2023 LSU Offseason Thread

[hoophuskee]

I've seen all I need to see, team looks like a force. jk. But everyone is who I thought they were. Hailey Van Lith looked pretty automatic taking pull-ups in the mid-range, as did MW. It was cool to see Morrow pop out and hit a couple threes. She's super comfortable there. Angel Reese air-balled atleast 3 shots, but she was still going through each drill with pace.

LSU is a beast. A big time beast. But I doubt this season that MW is a comfortable 3pt shooter.

 

[sun]

I'm anticipating that Mikaylah Williams will become an overnight sensation & LSU's leading scorer.
Maybe even more productive than Azzi, especially compared to her first 2 years.

 

[hoophuskee]

Dawn is there too. She's won 2 titles and played in 4 Final Fours in the last 6 NCAA tournaments (and was #1 entering the 2020 tournament). It wont be popular here, but at this point I'd put Dawn/Kim ahead of Geno when looking at coach ranking in today's day and age (not all time where Geno is clearly ahead of both). They've thrived utilizing the portal to their benefit, consistently have built really strong rosters and both have won multiple championships in the last 7 years. Both have unique challenges this upcoming year, with Dawn moving past the "freshies" era and Kim navigating a super team.

Geno is the best of the 3 at developing kids for the WNBA. The motion offense is heavily utilized in the pros and is a big reason why UCONN players who weren't stars in college or projected to be strong pros have been able to stick in the WNBA (ex. ONO, Juhasz, Dangerfield, Stokes etc). Aside from a few examples, most high draft picks have lived up to their billing too.

I won't argue who is 1/2/3 etc. And I have to say I like Dawn and Kim -- a lot. Not a little.

- But I want just mention Geno has been sensational using the portal the last 5 years. Sensational. Five years ago, he got Azura. Then after 1stthe junior All-American, Meg Walker left, then he got Evina Westbrook. Then he got Dorka 2 years ago and last year he gets Senechal. Who loses a 1st team a/a that leaves early leavin gthe team potentially exposed as Walker did (not holding it against her one bit.) yet the team still makes it back to Final Four? Some of it has to do pickign up Evia and --> the coaching. - And ofc Paige.

What would UCONN have been without Senechal and Juhasz last year? Two/three years prior what would they have been without Evina? And if the major separation is that they have won more titles in 7 years then that's a bit unfair to Geno. Three years ago, he lost a 1st team a/a in Walker that went to WNBA early. Two years ago, his team had 3 players out ((Griffin (granted she was out all year), Juhasz, and Azzi)), and one player hurt trying to play (Ododa) and Paige did miss most of the year. How much more "help" did SC need? Granted they deserved but still . . . And last year no Paige and Azzi never the same along with Ducharme hurt on-and-off. And with the star power he has - his ability to get transfers isn't as easy. But maybe some of the criteria you use that there should be additional ones such as injuries and jumping to WNBA? You’ve recognized WNBA as a value anyway.

Anyhow Kim and Dawn deserve accolades. And this year LSU is gonna be a beast regardless of schedule. I believe Morrow is their most important player (not their best). And not just because of offense.

 

[mbr33ct]

I will keep my eyes on Total Field Goal Attempts by these three players. For sure by the end of the season I expect much lower attempts from Morrow and Van Lith from season just concluded. If Reese manages to get close to the 560 FGA from last season I would expect some not so happy campers in the locker room. This is Reese's team and I believe she will end up with the most shots.

 

[oldhusky]

I will keep my eyes on Total Field Goal Attempts by these three players. For sure by the end of the season I expect much lower attempts from Morrow and Van Lith from season just concluded. If Reese manages to get close to the 560 FGA from last season I would expect some not so happy campers in the locker room. This is Reese's team and I believe she will end up with the most shots.

View attachment 91925

If you add up those percentages of team totals it comes to 87% of the shots from three players, so something has to give. Particularly when you have several significant returnees, plus two top 10 recruits coming in, one of which, Mikaylah Williams our board member Sun expects to be the leading scorer on the team!

While I don't expect anything close to that from MW, I think you could even expand this to say there are four players on this year's LSU team that are used to being the #1 option and getting the ball all the time. Three of them will need to go thru major changes in the way they play, accept a lessor offensive role, and in the case of Morrow and Hailey Van Lith, potentially have to play a new position.

Kim has a ton of talent, and has obviously taken on the challenge of figuring out how to mesh these players into an effective unit, despite some less than obvious fits. If she can make it work, maybe turn Hailey Van Lith into a PG, Morrow into a 3, find a regular role for MW, still get the ball to Angel, and have others accept a lessor role, then her coaching reputation will be sky high and she will probably win coach of the year.

It's a lot of ifs, many possible outcomes and much intrigue over how this plays out. The NIL situation makes it even more so. It appears LSU has succeeded in making LSU a great school for NIL opportunities, that may have helped them in the portal and recruiting. When big bucks are involved, that means players have even more reason to want to be the Alpha on the team, not a very good role player.

It will be interesting, time will tell.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I will keep my eyes on Total Field Goal Attempts by these three players. For sure by the end of the season I expect much lower attempts from Morrow and Van Lith from season just concluded. If Reese manages to get close to the 560 FGA from last season I would expect some not so happy campers in the locker room. This is Reese's team and I believe she will end up with the most shots.

View attachment 91925

Everyones stats are gonna drop, especially Hailey Van Lith/Morrow. Greater Efficiency with less points>>>> More points on more attempts

Morrow's is gonna be the most dramatic change being at over 800 last year but she knew what she was walking into when deciding on a school. It would have been no different at South Carolina with the talent level down there. If its a deal breaker she never should have transferred from Depaul

I suspect Morrow/Hailey Van Lith are willing to attempt to adapt to the new roles of Hailey Van Lith working on her passing/Defense and Morrow developing on the wing because those are probably needed for both to have a shot at the next level. But thats just me.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

If you add up those percentages of team totals it comes to 87% of the shots from three players, so something has to give. Particularly when you have several significant returnees, plus two top 10 recruits coming in, one of which, Mikaylah Williams our board member Sun expects to be the leading scorer on the team!

While I don't expect anything close to that from MW, I think you could even expand this to say there are four players on this year's LSU team that are used to being the #1 option and getting the ball all the time. Three of them will need to go thru major changes in the way they play, accept a lessor offensive role, and in the case of Morrow and Hailey Van Lith, potentially have to play a new position.

Kim has a ton of talent, and has obviously taken on the challenge of figuring out how to mesh these players into an effective unit, despite some less than obvious fits. If she can make it work, maybe turn Hailey Van Lith into a PG, Morrow into a 3, find a regular role for MW, still get the ball to Angel, and have others accept a lessor role, then her coaching reputation will be sky high and she will probably win coach of the year.

It's a lot of ifs, many possible outcomes and much intrigue over how this plays out. The NIL situation makes it even more so. It appears LSU has succeeded in making LSU a great school for NIL opportunities, that may have helped them in the portal and recruiting. When big bucks are involved, that means players have even more reason to want to be the Alpha on the team, not a very good role player.

It will be interesting, time will tell.

This is an interesting breakdown. Don’t disagree with any of it.

Where I think LSU’s real pain point will be with integrating talent is at the SG/SF role. Me thinks Flaujea, Williams, and Morrow will be vying essentially for the same position/role on the floor. one of them is going to be the odd man out and I don’t think it will be the freshman.

 

[Fowlball]

I will keep my eyes on Total Field Goal Attempts by these three players. For sure by the end of the season I expect much lower attempts from Morrow and Van Lith from season just concluded. If Reese manages to get close to the 560 FGA from last season I would expect some not so happy campers in the locker room. This is Reese's team and I believe she will end up with the most shots.

View attachment 91925

 

[Britt87]

I don't know why it's so difficult for some to understand that these players know that they aren't going to be taking as many shots nor will they need to. If jacking up shots and getting their numbers is their concern, then they should have stayed on their previous teams. They have all said that they are willing to do what the team needs from them to be successful. Also, Kim is not putting up with any attitudes or pouting about how many shots they are getting. She can and will find somebody else to get the job done if necessary.

 

[Charliebball]

I wonder how good LSU's defense will be this season.........something tells me they may not be all that great........

 

[Britt87]

I wonder how good LSU's defense will be this season.........something tells me they may not be all that great........

Now that is a reasonable concern. Hailey Van Lith will struggle to defend in the SEC but Kateri and Poa are there as backup. Mikaylah should be fine once she gets some game experience like Flaujae last season. Aneesah has all the tools to be a good a defender but that depends on if she's playing the 4 or the 3. She's going to struggle if she's playing the 4, and Angel will struggle playing defense at the 5.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I wonder how good LSU's defense will be this season.........something tells me they may not be all that great........

Idk probably not great. They will be slow. Mikaylah Rosario and Van Lith move like snails.

 

[SECbbfan24]

On the flip side they survived with Carson (or she was benched) and she was terrible on defense.

 

[Bone Dog]

Aneesah has all the tools to be a good a defender but that depends on if she's playing the 4 or the 3

Actually, I suspect Aneesah is in a paradoxical situation as a defender. She's small for the 4 and slow for the 3. In the Big East, she didn't face that many taller 4s and 5s, and so she could credibly defend and rebound from the 4. She was usually only giving up a couple inches, not 5 or 6 inches. In the SEC, however, they'll often face much larger front lines. And if she is asked to defend the 3, she's really not quick enough to keep up with the likes of Rickea Jackson, or really anyone on SC's wing. In terms of physical skills, I suspect Mikayla Williams may look like a tempting alternative to Kim.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I suspect Mikayla Williams may look like a tempting alternative to Kim.

Not really she is slow as hell. She isn't a good defender, offensive minded really at this stage. Withstanding Maybe Reese, none of the starting 5 are really good defenders... so I guess it will come down to their offense which is scary IMO

 

[hoopsnloops32]

How the pieces fit together at LSU will be very interesting to watch. Big names and big stats but the roster construction, without out extraordinary player development, seems suspect on paper.

 

[Bone Dog]

Not really she is slow as hell. She isn't a good defender, offensive minded really at this stage. Withstanding Maybe Reese, none of the starting 5 are really good defenders... so I guess it will come down to their offense which is scary IMO

I haven’t compared them side by side, but Mikayla looks to be a little quicker than Aneesah. She may not be the scorer Aneesah is but she’s very strong.

 

[SECbbfan24]

How the pieces fit together at LSU will be very interesting to watch. Big names and big stats but the roster construction, without out extraordinary player development, seems suspect on paper.

The problem with LSU is while they have some talent, they don't have a PG, don't have the size inside, lack perimeter shooting and dont have the pieces to be special defensively. Hailey Van Lith, Morrow and the incoming freshmen class aren't great defenders and lack athleticism and the skillset to do what Mulkey teams do on defense. Mulkey went after hot names this offseason versus adding to address needs.... this is why I think all these significant deficiencies will lead to LSU being 3rd or 4th in the stronger SEC this year behind SC, TN, Ole Miss/Miss St, and heck A&M could be another one to possible overpass If their pieces gel.

Maybe someone develops and takes on a role to cover these deficiencies but there are too many question marks on paper to overlook.... I have LSU right now as a 2nd round/maybe with the correct matchup a sweet 16 type of team with the current roster construction and coaching. Maybe they surprise me but I'm not seeing it. LSU had better overall roster construction/pieces their first two years under Kim.

Of course injuries could derail things significantly even more for this team or any team for that matter...

 

[Bone Dog]

My suspicion is if Hailey doesn’t work out as pg, Poole will take up the slack there. She did some minutes at pg last season and she can also be a tough defender at the top of the key even if her foot speed isn’t great.

 

[Britt87]

Lsu has many options at the PG spot. Flaujae, Mikaylah, Poole, and Poa are all combo guards who can play the position effectively if Hailey struggles. Valez is the only true PG but last years team didn't have a true PG on the roster.

 

[JellyBean]

LSU is a beast. A big time beast. But I doubt this season that MW is a comfortable 3pt shooter.

LSU has the potential to be pretty scary. I can't wait to see how they blend their talents.

 

[SECbbfan24]

LSU has the potential to be pretty scary. I can't wait to see how they blend their talents.

Not seeing it, but we shall see.

 

[hoophuskee]

Not seeing it, but we shall see.

I don't agree with the trepidation. OFC there are zero assurances in the NCAA Tourney, but why would anyone be so certain that if you give Kim Mulkey talent - that she won't produce one helluva team? Not saying they are going to win it all. But what has Kim shwon over the last bunch of years that she can't put a terrific team together when she has the talent?

 

[LSUAlum96]

The problem with LSU is while they have some talent, they don't have a PG, don't have the size inside, lack perimeter shooting and dont have the pieces to be special defensively. Hailey Van Lith, Morrow and the incoming freshmen class aren't great defenders and lack athleticism and the skillset to do what Mulkey teams do on defense. Mulkey went after hot names this offseason versus adding to address needs.... this is why I think all these significant deficiencies will lead to LSU being 3rd or 4th in the stronger SEC this year behind SC, TN, Ole Miss/Miss St, and heck A&M could be another one to possible overpass If their pieces gel.

Maybe someone develops and takes on a role to cover these deficiencies but there are too many question marks on paper to overlook.... I have LSU right now as a 2nd round/maybe with the correct matchup a sweet 16 type of team with the current roster construction and coaching. Maybe they surprise me but I'm not seeing it. LSU had better overall roster construction/pieces their first two years under Kim.

Of course injuries could derail things significantly even more for this team or any team for that matter...

You have got to be joking with this take! LOL!^^^^^^^

LSU will be fine defensively................will probably be one of the top two defensive teams in the SEC. I didn't see ANY of the problems you're mentioning against V-Tech, other than a hobbled Van Lith having trouble with Amoore.

"... I have LSU right now as a 2nd round/maybe with the correct matchup a sweet 16 type of team with the current roster construction and coaching....."

Just stop while you're ahead.

 

[LSUAlum96]

LSU will probably be a 3 or 4 seed in March at best. I think TN and SC are too deep and big for lsu to handle, so that is 3 or so losses right there alone. Miss St could even sneak past them plus an unexpected loss Kim has every year.

Kim made a massive mistake this off-season going after big names vs talent in position of needs.

Tennessee.....................................? Mississippi State......................? Well I know who NOT to trust when it comes to predictions in the future. LOL!

Kim made no "massive mistake" bringing in the talent she did. She's a coach who CLEARLY knows how to build a championship level team / program. That's why you bring in the transfers that she did. You don't think Morrow and Van Lith are "talented"? What games are you watching?