Seimone names to Yahoo! All-Decade Team; Syl Honorable Mention

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Yahoo! Sports Decade in Review (By Jeremy Stone) takes to the hardwood for a series of women's basketball top fives. Next up is our top five players of the 2000sin the NCAA.


Seimone Augustus, forward, LSU
Augustus led LSU to the first three of five consecutive Final Four appearances from 2004 to 2006. She was the top scorer in the country as a senior and never shot worse than 53 percent from the field. Though Augustus never got the Tigers into the championship game, she remains the only back-to-back Wade Trophy winner of the NCAA era.

Sue Bird, guard, Connecticut
Though Bird played less than three full seasons in the decade, she was the premier point guard in the country and leader of Husky teams that won the national title in 2000 and 2002. She not only distributed the ball with flair but also possessed a lethal jumper and ability to penetrate. Bird twice shot better than 50 percent from the field and nearly shot 50 percent from three-point range as a sophomore. She played 100 games in the decade and UConn won 97 of them. And of course, she paved the way for Diana Taurasi to lead the Huskies to two more titles after Bird was selected first in the 2002 WNBA draft.

Diana Taurasi, guard, Connecticut
Need her to play point? OK, she'll finish with more assists than Sue Bird. Need her to score? OK, she'll take every clutch shot you need. Lost your top rebounders to the pros? OK, she'll grab two more boards per game the next season. And she'll win more than anyone ever has. The Huskies won 139 games in Taurasi's time from 2000 to 2004, including 31 in a row the season after four UConn starters went in the top six of the WNBA draft. No wonder Taurasi won two Naismith Awards and herself went No. 1 in the 2004 draft.

Candace Parker, forward, Tennessee
Move over, Chamique Holdsclaw? Probably not, seeing as Parker played only three seasons for the Lady Vols and won one fewer title. But it's close. Parker morphed into Women's Basketball Superstar 2.0 during her time in Knoxville, satiating the masses with her ability to dunk and wowing women's basketball fans with her unprecedented multifaceted game. And not that anyone questioned her toughness, but she won her second Final Four Most Outstanding Player award while playing through a dislocated shoulder.

Courtney Paris, center, Oklahoma
The folks in Norman won't make Paris repay her scholarship as she offered to do. Nor should they. Though the Sooners fell short of her championship aspirations, the NCAA career rebounding leader wasn't to blame. She posted double-doubles in her first 112 games and was the first freshman AP All-American, first sophomore AP Player of the Year and first four-time All-American. No other college player in any division has amassed 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds.

Honorable mention: Jackie Stiles, guard, Missouri State (then SW Missouri State), the all-time scoring leader (but graduated in 2001); Ruth Riley, center, Notre Dame; Alana Beard, guard, Duke; Sylvia Fowles, LSU; Candice Wiggins, guard, Stanford; Maya Moore, forward, Connecticut.

Filed under  //  Media   Seimone Augustus  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Lady Tigers utilize defense to defeat New Orleans

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BATON ROUGE -- Senior preseason All-American guard Allison Hightower scored 20 points and LSU’s dominant defense returned to form as the fifth-ranked Lady Tiger basketball team remained unbeaten and defeated New Orleans, 57-33, on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU (7-0) won its 32nd consecutive game versus an opponent from the state of the Louisiana and remained undefeated against in-state opponents this decade. The Lady Tigers last lost to an opponent from Louisiana on Dec. 31, 1999 at Tulane.

The Lady Privateers (6-4) dropped their sixth straight game to LSU and remained winless against the Lady Tigers since March 1, 1993. UNO tallied its lowest point output of the season and was held 27 points below its season average.

After surrendering 65 and 74 points to Tulane and Louisiana Tech, respectively, in its last two games, LSU returned to its attacking defensive form. The Lady Tigers, who lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense for the sixth straight season, held UNO to a season-low 33.3 percent (13-of-39) from the floor.

“Looks like our defense returned,” said LSU head coach Van Chancellor, who won his 496th career collegiate game. “The things we wanted to improve, we improved. Offensively, we couldn’t throw one in the Atlantic Ocean, but we’ve been shooting the ball really well lately. When you have a layoff, what usually leaves you is an offensive rhythm.”

Sophomore forward Courtney Jones turned in a season-high 10 points, and fellow forward Taylor Turnbow had a solid game defensively with six rebounds, a block and a steal in 22 minutes. Sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett grabbed a game-high eight boards.

Bill Martin's complete story and box: http://bit.ly/5Bdz1g

Posted by Bill Martin  

Temeka Johnson to appear on The Van Chancellor Show

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BATON ROUGE -- Former LSU Lady Tiger point guard and 2009 WNBA champion Temeka Johnson will join LSU head coach Van Chancellor at 7 p.m. CST Monday for “The Van Chancellor Show presented by Capital One Bank” from Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar at the corner of Burbank and Nicholson Drive in Baton Rouge.


The special Monday night edition of the show lasts from 7-8 p.m. CST and will preview the inaugural Sue Gunter Classic, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 15-16, in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.


The show, hosted by “The Voice of the Lady Tigers” Patrick Wright, can be heard live in Baton Rouge on WTGE 107.3 FM and in the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net.

For more details: http://bit.ly/5JU5j0

Filed under  //  Media   Temeka Johnson   Van Chancellor  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Coach Gunter elected to LSU Athletic Hall of Fame

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BATON ROUGE – Two former LSU standouts and three former LSU coaches and administrators have been elected to the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame, the school has announced.

New inductees to the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame are football defensive back James Britt, golfer Jenny Lidback, equipment manager Jeff Boss, head football coach and athletic director Paul Dietzel and head women’s basketball coach Sue Gunter.

The five newly elected honorees will be formally inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame next year on a date to be announced. Boss and Gunter will be inducted posthumously.

Sue Gunter was the head coach of the LSU women’s basketball team from 1982-2004 and became the winningest coach in Lady Tiger history with 442 victories. She led LSU to the 2004 Final Four, setting into motion a string of five straight Final Four appearances for the Lady Tigers. Also during her tenure as LSU head coach, the Lady Tigers won SEC Tournament titles in 1991 and 2003, captured the 1985 Women’s NIT title and appeared in the NCAA’s Elite Eight three times. She was the SEC Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999 and the National Coach of the Year in 1983.

Gunter coached at Middle Tennessee State for two years and Stephen F. Austin for 16 seasons and then served two years as athletic director at SFA before joining LSU in 1982. A legend in women’s basketball circles, she is the third winningest coach in NCAA history with 708 wins. She is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. A 1962 graduate of Peabody College, Gunter died in 2005 at the age of 66.

Read write up: http://bit.ly/8Xs1Uj

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Posted by Bill Martin  

Fast Break Club Christmas Party

VAN CHANCELLOR (12-10-09):
What a wonderful night last night! It was time for our annual Fast Break Club Hall of Fame Christmas Party. This was an event that has been a tradition for the Lady Tiger basketball program before I arrived and one that I've thoroughly enjoyed the past three years. We had a wonderful night of food and fun and I was honored to host the event at my house. I am so appreciative of my wife Betty, my daughter Renee, and our Director of Basketball Operations Brittany Carvalhido for putting the evening together. This is a very special group of individuals that have formed a powerful team of support. They are a big reason for our growth and success and it was great to spend an evening with them in the Christmas spirit!

 

Filed under  //  Fast Break Club   Off the Court   Van Chancellor  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Allison named Louisiana Women's Basketball Player of the Week

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MONROE, La. -- LSU’s Allison Hightower has been named Louisiana Women’s Basketball Players of the Week, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced Monday afternoon.

In LSU’s only game of the week, Hightower poured in a career-high 32 points – 25 in the first half – as the Tigers defeated Louisiana Tech 77-74 in Ruston. A native of Arlington, Texas, Hightower’s 32 points were the most by an LSU player since 2006 and the fourth most scored by a player in the Southeastern Conference this season. The senior guard’s 25 first-half points were the most by an LSU player in nearly 14 years.

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Posted by Bill Martin  

Thanks CHAMPS For Making Christmas Special to Some Deserving Young People

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BOB STARKEY (9-6-09):

Each Christmas season, the Shaquille O'Neal CHAMPS Life/Skills Program puts on "Christmas with the Tigers." Mike Mallet and his staff do an amazing job of putting this together and I hope you read the article below to understand what this project is all about. From our end, Mike and his staff provide our team with a child and wish list for Christmas. Our players then pool their own money and purchase the gifts. Mike and his staff then throw a beautiful Christmas party for all the teams to present their children with the presents. This year our team went above and beyond and purchased everything on the list including clothes, toys and a bike. Our team was definitely in the Christmas spirit in making sure our honored guest, Chantell Johnson had a great Christmas. Our hats our off to Mike, Jade Jenkins and everyone that makes this special event happen!


by Jesse Delerno, Student Assistant SID
As the holiday season approaches, many parents in the Baton Rouge community will start dashing to local toy stores and shopping malls in search of presents to pack underneath the Christmas tree for their children. But, not all families will be fortunate enough to provide gifts for their kids.

However, each year all 20 LSU sports teams come together for CHAMPS’ annual ‘Christmas with the Tigers’ event to bring joy to underprivileged children who may not have the opportunity to open gifts on Christmas morning. Each squad adopts a child, buys presents off his or her wish list and gives them to the child at the function, which will be held Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. (CST) in the Bo Campbell Auditorium.

LSU Athletics began hosting a charitable Christmas event more than 10 years ago when current Associate Athletic Director for Student Services Miriam Segar worked with the CHAMPS/Life Skills program, and it continues to flourish under the leadership of Director of Student Affairs Mike Mallet.

“Miriam started this event back when she was with the CHAMPS program,” Mallet said. “They used to go to various places (to host the event), but when I took over, I decided we could have something here since we have the Auditorium where it wouldn’t put a lot of strain on the kids. All of the people from the SAAC community said let’s do it here, and we just called it ‘Christmas with the Tigers.’”

Mallet and his staff work closely each year with a different charity that locates less fortunate families who are in need of help during the holiday season. This year his office is working with local group, Society St. Vincent de Paul and its homeless shelter. But, the CHAMPS director believes the key to the event’s continued success is the contributions of the student-athletes who he encourages to embrace the spirit of giving.

“It’s a very joyous occasion and also a very fulfilling one, especially when you get young people involved so they can understand the thing about giving,” Mallet added. “One of the things I tell a lot of these guys is that they owe it to themselves to do something for the community. The community supports them in more ways than they think.”

Mallet has his fair share of memorable moments from the past few years. He recalled one occasion when a four-year-old girl was so happy to be receiving a bicycle, she began weeping and riding it across the stage. In his mind, seeing such raw emotions and signs of jubilance are what make Christmas with the Tigers so special.

“You see parents with a smile on their faces,” Mallet said. “You see the people who are responsible for these families, and they are very appreciative. They know the joys that these young people have, especially when they are in a shelter and don’t have anything. As sad as it may seem, this is one occasion that they all just have a good time.”

 

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Posted by Bill Martin  

Meals On The Road

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LASONDRA BARRETT (12-6-09):

My favorite part of a road trip are the evening dinners. Thanks to Brittany, our director of basketball operations, we always get the best restaurant in that area that we travel to. Along with a good meal, our team gets a chance to spend quality time with each other, away from the basketball court and weight room. We discuss many non-basketball related topics, like the latest television shows, music, and the hottest fashions. We really enjoy this time because it gives us a chance to bond and learn something new about one another.

 

 

Filed under  //  Off the Court   Player's Post  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Meek and others dedicated to player/improving year round

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Nice article in SLAM Online on the dedication of professional women's basketball players that play year around and travel the world to do including a quote from our own Temeka Johnson:


Even more remarkable, is that their courageous sacrifices aren’t being talked about. WNBA players simply accept this as part of their lives and don’t make a big deal out of it. The vast majority of players have a humbleness inside them and feel extremely fortunate even to have the opportunity to play overseas. Not only does it speak to the incomparable work ethic of these ladies, but also to their immense love of the sport.

“To be honest, when you still have that burning desire for the game and the love for it is still strong in you, there is no such thing as too much basketball,” Temeka Johnson said. “You are thrilled to be able to what you love to do, continue to entertain those that love to watch you play, and the passion and desire of getting better drives you even more.”

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/6c04PL

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Posted by Bill Martin  

The Team: Behind The Scenes

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BRITTANY CARVALHIDO (12-3-09):

The managers here at LSU are a very important part to our programs success. Much of what they do goes unseen. Most people do not realize what takes place behind the scenes as a manager. Of course, their education comes first but when you sign on to be a manager here at LSU you better be willing to put in a lot of time. Our managers report an hour before practice to get things set-up and to be there for our players if they need anything. We expect the same attitude and work ethic from them like we do our team. Everyone knows being a manager is not an easy job. They put in a lot of time and energy because not only are they early for practice they are the ones that stay after to shut things down. It’s the little things that they take care of that play a big role in the success of our program. Our former managers here at LSU have become very successful in the real world. We truly enjoy having them come back to visit just like our former players do. Our Alumni weekends are not just for former players but also for our former managers. They learn a lot from working with our program that carries over into their future plans. Thank you for all that you do!

 

Filed under  //  Off the Court  
Posted by Bill Martin