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  • LSU excited about the opportunity to face #1 Kentucky

    By: LARRY VAUGHT




    Before the season started, LSU coach Johnny Jones said he thought Kentucky’s extraordinary talent and No. 1 ranking were good for the Southeastern Conference.

    Now LSU gets its turn trying to stop unbeaten UK (23-0) when the Tigers host Kentucky Tuesday night.

    “We’re excited about the next game on our schedule. It happens to be Tuesday against the number one team in the country,” said Jones after Saturday’s 71-60 win over Alabama. “That will be another great opportunity for our team, for our fan base and for the conference. We look forward to the challenge.

    “It’s one of those games that I’m sure a lot of people are looking at. When you have the number one team coming to your home floor or wherever you’re playing, it’s special. It gets a lot of people excited, not only players but our fan base and everyone else. We look forward to the experience as well.”

    Before LSU beat Alabama on Saturday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, it was announced that advance tickets were sold out for the Kentucky game — a common occurrence when UK visits a SEC team.

    Sophomore Jordan Mickey had 24 points and 12 rebounds against Alabama to help LSU (17-6, 6-4 SEC) end a two-game losing streak. It was Mickey’s14th double-double this season and his ninth straight game in double figures. Mickey became the 39th LSU player to surpass 500 career rebounds.

    Jarell Martin added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists against Alabama while Tim Quarterman came up with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

    Florida coach Billy Donovan said Mickey and Martin went through “growing pains” as freshmen last year.

    “They are both talented and gifted,” Donovan said. “Both have played in a lot of high major games.

    Jones says Martin has “impacted games in different ways” this season even when teams have tried different ways to limit his scoring.

    “With his unselfishness, he has done a great job creating for teammates and not forcing anything,” Jones said. “Last year he was injured early and then had to play on the perimeter for us instead of playing inside like he did in high school. This year he’s just reacting more.”

    Kentucky coach John Calipari has been impressed with both players.

    “They can make jump shots, beat you off the dribble. They can both go at the rim. Jordan is getting four to five offensive rebounds per game and 12 a game and just being vicious about it. If you are turning your back, he is dunking on you,” Calipari said. “Both have skills to play out on the floor, not just inside.”

    Mickey averages 17 points and 11 rebounds per game, both team highs, and also leads the Tigers with 81 blocked shots. He's a 53 percent shooter from the field. Martin adds 16 points and nine rebounds along with 29 steals and 19 blocks. He's a 48 percent shooter.

    Martin and Mickey were highly regarded high school players like UK sophomores Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee. After Saturday’s win over Alabama, they made it clear they had been looking forward to hosting UK.

    “This is the one we’ve been waiting on all year. We’ve been looking forward to this game and I can’t wait until Tuesday and get this one started,” Martin said.

    “We love competition and we’re looking forward to having Kentucky coming in here. We’re a good team and they’re a good team and being a competitor makes me excited to play in a big game,” Mickey said.

    Jones, who said he thinks “our guys do a great job here playing in front of our crowd” at home, made two changes in Saturday’s starting lineup when he inserted Quarterman and Jalyn Patterson, who had six points, career-high seven rebounds and career-high four assists.

    “I thought they did a great job of sharing the basketball and making extra passes, getting the ball moving to put the defensive pass behind. Guys did a good job of making shots. I thought Jarrell and Jordan both were aggressive going toward the rim, which allowed some driving lanes or some open shots for the other guys as well,” Jones said.

    Jones teased he was trying to get his own "platoon system" going by changing the lineup.

    "We needed to shake some things up to spread the floor and make quicker decisions with the basketball," the LSU coach said. "It helped us defensively get off to a better start against a team that was perimeter oriented."

    Jones knows LSU will have to guard both inside and outside against UK. He said he was impressed with UK's ability to have anyone "put up big numbers" on a given night.

    "They don't have to depend on one player. They are very explosive," Jones said. "They can get it inside or outside. They have shown they are very capable from the perimeter and you cannot leave those post guys open."
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    Harlow

    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

    See ya next guys with a new coach

    Harlow 03-22-2024, 08:36 AM Go to last post