SEC 2020-2021 early look/predictions

[Plebe]

Pokey Chatman brought in some great great talents over the years. Unfortunately we have not had players like the caliber of Sylvia Fowles or Seimone Augustus in a long time.



I was tempted to post the Sylvia Fowles highlights vs UCONN in the 2007 regional final but I don't want to get in trouble

LSU has long been one of my favorite teams to watch and root for, going back to the Marie Ferdinand years (and she is one of my favorite undersung players of all times).

I was especially heartbroken the year they lost a really close game to TN in the Final Four.

The recruiting really dried up after Van Chancellor took over. Nikki has done just barely well enough to not get fired (yet). Her best finishes were a Sweet 16 in years 2 and 3. She hasn't won an NCAAT game since 2014.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

LSU had a great run under Chatman who was rightfully dismissed. I think Van was a great coach but probably not a great hire since he was in his twilight years and probably didn’t have much gas left in the tank.

fargas’ lack of success has surprised me somewhat because she did well in her short time at UCLA. I’ve wondered about the schools commitment to basketball since she has done little to bring in fans, never seems to be in the mix for big recruits and just seems
to win enough to keep the administration happy.
It’s a shame both Duke and LSU leadership appear to be uninterested in bringing their programs back to a high level.

 

[SECbbfan24]

LSU had a great run under Chatman who was rightfully dismissed. I think Van was a great coach but probably not a great hire since he was in his twilight years and probably didn’t have much gas left in the tank.

fargas’ lack of success has surprised me somewhat because she did well in her short time at UCLA. I’ve wondered about the schools commitment to basketball since she has done little to bring in fans, never seems to be in the mix for big recruits and just seems
to win enough to keep the administration happy.
It’s a shame both Duke and LSU leadership appear to be uninterested in bringing their programs back to a high level.

Van did a really poor job coaching his teams at LSU based on the talent. I know he had success in the past but it was just not working out in BR. He recruited decently but not close to the level of Pokey. He landed many top 100 players although he struggled to mold a team with an identity. Van hovered around 19-20 wins for 3 years afters Fowles left.

Nikki seemed like a hot hire at the time because of her record at UCLA and the fact that she was a Summitt disciple. Nikki was solid at UCLA although did not do much in the NCAAT. Many don't realize after she left, some of her recruiting issues (foreshadowing) left some major holes and issues for UCLA and it took a few years for Cori Close to right the ship.

Nikki came to LSU with some solid talent in place (many top 100 kids). In all honesty her teams the first few years were some of her most talented teams and she has yet to keep or upgrade the talent since she has been here. We simply do not have enough good players. She has gotten some really good kids, Moncrief, Mitchell, Danielle Ballard but was later dismissed. Chloe Jackson was a major surprise before bolting to Baylor. The issue with Nikki isn't a great recruiter, she doesn't attempt to go after the big fish very much on the recruiting trail a lot. She settles for much less and is much more concerned with building a team around defense instead of recruiting top talent that is well rounded and work towards molding it. Her teams may play good defense but it lacks the athletes necessary to execute at a top level offensively and on the boards. Which is why LSU is rarely in the top 25 and is a fringe seed in the NCAAT. You have to recruit kids who can score too. There is much more to the equation than playing good defense.

Our last AD Joe Alleva is now gone so things are much different moving forward. She is winning barely enough to keep her job as of now. Although, the attendance and booster donations speak volumes on the current support of the program. I don't think Nikki is a bad coach at all but she lacks in critical areas that keep us from getting over the hump competing for SEC titles or making NCAAT runs.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Van did a really poor job coaching his teams at LSU based on the talent. I know he had success in the past but it was just not working out in BR. He recruited decently but not close to the level of Pokey. He landed many top 100 players although he struggled to mold a team with an identity. Van hovered around 19-20 wins for 3 years afters Fowles left.

Nikki seemed like a hot hire at the time because of her record at UCLA and the fact that she was a Summitt disciple. Nikki was solid at UCLA although did not do much in the NCAAT. Many don't realize after she left, some of her recruiting issues (foreshadowing) left some major holes and issues for UCLA and it took a few years for Cori Close to right the ship.

Nikki came to LSU with some solid talent in place (many top 100 kids). In all honesty her teams the first few years were some of her most talented teams and she has yet to keep or upgrade the talent since she has been here. We simply do not have enough good players. She has gotten some really good kids, Moncrief, Mitchell, Danielle Ballard but was later dismissed. Chloe Jackson was a major surprise before bolting to Baylor. The issue with Nikki isn't a great recruiter, she doesn't attempt to go after the big fish very much on the recruiting trail a lot. She settles for much less and is much more concerned with building a team around defense instead of recruiting top talent that is well rounded and work towards molding it. Her teams may play good defense but it lacks the athletes necessary to execute at a top level offensively and on the boards. Which is why LSU is rarely in the top 25 and is a fringe seed in the NCAAT. You have to recruit kids who can score too. There is much more to the equation than playing good defense.

Our last AD Joe Alleva is now gone so things are much different moving forward. She is winning barely enough to keep her job as of now. Although, the attendance and booster donations speak volumes on the current support of the program. I don't think Nikki is a bad coach at all but she lacks in critical areas that keep us from getting over the hump competing for SEC titles or making NCAAT runs.

Nikki, like another Summitt protege, seems like a good person. Her coaching acumen could even be higher than we think, but she has not done a good job at recruiting. Part of that responsibility is also with the staff but the head coach is who ultimately puts the staff together.

maybe the new AD will shake some things up. It’s not that I want MSU to have more competition as McCray will certainly have to stay on her toes to keep us elite but ratherI think LSU has demonstrated they will support a winning team and it would be good to have them back in the SEC conversation.

 

[Dwilliams02]

Van did a really poor job coaching his teams at LSU based on the talent. I know he had success in the past but it was just not working out in BR. He recruited decently but not close to the level of Pokey. He landed many top 100 players although he struggled to mold a team with an identity. Van hovered around 19-20 wins for 3 years afters Fowles left.

Nikki seemed like a hot hire at the time because of her record at UCLA and the fact that she was a Summitt disciple. Nikki was solid at UCLA although did not do much in the NCAAT. Many don't realize after she left, some of her recruiting issues (foreshadowing) left some major holes and issues for UCLA and it took a few years for Cori Close to right the ship.

Nikki came to LSU with some solid talent in place (many top 100 kids). In all honesty her teams the first few years were some of her most talented teams and she has yet to keep or upgrade the talent since she has been here. We simply do not have enough good players. She has gotten some really good kids, Moncrief, Mitchell, Danielle Ballard but was later dismissed. Chloe Jackson was a major surprise before bolting to Baylor. The issue with Nikki isn't a great recruiter, she doesn't attempt to go after the big fish very much on the recruiting trail a lot. She settles for much less and is much more concerned with building a team around defense instead of recruiting top talent that is well rounded and work towards molding it. Her teams may play good defense but it lacks the athletes necessary to execute at a top level offensively and on the boards. Which is why LSU is rarely in the top 25 and is a fringe seed in the NCAAT. You have to recruit kids who can score too. There is much more to the equation than playing good defense.

Our last AD Joe Alleva is now gone so things are much different moving forward. She is winning barely enough to keep her job as of now. Although, the attendance and booster donations speak volumes on the current support of the program. I don't think Nikki is a bad coach at all but she lacks in critical areas that keep us from getting over the hump competing for SEC titles or making NCAAT runs.

I agree with everything you stated.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Nikki, like another Summitt protege, seems like a good person. Her coaching acumen could even be higher than we think, but she has not done a good job at recruiting. Part of that responsibility is also with the staff but the head coach is who ultimately puts the staff together.

maybe the new AD will shake some things up. It’s not that I want MSU to have more competition as McCray will certainly have to stay on her toes to keep us elite but ratherI think LSU has demonstrated they will support a winning team and it would be good to have them back in the SEC conversation.

I like Nikki. She is very knowledgable and there are things she does really really well. She actually did one of her best coaching jobs this season prior to Mitchell going down with the wheels coming off after. We struggle a lot offensively. LSU will actually run plays, set screens, etc but we do not have the athletes who can consistently execute or shoot from 3 or midrange. That is 100% on her for not recruiting well enough.

LSU will support a winning team and a good product on the floor. Gymnastics program went from empty PMAC to 12,000 fans a meet every Friday night since they started competing for championships.

 

[bballnut90]

I like Nikki. She is very knowledgable and there are things she does really really well. She actually did one of her best coaching jobs this season prior to Mitchell going down with the wheels coming off after. We struggle a lot offensively. LSU will actually run plays, set screens, etc but we do not have the athletes who can consistently execute or shoot from 3 or midrange. That is 100% on her for not recruiting well enough.

LSU will support a winning team and a good product on the floor. Gymnastics program went from empty PMAC to 12,000 fans a meet every Friday night since they started competing for championships.

Seems to be a common theme among former Tennessee players who now coach. Usually get decent athletes but do not land a lot of quality shooters who can space the floor. Offense is mediocre, team's are very tough defensively and aggressive attacking the glass. Similar to Pat but she got top notch kids and they all worked their butts off. Rarely did they have good A/TO ratios or a slew of top notch shooters but they were in the title mix year in year out.

This style can still work if you have the horses, with SC being the best example, but the defense/toughness style does seem to be disappearing. Even SC this year looked much more fluid offensively than they have the last several seasons.

If teams want to be great in today's day and age, they need better talent or better offensive flow, plain and simple. The last several years have evolved big time offensively with teams like Mississippi State, Baylor, UCONN, Oregon and Notre Dame all putting together really good offensive teams that utilize tremendous spacing, decision making and overall ball movement. Each team is different in what they prioritize (pick and roll, weave offense, high low, etc) but all of these programs have had strong execution on the offensive end and that's the biggest reason why they've had championship caliber teams the past 5 years.