Sweat Purple, Bleed Gold | LSU Tigers Legacy (CHoops2K8)

[ChosenOne58]

I love college sports. My first NCAA basketball legacy was San Diego Toreros on MaddenMania and I had a blast with that. The stars have finally aligned telling me that I should do another college basketball legacy. 1) The LSU Tigers are officially bad enough that I feel comfortable playing with them and making them a contender again and 2) I found a copy of CHoops 2K8 for $8 at my local GameStop. And superjames1992 got me super friggin excited to play this game!

I haven't played this game in over 3 years because I lost my copy (I actually think my nephew stole it), but I m back and I'm ready to get down to business. I am actually excited about going old school, taking screen shots with my camera and everything. It's going to be great.

I don't plan to go crazy with the recruiting, but the general rule of thumb is we can recruit any non-regional player that has over 50% interest in playing for LSU. If it's a three star player the interest has to be 60% or better; 4 star player - 70% or better; 5 star player 75% or better. This applies to Seniors and JUCO players. Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior non-regional players must have an interest level of at least 65% Once we become part of the Top half of the Top 25, it's open season.

I already know it's going to be a rough start because I haven't played the game in so long, but hopefully we can pick up some wins in the early part of what looks to be a fairly light schedule.

I'm going to start with the 2012-13 season. Also, Johnny Jones won't be the head coach. Following?

Good.

Game: College Hoops 2K8
System: PS3
Half Length: 12 minutes
Difficulty: All-Conference

[ChosenOne58]

2012-13:
Record:
Preseason Ranking: NR
Final Ranking:
Conference Finish:
Post-Season:
Team MVP:
Summary:


2013-14:
Record:
Preseason Ranking: NR
Final Ranking:
Conference Finish:
Post-Season:
Team MVP:
Summary:

[ChosenOne58]

LSU Men's Basketball Coach Trent Johnson Resigns
by Herb Vincent (via LSUsports.net)



BATON ROUGE - Trent Johnson, who served as head coach of the LSU men's basketball team for four seasons, has resigned from LSU to take another head coaching position, it was announced Sunday by Joe Alleva, LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics.

"Sometimes coaching changes work out well for all parties involved, and we will take this opportunity to seek out the best coach for the long-term future of LSU men's basketball," said Alleva. "We will move quickly but deliberately to find a coach who will lead our program with integrity and discipline, someone who will recruit effectively in order to build championship teams while inspiring success in academics, and someone who will energize our fan base. I wish Trent all the best in his new job."

Johnson came to LSU in April of 2008 and led the Tigers to a Southeastern Conference title in 2008-09 with an overall record of 27-8 and an SEC mark of 13-3, winning a first round game in the NCAA Tournament. In the seasons that followed, the Tigers went 11-20 overall (2-14 in the SEC) in 2009-10, 11-21 overall (3-13 in the SEC) in 2010-11 and 18-15 overall (7-9 in the SEC) this past season with a first round loss in the National Invitation Tournament.

[ChosenOne58]

LSU Hires New Men's Basketball Coach


BATON ROUGE - The search for LSU’s 21st men’s basketball coach has come to an end. After weeks of searching, the Tigers found the one man they thought would bring this team back to its former glory and possibly some new heights in the process.

Maxwell Valentine. Valentine is a Louisiana native and a graduate of the University of Mobile. Born in Gonzales, Louisiana, Valentine graduate from East Ascension high in 1992 and ended playing basketball at Southeastern Louisiana University for one year before transferring to Mobile to play for Dr. Bill Elder. After a successful career at Mobile, Valentine went on to play overseas in England, Spain, and Japan over the span of 8 seasons before becoming head coach for the Pro B team Olympique Antibes of France.

“This is a huge honor,” commented Valentine in a press conference following the announcement. “Growing up in Louisiana just miles away from the PMAC, and seeing guys like Shaq, Chris Jackson and Stanley Roberts playing for Dale Brown and now getting the chance to sit on the sidelines, it’s nothing short of amazing. I’m hoping to restore this program and have a great time doing it. We need to get the fans back and get that pride and tradition back.”

The Tigers hadn’t been to an NCAA tournament since 2009 where they were bounced out of the tournament after a 14 point loss to the number one seeded and eventual tournament champion North Carolina Tarheels. The Tiger haven’t made a Final Four appearance since 2006.

The players seem very excited about having Coach Valentine on the bench and what experience he’s going to bring to the program.

“Just from talking with him and having him explain to us his vision and what he wants to put into this program just got everybody excited,” commented sophomore point guard Anthony Hickey. “The first thing he asked was what we expected of him.”

“We’re very excited for the season. He’s excited to be coaching us and you can just feel his energy and it’s getting us excited for this season,” said senior forward, Eddie Ludwig.

[ChosenOne58]

2012-13 LSU Roster

#2 Johnny O’Bryant - C - Soph - 6'9 262 lbs:
Strengths: Good post player on offense and defense
Weaknesses: Bad passer, not very fast
Overall: Essential big man. Can clear the glass, finishes strong at the basket

#10 Andre Stringer - PG - Jr - 5'9 178 lbs:
Strengths: Good ball-handling skills, get steals on defense, decent perimeter defender Weaknesses: Layups
Overall: He's a very small guard, often difficult to finish at the basket. Average mid-range game.

#1 Anthony Hickey - PG - Soph – 5’11 182 lbs:
Strengths: Quick, good slasher, decent mid-range jumper
Weaknesses: Not a great defender
Overall: Can use his speed to get by players off the pick and roll, finishes at the rim

#40 Calvin Godfrey - PF - Jr - 6'8 230 lbs:
Strengths: Good offensive post player
Weaknesses: Does not block well, average ball handler
Overall: Solid skill set for a the forward position. Can get out on the fast break and finish strong

#32 John Isaac - SG/SF - Fr - 6'3 208 lbs:
Strengths: Good ball-handler, average shooter
Weaknesses: Not a great defender
Overall: He can create his own shot on offense. Defense leaves little to be desired.

#3 Corban Collins – PG - Fr - 6'2 195 lbs:
Strengths: Great shooter, solid ball-handler
Weaknesses: Inconsistency, Perimeter defense can use some work Overall: Great shooter, but streaky shooter

#11 Malik Morgan - SG - Fr - 6'3 180 lbs:
Strengths: Solid defender, good passer, good ball-handler
Weaknesses: Does not have a great vertical, below average three point shooter for a two guard
Overall: Will be very useful when using full court pressure

#12 Shane Hammink - SG - Fr - 6'6 190 lbs:
Strengths: Excellent shooter, good passer
Weaknesses: Average defender
Overall: Pure shooter, who will see a lot of action of the bench. Has the potential to move into a starting role

#13 Eddie Ludwig – PF - Sr - 6'9 210 lbs:
Strengths: Great interior offense, great free throw shooter
Weaknesses: Average defense in the post
Overall: Plays strong in the post, takes contact and finishes at the basket

#14 Jalen Courtney – PF - Jr - 6'9 228 lbs:
Strengths: Solid shooter, good post defense
Weaknesses: Limited in the post on offense
Overall: Doesn’t finish well at the rim, decent jumper for a power forward

#20 Shavon Coleman – SF - Jr - 6'6 185 lbs:
Strengths: Good ball-handler, great passer
Weaknesses: Average post defense; below average shoooter
Overall: Handles the ball well, needs to improve mid-range shooting

#55 Andrew Del Piero – C - Fr – 7’2 257 lbs:
Strengths: Great rebounder
Weaknesses: Weak post defense
Overall: Cleans the glass, solid free throw shooter

[ChosenOne58]

LSU Tigers Schedule

          2012-2013 Basketball Schedule

DATE    OPPONENT 
----------------------
2012
Nov 
    12 Southeastern
    14 McNeese
    19 Hawaiian Invitational
    28 Nicholls State
Dec  
     1  Southern
     6  at Villanova
    15  Northwestern State
    19  at Wichita State
    22  at Oregon State
    29  Washington
2013
Jan  
     2   at Tulane
     5   at Texas A&M
     9   Mississippi State*
    12   at Mississippi*
    16   Auburn*
    19   at Vanderbilt*
    26   Arkansas*
    30   at Auburn*
Feb
     2   at Alabama*
     9   Tennessee*
    13   at Florida*
    16   Kentucky*
    20   at Arkansas*
    23   Mississippi*
    27   at South Carolina*
Mar  
     2    Georgia*
     5    Alabama*
     8    at Mississippi State*

[ChosenOne58]

Looking Towards the Future
Valentine, Tigers hoping to bring in key recruits for next season


Baton Rouge, October 15, 2012 – Athletic Director, Joe Alleva has left Maxwell Valentine to his own vices for recruiting.

“We do want to get better, so we have to recruit better every year. Coach Valentine understands what we want and hopefully he can open up the pipelines with a few other states top tier talent down here in Baton Rouge and get us the championship that we’ve been chasing.”

Looking at the current roster, the Tigers are in need of post players. It is an area that the team is lacking. Johnny O’Bryant will probably be there for one more season, but his backup Eddie Ludwig is graduating this year. O’Bryant will definitely need back up in the post next season. The Tigers are also a bit undersized in the back court, but Valentine will tackle one thing at a time.

“I appreciate Joe for giving me the reins on this. Recruiting is what I’m good at. I think we have enough tradition and prestige to draw in three and four star recruits right off the bat. That’s what the university wants from me. To grow this program. That’s what I want to do. We’re not going to waste our efforts chasing after five star recruits that don’t want to be here. I'm sure there are plenty of talented recruits that want to be part of what we're building here and I will find them. As long as they have the drive to win, I can handle the rest.”

The Tigers only have two scholarships to issue this season which means that Coach Valentine will be extremely selective with who gets these coveted scholarships.

LSU Tigers Recruiting - 2012-13
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Anil Hardaway	C	JUCO Fr	Conway, AR	6'10	289
Mason See	PF	HS Sr	Bryan, TX	6'7	210
Kenan Samuel	PF	JUCO Fr	Houston, TX	6'10	234
Lou Penigar	PF	HS Soph	Houston, TX	6'5	195
Derrion Nance	PF	HS Fr	Columbus, GA	6'7	187
Jaison Simpson	PG	HS Jr	Houston, TX	5'11	158
Allen Havens	PG	HS Jr	Chicago, IL	6'1	180
Lyle McElroy	SG	HS Jr	Chicago, IL	6'3	179
Senque Gooding	C	HS Jr	Houston, TX	6'11	218
Cornell McCarthy	SG	HS Jr	Fort Worth, TX	6'4	184
Drew Benjamin	PF	HS Sr	Mobile, AL	6'8	210
Theodore McCoy	C	HS Sr	Columbus, OH	6'10	242

[ChosenOne58]

NCAA Hoops Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Nov 1, 2012
RK	TEAM (VOTES)	RECORD
1	North Carolina
2	Kansas
3	Louisville
4	Pittsburgh
5	Kentucky
6	Memphis
7	UCLA
8	Michigan State
9	Wisconsin
10	Indiana
11	UNLV
12	Duke
13	Florida
14	Arizona
15	Ohio State
16	Georgia Tech
17	Marquette
18	Syracuse
19	Georgetown
20	Maryland
21	USC
22	Tennessee
23	West Virginia
24	Villanova
25	Illinois

AP Preseason All-Americans

First Team
Aaron Craft, PG (Ohio State)
Kenny Boynton, SG (Florida)
Shabazz Muhammed, SF (UCLA)
Chase Behanan, PF (Louisville)
Nerlens Noel, C (Kentucky)

Second Team
Donte Burton, PG (Nevada)
P.J. Hairston, SG (North Carolina)
Solomon Hill, SF (Arizona)
Kyle Witier, PF (Kentucky)
Cody Zeller, C (Arizona)