Courtney reports on cookie fun at Coach Chancellor's house

COURTNEY JONES: As you may already know the fun at Coach Chancellor's house never ends. I mean where do they get these games from. One game in particular was a game using only a cookie and your face. Yes your face! The object of the game was to move the cookie down your face using only the muscles in your face. Whatever it took to get the cookie into your mouth. This had to be the most hilarious thing I have ever done. I couldn’t concentration due to the fact that my teammates where laughing and taking pictures of us!! Coach Van had to be the funniest. I’ve never seen coach do such a thing. He didn’t manage to get the cookie into his mouth but it was so fun watching him try.

 

 

Posted by Bob Starkey 

Keia Howell speaks to Lady Tigers -- makes impression on freshman

 

 THERESA PLAISANCE: Keia Howell spoke with us on Friday after weights and throughout her speech she used the word opportunity many times. She also talked about how children in other countries are less fortunate than we are and would do anything to have the opportunities that we have. It made me realize that I take too much for granted and do not always appreciate all that I have. Being able to play at a prestigious division 1 school is an opportunity that not many people get and I should view my everyday itinerary as more of a privilege and less of an inevitability. I really appreciated the time she set aside to talk to us and plan to use her speech as daily motivation. 

SHANECE McKINNEY: Listening to Keia Howell speak to us on yesterday really inspired me. Hearing how passionate she is about the game really sparked something inside of me. She spoke very strongly about the game and it showed in every way. Listening to all the things she said really has put in my mind that every day I step on the court I should be ready to give it my all. At the end of the day I shouldn't have anything else left to give. Slacking isn't acceptable in any way fashion or form.

JEANNE KENNEY: Having Keia Howell talk to us was inspirational. One of the things that stuck with me the most was when she talked about the children in Africa and how much passion and heart they had when they were playing basketball. She told us that if we are not giving our all in everything we do, we are truly wasting our God-given talent. You will get through whatever you set your mind to.  We are given this amazing opportunity and it is up to us to make the most of every day. Of all the things Keia talked to us about, that message meant the most to me.

If you missed it, click on this link to read about Keia's work in African with "Basketball Without Borders" -- http://bit.ly/b1Roab

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Bob Starkey 

Big Syl hits double figures in USA victory

Sylvia_fowles_action_2

Less than two weeks following surgery on her knee, Sylvia Fowles entered the USA starting line-up and registered 10 points in only 13 minutes of action.  Big Syl also grabbed 3 boards, blocked a shot and tallied a steal as Team USA dominated Senegal 108-52.

How much fun was tonight for this team?
It was a lot of fun, knowing that we haven’t been together that long as a team, and to just go out there and be able to pull together and get better game-by-game. I’m excited to see where we are going to be at tomorrow and in the next 10 days.

The U.S. wraps up preliminary play against France (2-0) on Sept. 25 at 3:15 p.m. (live on NBA TV at 9:15 a.m. EDT). All of the USA games will air live on NBA TV, and fans can also watch live streaming of all FIBA World Championship games at www.FIBATV.com.

In today's other Group B preliminary round action, France topped Greece (0-2) 69-55. Also in Ostrava, Group A saw Canada (1-1) hold on against China (0-2) 65-61, and Australia (2-0) top Belarus (1-1) 83-59. Meanwhile in Brno, Spain (2-0) downed South Korea (1-1) 84-69, and Brazil (1-1) won against Mali (0-2) 80-73 in Group C; while in Group D Japan (1-1) edged out Argentina (0-2) 59-58, and Russia (1-0) survived a late scare by host Czech Republic (1-1) 55-52.

Following preliminary play, the USA will cross over against the top three finishers out of Pool A, which includes defending world champ Australia, Belarus, Canada and China, for the Sept. 27-29 second round games to be played in Ostrava. The medal round will be played in Karlovy Vary, with the quarterfinals scheduled for Oct. 1, the semifinals on Oct. 2 and the medal games played on Oct. 3.

Box Score: http://bit.ly/bcSeOh

Filed under  //  Alumni   Sylvia Fowles   Team USA   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Video: Temeka Johnson and Lady Tigers Discuss New Basketball Practice Facility

We had a chance to speak to former LSU point guard Temeka Johnson at last night's grand opening of the LSU Basketball Practice Facility. Johnson discussed the impact the new facility will have on the program and the recent children's book she released.

Current Lady Tigers Katherine Graham and Latear Eason were on hand for the event and talked about the exciting night for the program.

Posted by Bill Martin  

6 AMs helping to prepare the Lady Tigers

Our team continues to work hard.  We have demanded more from them this year than in recent years and we believe they are asking more of themselves.  Three to four times a week we start the day off at 6 AM for conditioning, footwork and agility training.  We may be on the court, the indoor football facility, the fieldhouse and even outside.  The majority of the workouts are conducted by Melissa Moore but on Friday's the coaching staff gets involved.  Our goal is to make sure that we are giving are absolute best each day -- WIN TODAY!

This morning we did a great deal of footwork stuff including a bounds exercise into cone agility work.  This was following with some various slides and sprints from cones forming a V.  Both of these sets of drills we got from the men's staff at Duke.  There was also a lot defensive slides and stance work -- this is where we develop the base of our defense that has been an anchor of our program for so many years.

It's all about hard work, proper execution, and toughness -- that's how we WIN TODAY!

Filed under  //  Strength & Conditioning  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

An amazing evening, an incredible facility, a lot of people to thank!

BOB STARKEY: Yesterday was a very special day for me personally as we officially opened the doors to our new practice facility.  With over 20 years of coaching at LSU, I have split that time between the men’s program and the women’s program.  Ushering a new era in yesterday represented a major step forward for both programs that mean so much to me and that have played such a pivotal role in my development as a coach and as a person.

The most significant thing to me was that those who have already worn the LSU jersey know that they are the major reason that the facility was built.  Certainly it will be of great benefit to future basketball players and coaches at LSU but the importance and relevance of LSU Basketball comes from our past – the legacy left by so many.

The first two that come to mind are Dale Brown and Sue Gunter.  I have been extremely blessed to have worked for both and know the time, sweat and tears that were needed to take their respective programs from obscurity to elite status.  I made sure Coach Brown was one of the first people I thanked at the ceremony yesterday.  At the end of the evening Coach Brown, myself and Rudy Macklin walked back into Sue Gunter Basketball Complex and stood in front of Coach Gunter’s statue and shared some great stories about her.  Spending time with Coach Brown and finding time to talk about Coach Gunter made the evening extremely special for me.

There were some alumni there from both teams.  For the women, Temeka Johnson, April Brown, Miriam Farr Segar and Flo Williams were in attendance.  From the men’s side, I saw Rudy, Ricky Blanton, Collis Temple and Randy Livingston (whom I coached).  I wish every former player could’ve been there yesterday.  It is so important to me that they know this building is a part of what they accomplished.  Our staff is going to work hard to make sure that our alumni know that we appreciated them and the price they paid to make yesterday happen.

I also thought about Skip Bertman, our past athletic director who pushed so hard to get us the practice facility and I fully recognize that it wasn’t easy in these difficult times.  But the coach in him knew the importance to us from the recruiting standpoint as well as for maximum teaching potential.  Judy Southard crossed my mind as well – our former SWA who was a part of Skip’s staff and knew that to be an elite program you must have elite facilities.

I am especially thankful that Eddie Nunez was on our senior staff and headed up this project.  As a collegiate player and coach he had a great awareness for every single aspect involved in the process.  He diligently went through every task involved with great attention to detail to make it truly one of the best practice facilities in the nation. And a big thanks as well to Joe Alleva who came in as our AD in the middle of the project and with his support helped us complete it in a first class fashion.

Finally, I thought about so many of our fans, especially the Fast Break Club, that have worked hard in so many ways to help us upgrade our facilities and I know they will be very proud of this one.  We are working on plans to have our Tip-Off Party in the near future so that they will get a chance to take in this amazing facility.

Filed under  //  Alumni   Facilities   Temeka Johnson   WNBA  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Video: The Cutting of the Ribbon at the LSU Basketball Practice Facility

Tonight, members of the LSU community and staffs of both men’s and women’s basketball programs gathered for a significant event in LSU Athletics history. The grand opening of the new, state-of-the-art LSU Basketball Practice Facility symbolized years of planning and a vision first established by former coaches Dale Brown and Sue Gunter. Here is a video of the ribbon cutting of tonight’s ceremony featuring Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Joe Alleva, President John Lombardi, Chancellor Mike Martin, men’s head coach Trent Johnson, women’s head coach Van Chancellor and Lady Tiger players Latear Eason and Katherine Graham.

We will have more video for you on Friday, including an exclusive interview with former Lady Tiger point guard and 2009 WNBA champion Temeka Johnson. Here are a few facts about the facility:

The LSU Basketball Practice Facility Grand Opening
September 23, 2010

* Project Cost: $13,913,000

* Contractors: Guy Hopkins Construction of Baton Rouge based on the designs by the firm of Tom Holden Architects of Baton Rouge in a joint venture with RDG Sports of Des Moines, Iowa

* Total Project Area: 58,960 square feet of new construction and 1,100 square feet of renovated construction

* Ground broken in on July 1, 2008

* Two state-of-the-art practice gyms each spanning 11,324 square feet; includes a regulation NCAA court in length with two regulation high school courts in the opposite direction

* Each gym has two portable goals and four overhead retractable goals; both are exact replicas of the PMAC competition court

* Each gym can hold up to 800 people for special events

* Each gym features a scoreboard, video filming balcony and scorer’s table with video and date connections to enable instant replay

* A central two story lobby and grand staircase ascends to the second level. The lobby showcases team displays and graphics, trophy cases and memorabilia from the past. The displays and wall graphics were designed by ZE Design of Centerville, Ohio.

* On the second level of the facility is a Pre-Function Room that opens to an extension of the Maravich Center concourse. It can hold approximately 500 people for pre-game and post-game functions.


Posted by Bill Martin  

Nicci named LSU Student-Athlete of the Month!

Nicci

BATON ROUGE - The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes honored Lady Tiger Andrea Kelly and five other LSU student-athletes for their academic achievements and community service for the month of September.

Each month, five student-athletes are recognized for their academic improvement, dedication and proven ability. In addition, one student-athlete is chosen through the CHAMPS Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success program for their volunteerism and commitment to the community.

September's Student-Athletes of the Month are Kyron Blaise [Track & Field], Allison Falcon [Softball], Liann Kellman [Track & Field], Nick Kunkel [Swimming & Diving] and Brandon Taylor [Football]. Andrea Kelly [Women's Basketball] was selected as the Shaquille O'Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills Student-Athlete of the Month.

Blaise, Kellman and Taylor are majoring in sport administration, while Falcon and Kelly are biology majors. Finance is Kunkel's major.

Kelly, a senior guard from Shalimar, Fla., returns to the floor for the Lady Tigers after missing the entire 2009-10 season due to a foot injury. She served as a team co-captain with Allison Hightower. A member of LSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee [SAAC] and the 2010 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll, Kelly organized the team's recent visit hospital visit.  She was LSU's first player off the bench in 2008-09 and connected for 40.5 percent of three-point shots to headline the Lady Tigers.

Filed under  //  Academics  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Lady Tiger bowling -- gutter balls and strikes!

TIA EASON: Hey Lady Tiger fans!!! This past weekend we had two recruits visiting so as a team we always want to show them a good time in Baton Rouge. We decided to take them bowling and it was a lot of fun. As always, there were a lot of gutter balls but there were also a lot of strikes. Our team has a lot of good bowlers on it. I love bowling -- it's a great sport and a lot of fun. We had three different teams and the team that we thought was the worst won. The most surprising bowler was Theresa I believe she had five strikes and her team won. It's always great to go out and have a good time with your teammates --  thats a bond that will last forever. 

Filed under  //  Team  
Posted by Bob Starkey 

Behind The Scenes: Media Training 101 with LSU Lady Tiger Basketball

Check out another exclusive video of the LSU Lady Tigers as they participated in a two-day media training session. Watch interviews of senior guard Andrea Kelly and freshman guard Jeanne Kenney as they discuss working with the media.

Posted by Bill Martin