Will Wade’s return to LSU is off to a winning start.
His team gave the fans the show they hoped for during a 100-57 win over LSU New Orleans on Tuesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The LSU starting lineup mirrored the one used in the last exhibition game. In the backcourt were Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark, and in the frontcourt were Saliou Niang, Mo Dioubate and Brice Dessert at center.
While scoring wasn’t the calling card of either team early — LSU started 1 of 6 from the field — the Tigers put on an elite defensive effort. The Tigers held LSU New Orleans scoreless until the 15:12 mark and didn’t allow a second made field goal until the 8:09 mark. LSU led 27-8 at that point.
The Privateers made only 15 of 61 shots overall.
“I thought we came out with high energy in the first half,” Dent said. “Me and Skyy were all over the floor, and that’s what coach Wade was preaching to us a lot in the pregame. Just come out with high energy, be ready to play good.”
Wade said Tuesday was a good win but there is plenty to improve.
“There’s a lot to build off of,” he said. “We’ve certainly got to be better as we move forward here. Second-half effort wasn’t good enough. We got to play to a certain standard, but you know overall solid first outing. And we got a lot of things that we need to clean up these next couple days.”
Niang was the peskiest defender. The 6-foot-7 wing from Italy picked up four steals in less than five minutes to start. He jumped passing lanes, stripped ballhandlers and defended with ferocity during the Tigers’ full-court press. The stellar defense led to some easy transition baskets.
“I know that I can help my team a lot on defense, and yeah, that’s what I did,” Niang said. “I tried to put pressure on the ball, grab rebounds.”
Niang’s most impressive moments were the multiple times he stole the ball from under the opponent’s own basket. By the end of the first half, he had six of LSU’s eight steals. He closed the night with 14 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, five assists and one turnover.
“I thought Saul was tremendous,” Wade said. “He just does so many things to help you win. He’s an incredible passer. I mean, look, he makes the whole press work to get the ball inbounds against him.”
The LSU defense prevented the Privateers from finding a rhythm. The Privateers had 11 first-half turnovers, and when they did shoot, it was a contested look. Their leading shot-taker after 20 minutes was 6-3 guard Kahlil Singleton, who went 1 of 6 from the field and missed four 3-pointers in the first half.
During screening actions, LSU defenders switched and kept their hands active to take away obvious passes.
The first substitute to enter the game was backup center Michael Ruzic. The 7-footer got involved early in the offense as a transition threat, leaking out for a pair of quick scores.
“I’d say I did a good job running the floor today,” Ruzic said. “That’s one of my strengths. I believe, as a big man, I can run the floor really well.”
He also wowed the crowd with an alley-oop slam after setting a screen for Dent in the pick-and-roll. Ruzic had a team-high 12 points by halftime as the Tigers led 53-17. He finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Dent controlled the game as the point guard, finding his frontcourt teammates for shots and was not bashful about taking the clean looks he often created for himself.
His best assist came after a spin move on the pressuring guard, drawing Privateers big Alan Shi to rotate over and setting up a dunk for Ruzic under the hoop. Dent had 19 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers.
Another one of Dent’s top targets was French 7-footer Dessert. He used his 255-pound frame to carve out space for three dunks and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Dessert also had four turnovers and fouled out.
“Brice is going to be really good for us,” Wade said. “It’s just going to take Brice a little bit of time. The pace is different than it is in Europe.”
The Tigers didn’t relent much in the second half. They made the Privateers make passes that created no true openings. They also had a five-second violation as they struggled to get an inbounds pass in.
Before the game began, LSU showed a tribute video and had a moment of silence in honor of LSU legends Bob Pettit and Dale Brown, who both died over the past few months.
LSU’s next game is against Texas Southern at 7 p.m. Friday at the PMAC.
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