LSU overcomes tragedy and adversity to reach NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

WASHINGTON -- It’s been a difficult time for the Louisiana State basketball program, which has been without suspended head coach Will Wade but has managed to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

But the adversity for the Tigers is nothing compared to the tragedy the team experienced last September when junior forward Wayde Sims was shot to death in Baton Rouge as he attempted to come to the assistance of a friend during a fight.

The Tigers (28-6), seeded third, who will take on No. 2 Michigan State (30-6) on Friday night in the East Region semifinals at Capital One Arena, have dedicated their season to Sims and are motivated through these hard times.

“It started with Wayde in September, him passing away, and we have definitely used it as a driving force in what we’ve been able to do this season,” junior guard Skylar Mays said Thursday. “And we give a lot of the credit in the wins we’ve had to him.”

Interim head coach Tony Benford said a key moment in the Tigers’ second-round victory last weekend over Maryland was when the score was tied at 44, which also happened to be Sims’ uniform number. He said point guard Tremont Waters pointed it out.

“Tre just stopped the huddle and said, ‘Coach, look what’s on the scoreboard, guys,’” he said. “The guys got out and got more focused. It’s been about Wayde the entire year, and it will be. I told these guys, the rest of their life, they’ll never forget Wayde Sims."

Benford is filling in for Wade, who was suspended by the university for his alleged involvement with a man convicted in the college basketball scandal. The Tigers have had two narrow NCAA victories thus far, 79-74 over No. 14 seed Yale, and 69-67 over No. 6 Maryland on a basket by Waters with 1.6 seconds left.

Friday night’s game matches up two of the nation’s best point guards, Waters and Cassius Winston of Michigan State, both of whom made their respective all-conference first teams.

Winston, a 6-foot-1 junior, is a workmanlike player who is third in the nation with 7.5 assists per game while averaging a team-best 18.9 points. The 5-11 Waters, a sophomore, averages 15.0 points and 5.9 assists but can be a little careless with the ball, as his 3.5 turnovers per game would indicate.

However, Waters is effective at forcing turnovers, with his 2.97 steals per game ranking him third in NCAA Division I and earning him SEC co-defensive player of the year honors.

For their part, the players share respect for each other.

“He does a good job of using his quickness, changing speeds and things like that, to get to his spot,” Winston said of Waters. “He does a good job of just staying poised and staying in control during the whole game. He does a great job of controlling that team, pushing tempo, doing a lot of good things.”

Waters said Winston is “obviously a great all-around player offensive and defensively. Watching film, I just see that he’s really good in transition. He controls the offense. He runs the team, and everything pretty much runs through him.”