LSU Basketball coach Will Wade says Marlon Taylor "Progressing Well," Hopes to Have Him Back Soon
LSU coach Will Wade doesn't know where this 2019 team can potentially go, partly because the Tigers are seven games in to a 30 game schedule but also because we haven't seen this team at full strength.
When LSU lost senior guard Marlon Taylor to start the year, that was a big loss for the team. Taylor, while not the most talented player on the roster, has an argument for most valuable. As a junior, Taylor started 24 games for the Tigers and the team went 21-3 in those games.
"There’s a reason we put him in the starting lineup last year and there’s a reason we won a ton of games when he was in." Wade said. "We are 21-3 when we put him in the starting lineup. He effects winning because there’s just certain plays that he’s the only guy that can make them. It is going to take us a little while because we have to get him back."
Wade said Monday Taylor is "progressing well" from an offseason foot procedure that has required more time to heal than initially thought. Taylor underwent another small procedure a few weeks back and the medical staff is seeing a much better response from his foot than the initial surgery.
"He's out of the boot," Wade said. "He’s started to do some conditioning so we’re hopeful that we can have him back after the New Orleans and Northwestern State games. Hopefully we will be able to play him in the East Tennessee game to get him some minutes."
LSU takes on East Tennessee State on Dec. 18 so the Tigers will need to stay afloat until then with winnable games against UNO and Northwestern State next on the schedule.
UNO under coach Matt Slessinger, has had a nice run over the last few years, coming up one game short of an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017.
"This was a game that obviously makes sense to play," Wade said. "When you play these types of games it makes sense to keep everything in state if possible. I think it is important for us to get around the state. We are going to go to Shreveport next year and eventually work our way to the corners of the state, I think that’s important for the program."
On offense, LSU has found an inside-out style of play that has benefited the team as the Tigers has combined to score 86 points in the paint over the last two games.
With the success on the inside it has opened up the offense for open jumpers on the outside, which Wade is fine with as long as they're good looks and not forced.
"For the most part over the last couple of games we have taken much better threes," Wade said. "We are really good with transition threes, and paint touch threes but the problem is the all of the rest of them. Our team is well aware of how I feel about our shots, we went through that very clearly yesterday. I think we will be taking better shots, but I think if we would shoot the really good ones, we can become more efficient.”
The Tigers take on UNO Tuesday night at 8 p.m. and can be watched on SEC Network.
