College Basketball

Shaq out of Whack

LSU coach Dale Brown has always had a knack for squeezing every last drop out of apparently ordinary teams. For instance, his 1985-86 Tigers reached the Final Four despite having finished fifth in the SEC. But Brown's more talented squads, like the '89-90 Chris Jackson-Stanley Roberts-Shaquille O'Neal group that lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament, have been notorious underachieves.

The current Tigers, ranked sixth in the preseason, are in early danger of falling into the latter category. Last Saturday Arizona crushed the Tigers 87-67 to drop them to 2-2. LSU also was blown out by UNLV, and one of its two victories was a lackluster 77-76 defeat of Northeast Louisiana in which the Tigers had to score the last nine points to avoid being embarrassed on their home court.

Brown, who used three different starting lineups in the four games, has been experimenting madly. "We're still trying to fine the right group," says sophomore guard Jamie Brandon "We're looking for one that car get the ball inside to Shaq and hit some outside shots when defenses collapse on him."

The Tigers were supposed to have shored up O'Neal's supporting cast with the addition of Brandon, who was rated by some recruiting experts as the best guard out of Chicago since Isiah Thomas, and the return of guard Maurice Williamson, who missed last season because of poor grades. Steady senior forward Vernel Singleton and junior outside shooter Mike Hansen were set to provide additional help for O'Neal. But against Arizona, LSU gave no indication that it had found what it was looking for. The Tigers had a difficult time getting the ball to the 7-foot O'Neal, and when he was out of the game, the offense often degenerated into a series of mostly unsuccessful one-on-one moves.

Last season, in a 92-82 LSU victory in Baton Rouge, O'Neal destroyed the Wildcats with 29 points, 14 rebounds, six blocked shots and one humiliating little jig, which he dubbed the Shaq-de-Shaq. The memory was still vivid for the Wildcats, especially center-forward Sean Rooks, and they made sure O'Neal would not boogie on their floor. At times Arizona had as many as four defenders around O'Neal, and the Wildcats simply dared LSU to beat them with jump shots. The Tigers couldn't do it. Williamson made only one of 10 shots, and forward Harold Boudreaux converted four of 11. All told, the Tigers shot 38% from the floor.

O'Neal, who was in foul trouble most of the game and played only 22 minutes, finished with 10 points—his lowest total since he was a freshman two years ago—four rebounds and three blocked shots. "I don't know too many people who can go out and score 30 points a night with three or four people on them," said O'Neal after the game.

The Tigers need to right themselves quickly, if only to make sure that they maintain O'Neal's interest. He passed up the NBA draft, in which he would have been the top pick, to return for his junior year, but he hasn't played with the ferocity he showed last season, and his early frustration against the Wildcats seemed to give way to resignation. Late in the game, when the outcome had been decided, O'Neal turned to Rooks and said, "I don't care how good you play. I'm still the Number One draft pick." He might have been joking, or he might have been inadvertently revealing where his mind sometimes wanders.

Arizona's players had no trouble concentrating, especially Rooks, whose teammates wouldn't let him forget O'Neal's performance of a year ago, including his thunderous slam dunk over Rooks that led to his exuberant dance. "I heard about it from my teammates every day for 365 days," said Rooks after scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds on Saturday. "Whenever they saw it replayed on TV, they'd come to my room, pound on my door and tell me, 'They're showing it again.' It was great motivation."

Well-Traveled Cougar