GETTING INSIDE

After inheriting a veteran team and guiding it to the overall SEC championship last season, coach Trent Johnson begins rebuilding in earnest at LSU for 2009-10.

Only two starters return from a 27-8 club, and one may be slowed at the start of the season. Guard Bo Spencer had wrist surgery on his shooting arm in the offseason and wasn’t able to get in the kind of shooting work he desired.

The other returning veteran, however, is looking to close out his career in a big way.

After missing most of the 2007-08 season because of a stress fracture in his left shinbone, forward Tasmin Mitchell played power forward last season and was the team’s second-leading scorer at better than 16 points a game.

He led in rebounding with better than seven a game.

Asked what he role he expects of Mitchell, Johnson said simply, “Score, defend, rebound, make defensive stops. Pretty much everything.”

If 6-11 Garrett Green and 6-7 Storm Warren can handle the workload in the low post, Mitchell can move back to his more natural small forward spot. He may have to anyway for defensive purposes.

In addition to leading scorer Marcus Thornton and shot-blocker Chris Johnson, the other player the Tigers are going to miss is Garrett Temple. Temple proved a steady hand running the offense and was a good defender on the perimeter.

If he is completely healthy, Spencer can handle the point, but senior Alex Farrer and sophomore Chris Bass are going to have to step up their games if the Tigers are going to avoid a deep tumble in the division race.

Overall, this is a club that lacks depth—only nine of the 13 players on the roster are on scholarship—and is going to have to scratch and claw for wins.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Last season’s SEC championship was the second for LSU in a four-year span. In between the 2006 and 2009 titles, however, the Tigers finished last in the Western Division in 2007 and fourth in 2008.

• F Tasmin Mitchell is LSU’s top returning scorer and rebounder. His 16.3 scoring average was second on the team last season, and he led in rebounds at 7.2 per game.

• G Bo Spencer missed two games last season because of an ankle injury but started 32 times in his 33 appearances.

Last Year:   27-8 overall, 13-3 in the SEC; lost to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach:   Trent Johnson (career 186-79); second year at LSU (27-8).

Quote To Note:   “We will have nine scholarship players and with the numerous injuries we have had this spring and summer, they will be instrumental in scout work and preparation for opponents. But they also need to be able to put themselves in a position to be ready to go in whether it is for a second, a minute or more.”—Coach Trent Johnson, on the importance of the four walk-ons added to the roster.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   F Dennis Harris, who sat out last year as a redshirt, and true freshman F Eddie Ludwig add depth up front. Harris is 6-10, Ludwig 6-9. G Aaron Dotson is coming off knee surgery, which could slow his early progress. With only nine scholarship players available, the Tigers also added four walk-ons to their roster. They were junior Chris Beattie, a guard; sophomores Zack Kinsley, a guard-forward, and Taylor Jacobsen, a forward; and freshman guard Daron Populist.

Key Early-season Games:   The Tigers will take part in the NIT Season-Tip-Off tourney with Indiana State as their opening opponent in Baton Rouge on Nov. 16. Western Kentucky could await in the second game. Duke is one of the four teams in the opposite bracket. December doesn’t offer much of a challenge until later in the month when the Tigers play Washington State in Seattle on Dec. 22 and then go to Cincinnati to meet Xavier on Dec. 29. The new year opens with a home game against Utah on Jan. 2.

Program Direction:   The program made a big jump last season when the Tigers won the SEC title in coach Trent Johnson’s first season. With the loss of starters Marcus Thornton, Chris Johnson and Garrett Temple, they figure to take a step back in 2009-10. But if Johnson can add some solid recruits next year, the Tigers should be back on their way up.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Bo Spencer, SG Alex Farrer, F Tasmin Mitchell, F Storm Warren, F Garrett Green.

Roster Report:  

• G Bo Spencer had offseason wrist surgery and didn’t have the opportunity to work on his mid-range jumper perhaps as much as he would have liked.

• G Aaron Dotson, a freshman, had knee surgery during his high school senior year.

• F Garrett Green is coming back from back surgery that sidelined him all of last season.