For LSU Basketball to Have Postseason Success, "Big Four" Will Need to Play Best Ball of Season
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, LSU can officially lock in and prepare for this week’s SEC tournament after securing the No. 3 seed.
Coach Will Wade will rely heavily on the core four of the offense in Cam Thomas, Javonte Smart, Trendon Watford and Darius Days to lead the charge. After being named Newcomer of the Year and first team All-SEC by leading the SEC in points per game, Thomas will be the focal point of every opponent’s scouting report, leaving the opportunity for others to flourish.
Wade praised the effort of Thomas and his team after a hard-fought victory over Missouri.
“Him (Thomas), Watford, Javonte, Days I thought they all played well off of each other. We did a good job on the glass, but Cam's a special, special player and he made some big plays and big shots for us today."
With Watford and Days controlling the paint, it leaves room for Thomas and Smart to dominate the perimeter. This LSU offense is one of the best to memory, scoring points effortlessly night in and night out. When all four guys are clicking, it is almost impossible to slow down this Tiger squad, as the combination of Thomas, Smart, Watford and Days accounts for nearly 67 points per game between the four.
LSU hopes their regular season success will translate into the postseason as they near full strength. The leader of this offense, Smart, has seen tremendous growth in his game this season and will play a key role in the success of LSU down the stretch.
“It’s exciting,” said Wade on Smart’s growth as a player. “He’s had his best year and hopefully he gets everything he wants out of this year when it’s over but he’s had his best season. That’s what you want, you want somebody to come to your program, to grow and get better and he’s done that every year. We’re certainly going to need him to play well for us down the stretch.”
On defense, LSU will surely be looking to ramp things up as it has been an area of much needed improvement. Wade has made a point to lock in defensively and close out each half strong in order to keep other teams from going on hefty runs.
Wade continues to preach to his young team the importance of limiting laziness on the defensive end of the floor and reducing stagnant stretches in each half.
“He (Wade) just kept preaching; finish the half, finish games. Sometimes we have lulls in the middle, we’re stagnant on defense, we’re stagnant on offense, we don’t get things done. Teams can make runs, sometimes 11-point runs, 11-0 runs, and we just locked in the defense,” said forward Darius Days.
Consistency will be key for the Tigers to make a run in this year’s SEC tournament, a feat LSU has struggled with the last few years, but Wade is determined to change the narrative and click at the right time.
The Tigers will look to their big four to carry the load offensively throughout these crucial tournament games in Nashville. LSU will play the winner of South Carolina and Ole Miss in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament Friday night on SEC Network.
