With Trent Johnson at the Helm, LSU's Future Looks Bright

With a new coach and a load of talent, especially at the defensive end, the LSU men's basketball team's future looks pretty bright as it continues its season Saturday after a week off for exams.

Over the next month, the Tigers will be facing the toughest part of their non-conference schedule. After they play Grambling State this weekend and Nicholls State on Wednesday, LSU has their first road trip of the season, traveling to the Toyota Center to take on Texas A&M.

Also included in the schedule are Washington State on Dec. 27, at Utah on Jan. 6, and then in the middle of their SEC schedule they play Xavier on Jan. 24.

I understand that this schedule is not as impressive as some of the other schedules in the country, but Coach Johnson understands this team needs time to gel and mesh.

Speaking of Coach Johnson and the new Tigers, they really have shown a lot through the first month or so of the season. As a true LSU basketball fan, I have attended every game they have had this year.

They haven't really played any significant competition, with the exception of a decent Cal State-Fullerton team, but they are learning the new offense and adapting well.

Every game I have gone to, people have compared the new Tigers to the old Brady Tigers, and one thing that seems to be popular to talk about is the fact that they have an offensive balance this season.

Yes, they have the stand-outs like Marcus Thorton and Tazmin Mitchell on the offensive end. But for anyone who remembers last season, the Tigers NEEDED Thorton to score between 28 and 40 points a game. This season, he still does score a lot, but gets help from teammates Bo Spencer and Chris Johnson, among others.

On the defensive end, the Tigers play all man. Eerily similar to the 2006 Final Four team, they really like to block shots—up to an outstanding 16 blocks in a game earlier this season. Again, Chris Johnson leads the team on this end, and what he lacks in power and size, he makes up for in his jumping ability—much like Tyrus Thomas in 2006.

Now, am I saying that this team can make it to the Final Four? No, probably not.

But, no one thought the 2006 team would make it that far.

Can they win the SEC West? Well, that is more realistic, especially with the SEC being so weak this year. 

It is definitely a rebuilding process at LSU, but they really do have some potential to make it a very successful season and potentially even make it to the Big Dance come March.