LSU Basketball 21-22

[skilz]

Did you go to the practice yesterday? For those who wanted more intel on the moon Ursin situation, she gave a great explanation. Morris showed out yesterday, Gusters really need more time. I honestly like the freshmen. They have A LOT of size as a whole on the team

I have high hopes for Morris. There's a huge connection between Morris and Mulkey - always has been. You will hear Mulkey say "I love and care for that kid." Through all the trials and tribulations, Morris and Mulkey have stayed connected. Morris is really a good person and smart girl. If there is anyone that can put Morris back on track, it's Mulkey. If you have not watched Morris much, you will see she is FAST! She has a high BB IQ and can shoot. If she can stay on a good path and finish up with Mulkey, she will be a HUGE asset this year to LSU. I look forward to watching her.

Gusters should get a little better as time goes on this year, however, I also believe she will need another year to get in good shape. I expect Gusters to be a beast in her Jr & Sr years.

Is it time yet???

 

[Argonaut]

Does someone have the roundabout time stamp for where she talks about Moon's transfer? I can't watch that much Kim...

 

[TheGOAT23]

Does someone have the roundabout time stamp for where she talks about Moon's transfer? I can't watch that much Kim...

7:40

 

[DefenseBB]

I hate to disagree or combat my fine colleague @skilz but I do have 2 different thoughts from her post:
1. Morris, given all her travels and issues at other programs include the Wayward school for women, also known as Rutgers, she should not be made eligible this year. It would further make a mockery of higher education efforts.
2. How many years does it have to take for Gusters to actually focus on conditioning? This is her 3rd year under Mulkey and how or why that hasn’t improved is also confounding to me. I am not sold that now, she will work on it given she has no one remotely close to her skills or size on LSU for her to be motivated to change.

Now, all that said, Mulkey will drastic improve the competitiveness and increase the scoring for the Tigers while showing as good or better defense. Plus she already has top recruits considering LSU something Nikki never could do.
And yes, at some point of the next 3 years I will
Make a trip to LSU (hopefully to UConn) and watch them play and meet up with Skilz, @Plebe and of course @SECbbfan24

 

[skilz]

I hate to disagree or combat my fine colleague @skilz but I do have 2 different thoughts from her post:
1. Morris, given all her travels and issues at other programs include the Wayward school for women, also known as Rutgers, she should not be made eligible this year. It would further make a mockery of higher education efforts.
2. How many years does it have to take for Gusters to actually focus on conditioning? This is her 3rd year under Mulkey and how or why that hasn’t improved is also confounding to me. I am not sold that now, she will work on it given she has no one remotely close to her skills or size on LSU for her to be motivated to change.

Now, all that said, Mulkey will drastic improve the competitiveness and increase the scoring for the Tigers while showing as good or better defense. Plus she already has top recruits considering LSU something Nikki never could do.
And yes, at some point of the next 3 years I will
Make a trip to LSU (hopefully to UConn) and watch them play and meet up with Skilz, @Plebe and of course @SECbbfan24

Hey friend - I don't really disagree with you. I'm not sure how Morris is playing this year, but only assume it's because of the covid year. I can only pray for her and hope she finds what she needs to get healthy mentally.

Gusters: This is her 2nd year. She only had 1 year under Mulkey, not to mention, she didn't play her Senior year in HS. Give her time...

I'm definitely making several trips to LSU. Meeting up at some point would be great!

 

[SECbbfan24]

I hate to disagree or combat my fine colleague @skilz but I do have 2 different thoughts from her post:
1. Morris, given all her travels and issues at other programs include the Wayward school for women, also known as Rutgers, she should not be made eligible this year. It would further make a mockery of higher education efforts.
2. How many years does it have to take for Gusters to actually focus on conditioning? This is her 3rd year under Mulkey and how or why that hasn’t improved is also confounding to me. I am not sold that now, she will work on it given she has no one remotely close to her skills or size on LSU for her to be motivated to change.

Now, all that said, Mulkey will drastic improve the competitiveness and increase the scoring for the Tigers while showing as good or better defense. Plus she already has top recruits considering LSU something Nikki never could do.
And yes, at some point of the next 3 years I will
Make a trip to LSU (hopefully to UConn) and watch them play and meet up with Skilz, @Plebe and of course @SECbbfan24

Morris has a lot of maturing to do as a person but I am happy she ended up with Kim to end her career. If she can keep her head on straight, she will be a big asset in the limited time she has left playing college. It appears so far she has found a niche at LSU and has a lot of close friends so far. Hopefully it keeps her grounded, she can finish with a good end to her career and a college degree. Her talent and ability was never a question mark, we know what she is capable of. She was extremely impressive yesterday although I don't see her playing this year given all the transferring unless there is something going on behind the scenes I don't know. But the NCAA never shocks me with their decisions, for better or worse.

Gusters needs to get in better shape period. This will be her 2nd year with Kim after a COVID year.. She really needs another year IMO to get in the shape she needs to be in to contribute on a regular basis but I think she sees time this year and it will help her development go a long way with experience.

Hypothetically, if Guster's doesnt work out they way they hope, I don't doubt Kim will have someone ready to step up. If that requires she hits the portal to find someone, she will do it. Personally, I am most excited to watch Amani Bartlett, her ability to rebound and shot block IMO will make her very valuable.

One thing that made me excited listening to the players was them talking about how different practices are. They have described them as much more intense and says the pace of play is significantly faster. Idk if LSU has the shooters to truly rely on a half court game consistently which is why I think pushing the ball in transition will be a big emphasis. Got to find ways to manufacture points. Fargas played to slow the game down and to make them close and ugly, we appear we are trying to do the opposite now in terms of our pace.

I'm excited to see something different period. What LSU has done the last 8 years has not worked.

 

[Heytherego]

Does someone have the roundabout time stamp for where she talks about Moon's transfer? I can't watch that much Kim...

More or less, Moon was intially planning on going home to Tulane and then Mulkey took the LSU job so she followed her there. Moon still wasn’t sure if she wanted to play/give the effort that was required and eventually decided to leave, go home and pursue nursing school at Tulane. Mulkey had nothing but kind things to say about Ursin and wants her to be happy. Sounds like Ursin was pretty transparent with the coaching staff the whole time on her feelings.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I thought I was going crazy today when I thought I saw T. Cooper in BR but I guess she really did come down here

 

[DeeHusky]

I thought I was going crazy today when I thought I saw T. Cooper in BR but I guess she really did come down here

Is she dating Alvin Kamara? I’m asking because I think he and Diamond Deshields were a thing.

 

[skilz]

Is she dating Alvin Kamara? I’m asking because I think he and Diamond Deshields were a thing.

Yes, her and Alvin are a thing.

 

[Carnac]

I will say this. Kim Mulkey love the midrange watching her coach at Baylor. And it looks like we have a bunch of decent mid-range shooters.

I still miss Moon tho lol. I hope Morris can play immediately. Something tells me she will. But no news yet


The battle at the 4 will be interesting. I'm pretty sure Trasi is the front runner. But lawd. The amount of bodies we have.

Kim has LSU on the “fast track” to respectability and a top 25 ranking by the end of next year. She’s going to do the same things she did at Baylor.

Play the same type of basketball, and recruit the same types of players. She knows that play in the SEC is one of the most competitive in the country. She’ll conduct herself accordingly.

 

[Dwilliams02]

The more I see them practice and the more I look at Alexis Morris' social media. I really think she is eligible.

Either way. This team still look promising. Kim will get some wins out of them and get them into the tournament.

 

[cancontent]

The more I see them practice and the more I look at Alexis Morris' social media. I really think she is eligible.

Either way. This team still look promising. Kim will get some wins out of them and get them into the tournament.

I've been under the assumption that she will be. I thought she entered the portal in time for the one-time exemption.

My recollection is that she's sat out once already when she transferring initially to Rutgers. If she has to sit out another year, I'll be scratching my head.

 

[SECbbfan24]

The more I see them practice and the more I look at Alexis Morris' social media. I really think she is eligible.

Either way. This team still look promising. Kim will get some wins out of them and get them into the tournament.

They showcase Morris a lot on LSU's social media. Something tells me she is gonna be eligible but I think its interesting there was never an official announcement from LSU on her. Losing Moon sucked but if Morris is eligible, that eases things significantly. Her and Pointer at PG/SG would be a terrific combo. How they deal with all those posts is what I am most curious about. Aifuwa is a shoe in to start at the 5, who starts at the 4 is what I am most curious. Something tells me Newby will probably win it but there seems to be a crazy amount of competition in that spot.

I'm gonna be interested in how the roster works out next year. We lose a lot of seniors, I guess we will have to hit the portal hard. Not sure we are gonna sign much this fall. VanSlooten appears to be headed to Oregon. That leaves SaMyah Smith and Flaujae left unless they add an international player.

 

[Carnac]

They showcase Morris a lot on LSU's social media. Something tells me she is gonna be eligible but I think its interesting there was never an official announcement from LSU on her. Losing Moon sucked but if Morris is eligible, that eases things significantly. Her and Pointer at PG/SG would be a terrific combo. How they deal with all those posts is what I am most curious about. Aifuwa is a shoe in to start at the 5, who starts at the 4 is what I am most curious. Something tells me Newby will probably win it but there seems to be a crazy amount of competition in that spot.

I'm gonna be interested in how the roster works out next year. We lose a lot of seniors, I guess we will have to hit the portal hard. Not sure we are gonna sign much this fall. VanSlooten appears to be headed to Oregon. That leaves SaMyah Smith and Flaujae left unless they add an international player.

One of the first rules in Marketing 101, don't "showcase" or promote players that are not eligible. That's FALSE advertising. ALL players that are promoted on this year's team, are expected to play THIS season.

 

[Carnac]

I thought I was going crazy today when I thought I saw T. Cooper in BR but I guess she really did come down here

This is a nice endorsement from Cooper. However, many other coaches could get the same "glowing" endorsement from most of their former players. Cooper had social issues with teammates at Tennessee, left there, and left South Carolina when she could have stayed. I'm not sure I would take advise from a player that transferred as many times as she did. Brittany Griner may not agree with her about her assessment of Mulkey. Griner was not happy with the way she was treated at Baylor.

 

[skilz]

They showcase Morris a lot on LSU's social media. Something tells me she is gonna be eligible but I think its interesting there was never an official announcement from LSU on her. Losing Moon sucked but if Morris is eligible, that eases things significantly. Her and Pointer at PG/SG would be a terrific combo. How they deal with all those posts is what I am most curious about. Aifuwa is a shoe in to start at the 5, who starts at the 4 is what I am most curious. Something tells me Newby will probably win it but there seems to be a crazy amount of competition in that spot.

I'm gonna be interested in how the roster works out next year. We lose a lot of seniors, I guess we will have to hit the portal hard. Not sure we are gonna sign much this fall. VanSlooten appears to be headed to Oregon. That leaves SaMyah Smith and Flaujae left unless they add an international player.

Just like hiring coaches, Mulkey keeps everything quiet until it's time. I think you see more recruits commit than you expect.

 

[SECbbfan24]

This is a nice endorsement from Cooper. However, many other coaches could get the same "glowing" endorsement from most of their former players. Cooper had social issues with teammates at Tennessee, left there, and left South Carolina when she could have stayed. I'm not sure I would take advise from a player that transferred as many times as she did. Brittany Griner may not agree with her about her assessment of Mulkey. Griner was not happy with the way she was treated at Baylor.

I know I may be biased as I’m an LSU fan. I get why some people may not like Kim. I won’t pretend to know what the relationship or treatment was of Griner while she was at Baylor. I do know that the school is very Christian. A friend of ours daughter was gay and she was a player on the tennis team at Baylor. She was ‘discouraged’ from opening up about her sexuality to others. Not sure if this was something that went on at Baylor or at the coaches preferences.

WBB has many many players of all types of sexuality. Many of them played under Kim. Many of her former players have been extremely vocal supporters of her. Idk if it was just that one relationship with Griner but from what I have seen, most of the players who have played under her have had great relationships/experiences with her.

for the record, I personally know Kim for quite a few years. Family member of mine played with Kramer at LSU. I get perception leaves many with a bad taste of Kim at times, but she really is one of the nicest people you’d ever meet if you got the chance to meet her in person and get to know her.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Here’s a nice read. Very excited for Pointer and company. I hope they can have a great last year

 

[Dwilliams02]

I know I may be biased as I’m an LSU fan. I get why some people may not like Kim. I won’t pretend to know what the relationship or treatment was of Griner while she was at Baylor. I do know that the school is very Christian. A friend of ours daughter was gay and she was a player on the tennis team at Baylor. She was ‘discouraged’ from opening up about her sexuality to others. Not sure if this was something that went on at Baylor or at the coaches preferences.

WBB has many many players of all types of sexuality. Many of them played under Kim. Many of her former players have been extremely vocal supporters of her. Idk if it was just that one relationship with Griner but from what I have seen, most of the players who have played under her have had great relationships/experiences with her.

for the record, I personally know Kim for quite a few years. Family member of mine played with Kramer at LSU. I get perception leaves many with a bad taste of Kim at times, but she really is one of the nicest people you’d ever meet if you got the chance to meet her in person and get to know her.

That's exactly what I get from Kim. To me, she's pure Louisiana. Some, from the outside looking in, may not like her. She will say what she say. And it may just not register well with everyone. But she's really a great person. I may not know her personally, but she treat her players like she's their second mom.

 

[Dwilliams02]

They showcase Morris a lot on LSU's social media. Something tells me she is gonna be eligible but I think its interesting there was never an official announcement from LSU on her. Losing Moon sucked but if Morris is eligible, that eases things significantly. Her and Pointer at PG/SG would be a terrific combo. How they deal with all those posts is what I am most curious about. Aifuwa is a shoe in to start at the 5, who starts at the 4 is what I am most curious. Something tells me Newby will probably win it but there seems to be a crazy amount of competition in that spot.

I'm gonna be interested in how the roster works out next year. We lose a lot of seniors, I guess we will have to hit the portal hard. Not sure we are gonna sign much this fall. VanSlooten appears to be headed to Oregon. That leaves SaMyah Smith and Flaujae left unless they add an international player.

I agree. I like Trasi. But we need someone who will give us a lot of boards. I think Newby could definitely give us more than what she has showcased at Vandy.

I like Bartlett as well. But it's not much highlights of her. But from what I've heard. She will be a great defender and can run the floor.

I really really really hope we can pull in Flaujae. She reminds me so much of Raigyne Moncreif. With more range

 

[southie]

The first we heard about Morris entering the transfer was July 27, well after the July 1 deadline. But, there's always a chance she did meet that deadline and it wasn't leaked right away on social media, I guess.

While she did sit out one season when leaving Baylor for Rutgers, she did not sit her first season at Texas A&M (although she did have to wait until the blanket waiver was approved in December in order to start playing. Ended up playing in 20 of 28 games last season.

Unless she's a graduate transfer (LSU roster lists her as a 5th Yr Senior), and submitted a waiver request, I can't see how she'll be eligible this season.

 

[SECbbfan24]

The first we heard about Morris entering the transfer was July 27, well after the July 1 deadline. But, there's always a chance she did meet that deadline and it wasn't leaked right away on social media, I guess.

This is the one thing I dont think anyone here can verify. That said, I think it would look very weird/odd for LSU to promote a player who isnt gonna play this year. They know more than I do though.

Its interesting though they showcase her in a bunch of their videos, Morris herself is going on social media saying how excited she is for the season, but at the same time there has not been any type of official announcement by LSU on Morris.

 

[Geew1992]

Didn’t morris become immediately eligible to play at A&M?

 

[SECbbfan24]

I agree. I like Trasi. But we need someone who will give us a lot of boards. I think Newby could definitely give us more than what she has showcased at Vandy.

I like Bartlett as well. But it's not much highlights of her. But from what I've heard. She will be a great defender and can run the floor.

I really really really hope we can pull in Flaujae. She reminds me so much of Raigyne Moncreif. With more range

Bartlett is a big rebounder and shot blocker, its a big reason she was highly recruited but Kim historically doesnt start or rely on freshmen heavily. Plus she was coming off a knee injury, so I dont see major minutes right away but maybe she gets more as the season goes.

I have no clue what to make of Petty, we rarely saw her last season.

Newby seems the obvious choice being how experienced she is and has always been a strong rebounder/defender (Mulkey has always preached this area). I felt she never reached her potential offensively at Vandy but maybe with some solid coaching she can give more.

All I know is LSU has a bunch of players over 6'2, they have plenty of size to rebound and to do things inside.

 

[WFFL]

Didn’t morris become immediately eligible to play at A&M?

She had to miss the first semester she became eligible in late december.

 

[Carnac]

I know I may be biased as I’m an LSU fan. I get why some people may not like Kim. I won’t pretend to know what the relationship or treatment was of Griner while she was at Baylor. I do know that the school is very Christian. A friend of ours daughter was gay and she was a player on the tennis team at Baylor. She was ‘discouraged’ from opening up about her sexuality to others. Not sure if this was something that went on at Baylor or at the coaches preferences.

WBB has many many players of all types of sexuality. Many of them played under Kim. Many of her former players have been extremely vocal supporters of her. Idk if it was just that one relationship with Griner but from what I have seen, most of the players who have played under her have had great relationships/experiences with her.

for the record, I personally know Kim for quite a few years. Family member of mine played with Kramer at LSU. I get perception leaves many with a bad taste of Kim at times, but she really is one of the nicest people you’d ever meet if you got the chance to meet her in person and get to know her.

I like Mulkey. My narrative was only in reference to Cooper’s endorsement. I’m not sure Cooper is someone I would want my child (who is being recruited by various schools) to take any advice from. I have my own personal thoughts about Cooper that I will keep to myself. If I had a daughter, I’d have no problem with her playing for Kim.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I like Mulkey. My narrative was only in reference to Cooper’s endorsement. I’m not sure Cooper is someone I would want my child (who is being recruited by various schools) to take any advice from. I have my own personal thoughts about Cooper that I will keep to myself. If I had a daughter, I’d have no problem with her playing for Kim.

I only have two things I disagree with Kim on or not a fan of. One, she schedules too soft for my liking in general. She is a damn good coach and has top 10 teams year after year, she could schedule better. Not saying you need to go crazy but some games on her schedules make no sense to me, you can play inferior teams without playing some of these.... bottom of the barrel teams.

Second, sometimes she doesn't handle losing well (snarky comments after games). She does handle it well at times complimenting other teams but then other times it doesnt come across well at all. I get it, she is super competitive in everything she does and when she gets super invested its tough to swallow a loss for her at times.

Outside of that she really is a pleasure to be around. Having been to many of her practices before, she comes across much differently on the sidelines than she is at practice and behind the scenes, she often is making jokes half the time. I'm excited to see what she does with this years team. Surprisingly, the chemistry appears to be really good right now and all the returning kids are loving it so far. I don't know how its going to turn out but its clear they have worked extremely hard this short time trying to change the perception of this program. They are already getting near 5000 season tickers and she has not coached a single game yet.

 

[Geew1992]

I only have two things I disagree with Kim on or not a fan of. One, she schedules too soft for my liking in general. She is a damn good coach and has top 10 teams year after year, she could schedule better. Not saying you need to go crazy but some games on her schedules make no sense to me, you can play inferior teams without playing some of these.... bottom of the barrel teams.

Second, sometimes she doesn't handle losing well (snarky comments after games). She does handle it well at times complimenting other teams but then other times it doesnt come across well at all. I get it, she is super competitive in everything she does and when she gets super invested its tough to swallow a loss for her at times.

Outside of that she really is a pleasure to be around. Having been to many of her practices before, she comes across much differently on the sidelines than she is at practice and behind the scenes, she often is making jokes half the time. I'm excited to see what she does with this years team. Surprisingly, the chemistry appears to be really good right now and all the returning kids are loving it so far. I don't know how its going to turn out but its clear they have worked extremely hard this short time trying to change the perception of this program. They are already getting near 5000 season tickers and she has not coached a single game yet.

I don’t care about the basketball stance. She can schedule how ever she likes. Her take on the rapes from the Baylor football team is why I don’t like her and never will.

 

[Carnac]

I only have two things I disagree with Kim on or not a fan of. One, she schedules too soft for my liking in general. She is a damn good coach and has top 10 teams year after year, she could schedule better. Not saying you need to go crazy but some games on her schedules make no sense to me, you can play inferior teams without playing some of these.... bottom of the barrel teams.

Second, sometimes she doesn't handle losing well (snarky comments after games). She does handle it well at times complimenting other teams but then other times it doesnt come across well at all. I get it, she is super competitive in everything she does and when she gets super invested its tough to swallow a loss for her at times.

Outside of that she really is a pleasure to be around. Having been to many of her practices before, she comes across much differently on the sidelines than she is at practice and behind the scenes, she often is making jokes half the time. I'm excited to see what she does with this years team. Surprisingly, the chemistry appears to be really good right now and all the returning kids are loving it so far. I don't know how its going to turn out but its clear they have worked extremely hard this short time trying to change the perception of this program. They are already getting near 5000 season tickers and she has not coached a single game yet.

Agree with you on both counts. I thought exactly like you do about her preference to schedule cupcakes and twinkies to fill out her pre conference schedule every year. I was looking at that as a fan. She’s looking at it like a coach.

She knows exactly what she’s doing. She schedules teams she knows she can beat. They will give her team a run, give her freshmen and transfers ample opportunity to get plenty of playing time, all the while bonding with each other. All but one or two of these games are home games. She’ll play 1-2 ranked teams, but no more than two. She gets her team use to winning this way. Lots of “learning moments“ in these games for younger and inexperienced players.

One thing we must recognize and remember, there is a method to her madness. She begins conference play with 11-12 wins every year, Baylor either runs the table, or loses no more than one game in conference play every year. She usually gets a number 1 or 2 seed in the tournament.

Playing soft OCC schedules has not hurt her up to this point. Don’t look for her to change her M.O. now. It’s not going to happen. Kim’s point of view on this is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Her Baylor teams were always ready to play conference games once they commenced. LSU will not dominate the SEC the way Baylor did the Big 12. You can bet the farm on that. Kim will win basketball games this year. Even more so once she gets HER players on roster next year. I think LSU will be an interesting team to watch and follow this year.