The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is coming to Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel got to attend LSU’s practice on Thursday morning and now brings you the following photo/video essay.
I got my media credential, grabbed my LSU media guide, and headed over to the court. There was a LOUD buzzer right at 9AM…and then a 5-10 minute delay until the Tigers actually took the court. The 1st thing you notice is the smell of the brand new court: not so much the freshly-cut wood but more of whatever cleaning product they used to get it nice and shiny:
There are media spread out all along the baseline:
I took an open seat on the sideline opposite 2 racks of basketballs…until a security guy told me to move:
The players eventually drifted onto the court and spent a few minutes getting some shots up:
Here is the video to prove it:
SO PG Tremont Waters, last week’s hero who made the game-winning layup with 1.6 seconds left to beat Maryland in the 2nd round, worked on 3s from the corner:
Then the team came together at mid-court before moving on to the next drill:
I thought that I might have the scoop of the week after seeing a guy who looked like suspended head coach Will Wade out on the floor…but it was just assistant coach Greg Heiar:
I assumed the CBS broadcast team would mosey in after lunch but they were up early this morning: Jim Nantz was picking up the rear but Bill Raftery/Tracy Wolfson/Grant Hill showed up minutes after I did:
LSU spread out along the baseline for some running drills:
SR PF Kavell Bigby-Williams got some stretching in:
JR SG/1st-team Academic All-American Skylar Mays got some jogging in:
FR PF Naz Reid worked on his low-post moves with some added obstacles like 2 defenders with blocking pads:
Here is the video to prove it:
That’s all for now, check back later for continuing coverage.