is the play of the post players. Sophomore power forward Storm Warren should handle his business at the four spot but a lot is riding on how Green and Harris play at the five. Both guys looked decent during the scrimmage last week as Green finished with 11 points while Harris hit a clutch three pointer late in the game to tie it up. If these two can combine for about 15 points and 13 rebounds, LSU will win the West.

Outside of a loaded Kentucky team, LSU should be able to hang with anyone in the SEC. Yearly juggernauts Florida and Tennessee are both poised for a down year in my opinion and the SEC West doesn't scare me.

Trent Johnson is working on a seven-year postseason tournament streak that dates back to his stints at Nevada and Stanford; so don't be surprised if he does the unthinkable with this young team.

Originally Published: Issue 822 - November 4, 2009

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