LSU Coach Will Wade 'Hopeful' Guard Marlon Taylor Can Return Against East Tennessee State

After a 10-day hiatus for final exams, the LSU basketball team is back in action Wednesday evening against East Tennessee State and is 'hopefully' getting back one reinforcement in the backcourt.

Tiger coach Will Wade said senior guard Marlon Taylor will 'hopefully' be able to make his return to the rotation after missing the first nine games due to a lingering foot injury.

"He’ll have a minute restriction. We had a little bit of a setback yesterday," Wade said. "He was a little sore yesterday so he didn’t practice. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go today and then ready to go on Wednesday. It won’t be like he’s going to play 30 minutes.”

Wade said Taylor would play anywhere in the 12-15 minute range if he were to suit up on Wednesday. The senior would be needed against a Buccaneers (9-2) offense that ranks in the top-35 and performed well against Kansas in a recent loss.

"They cut hard. They’ve got great schemes. They’re well organized. They have the right guys," Wade said. "They put you in tough spots – they’ll have a guy rolling and then they’ll have their best three-point shooter filling up on that side so you’ve got to stay with the three-point shooter.

"They’re going to be right there at the top of the Southern Conference and have a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament.”

With a team that has the size and length to make this a very entertaining game, Taylor's defensive prowess would be a welcomed addition to the team. Last year the Tigers went 21-3 with Taylor in the starting lineup which is a trend that LSU hopes can carry into 2020.

One area of focus Wade wants his team to hone in on is getting off to a fast start. In nine games this year, the Tigers haven't been able to jump out to early leads which Wade attributes to being "mentally focused."

“We’re not as locked in mentally and as focused mentally as we need to," Wade said. "We give up way too many easy baskets off of scouting reports early in the game. We’ve got to be more locked in mentally to what we’re doing and more locked in to our game plan and execute it for 40 minutes. We’ve got to play a full 40 minutes. It’s got to be beginning, middle in – complete game, 40 minutes. It can’t be 30 minutes, 32 minutes. That’s what we’ve been playing for the most part this year. We’ve got to take that next step and play complete games."

The game is set to tip-off at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.