LSU Basketball Could Be Without Forward Shareef O'Neal For "A While"

LSU could be without one of its best rebounders off the bench as Shareef O'Neal is set to get a nagging foot injury looked at by a specialist. Coach Will Wade made the announcement during his weekly radio show and said O'Neal "could be on the shelf for a while."

O'Neal first suffered the injury in practice just before conference play started up. He missed the first seven SEC games with the injury before returning for five games. His latest absence due to the injury has kept him out the last two games and it's looking like it'll be longer.

"We're not sure when, or if, we'll get him back this year," Wade said on his radio show. "He could be on the shelf for a while."

LSU is currently devoid of much depth at the big man spots since Bryan Penn-Johnson left school and Josh Gray just hasn't received the minutes. In recent games, it's been Josh Leblanc and Aundre Hyatt who have thrived in their roles.

Leblanc has been very active on defense, recording four blocks, three steals and 10 rebounds over the last three contests. Hyatt on the other hand has knocked down perimeter shots on offense and been very active on the perimeter on defense, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds in the win over Tennessee.

"He did a great job and we're not the biggest team inside but I thought he did a really good job inside," Wade said of Leblanc. "There's a lot of little things he does that people don't really notice like when he switches, his length is able to take away passing angles. He probably deterred six or seven post passes that would've led to easy baskets."

Wade talked about how all of those role players have really stepped up in recent wins, particularly Hyatt, who's been in and out of the rotation and just keeps working.

"I thought all of them really affected the game," Wade said after the win over Tennessee. "Hyatt obviously made the two threes but I thought his physicality was huge. Getting eight rebounds I thought was really good and then [Eric] Gaines and Leblanc I thought were so good defensively. They're pests out there, able to throw you off rhythm."

Leblanc, Hyatt and Gaines will need to continue to step up for LSU from the bench and in Hyatt's case, from the starting lineup. Hyatt's started the last two games for the Tigers and looked really sharp and efficient on both ends of the floor.

With a Quad 1 win opportunity on Thursday for the purple and gold against Ole Miss, it's getting to be crunch time and the Tigers need to continue to pick up quality wins to rise up the NCAA tournament standings.