LSU has 12 new players on this year’s team.
But it might be the return of forward Jalen Reed that is most important to the Tigers’ fortunes as they open the season against Tarleton State on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Reed was averaging 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds through eight games last December when the team captain sustained a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee.
“(Reed) has really been an inspiration through this process,” LSU fourth-year head coach Matt McMahon said. “He is in a really good place mentally. Sometimes you see guys come back from an injury like that and there is a lot of hesitation. He’s very confident.”
The Tigers have surrounded redshirt junior Reed with a combination of transfers and freshman recruits in hopes of improving on last season when they finished 14-18 and 3-15 in the Southeastern Conference. They’re picked to finish second-to-last in the 16-team league.
Point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., a junior transfer from UNLV, had 16 points (on 6-of-11 shooting) and nine assists in LSU’s only exhibition game, a 75-68 victory against UCF on Oct. 26 in Orlando.
Another important newcomer is fifth-year senior forward Marquel Sutton, who was the Summit League Player of the Year last year with Omaha after averaging 18.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 32.3 minutes in 35 games (all starts).
Tarleton State, which was 12-20 and 7-9 in the Western Athletic Conference last season, began the new campaign with a 96-76 road loss to SMU on Monday night in Dallas.
The Texans, who were picked to finish sixth in the seven-team WAC, are beginning their sixth season under head coach Billy Gillispie.
The loss to SMU featured five ties and 10 lead changes. The Texans led 34-33 with five minutes left in the first half, trailed 48-38 at halftime and pulled with five with 8 1/2 minutes left before the Mustangs finished the game on a 22-7 run.
“I thought we played really hard, for the most part,” Gillispie said. “Most of our guys really did that. It’s a starting point and we know we can do better.”
The Texans had four double-figure scorers, led by Dior Johnson with 23 points. They held a 41-28 edge in bench points and made 29 of 35 free throws.
