Photo Gallery: NIT Season Tip-Off Press Conference

NEW YORK -- NIT selection committee chairman said the four teams participating Wednesday “earned” their way into college basketball’s most prestigious pre-season tournament.

Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CST, LSU and nationally-ranked Connecticut get the chance to meet in the first semifinal of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. Duke and Arizona State will meet in the second semifinal that matches the tournaments four top seeds.

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The winners and losers will meet Friday in the final round of the tournament with games at 1:30 and 4 p.m. CST.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Dan Schulman, Bob Knight, Dick Vitale and Doris Burke the broadcast crew, while Jim Hawthorne and Kevin Ford will have the call on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge).

LSU, the tournament’s third seed, is 3-0 on the young season, having advanced to the semifinals with a 56-45 win over Indiana State in the first round and a 71-60 triumph over fifth-seeded Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals.

In the Indiana State game, despite LSU going 0-of-15 at the three-point line, got a double double from Storm Warren (14 pts-12 reb), with Bo Spencer and Dennis Harris getting 10 each. Tasmin Mitchell didn’t score in double figures, but grabbed 14 rebounds. Against Western Kentucky, It was Spencer back on scoring track, hitting four treys as part of career-high 28 point night, while Warren had his third straight double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

It was the first time an LSU player had three straight double doubles since the 2006-07 season.

UConn (3-0) and the NIT’s second seed knocked off Colgate, 77-63, in the opening round and rallied to take down Hofstra, 76-67, in the quarterfinals. The 13th-ranked Huskies were led by Stanley Robinson, who was 8-of-8 from the field with 18 points and Kemba Walker had 16 in the Colgate win, while Jerome Dyson had 23, Walker 16 and Robinson 15 in the win over Hofstra.

“My SID said this will be like my 73rd or 74th game in Madison Square Garden (Wednesday),” said UConn Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun to the media. “All that means is I’m old.

“My team is a mystery to me,” said Calhoun. “But I do believe this team can be and will get better.  Kemba Walker, to me, is still one of the quickest point guards in the country as a sophomore.  Jerome Dyson was the glue that we missed at the end of last season.  He has been an all-purpose player and Stanley Robinson could be one of the best small forwards in the country.  Being through this an awful lot, it is an honor for me, our kids and our basketball program to be here.  It is a great tribute to our kids to win those two games and win something this early. 

The Wildcats will be a handful for the Tigers as they go 6-9, 6-9 and 6-10 across the front line with two seniors and a freshman.  Dyson averages 20.0 points per game, while Robinson averaged 16.7 a game, Walker 14.7 and Gavin Edwards 10.0. Alex Oriakhi averaged 6.7 points and 10.7 rebounds.

“We beat a very good Western Kentucky team and we beat a very well coached Indiana State team,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson.  “We will be a much better team as the year progresses.  What I feel good about with this basketball team (LSU) is that there is a sense of accountability socially, academically, and athletically.  The good thing about being in this tournament against these three teams is that they are well coached, very talented and your accountability as far as offensively and defensively will be tested.  Yes, we are in New York, yes we are in the Garden and your accountability will be tested on each and every possession.  We are looking forward to the challenge.”

No lineup change is expected for LSU as Spencer and freshman Aaron Dotson will go at the guards with Mitchell, Garrett Green and Storm Warren at the forward spots. Spencer leads the team in scoring at 20.3 points per game, while Warren is averaging a nice 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds with Mitchell also in double figures at 11.7 points a game.

Mitchell with 11 points will move up two spots to 13th on the school scoring list. He enters the game with 1,503 points and Leonard Mitchell is 14th at 1,508 and Vernel Singleton is 13th at 1,513.

This marks LSU’s eighth all-time appearance in the NIT, their third in the preseason event. LSU’s last NIT appearance in New York and the Garden came in 1970 when Pistol Maravich was a senior and the entire 16-team post-season event was played in MSG.  LSU’s last overall Garden appearance was Dec. 21, 1978 when Dale Brown’s Tigers defeated Army 83-77.

LSU’s Johnson has participated in the Garden rounds of a preseason NIT as an assistant on the 1988 Stanford team under then head coach Michael Montgomery. In the semifinals, Stanford defeated St. John’s, 55-53, before losing in the finals to North Carolina, 57-49.

“LSU, under my leadership, is very thankful to have the opportunity to be here,” said Johnson. “It is a very special tournament.”

Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off
Marriot Marquis Times Square New York, NY
November 24, 2009

Jim Isch
Opening remarks:
“Let me add my thanks to everyone for being here today and thank the Selection Committee for the good work they have done putting together a fantastic field for us to enjoy.  I also want to thank the NIT staff,  who, every year, does such a great job with this tournament.  This is one of the most prestigious collegiate basketball tournaments there is.  This year we are going to have four great teams.  I look forward to watching all four of you and your performance.  Thank you for being here and enjoy New York.”

C.M. Newton
Opening remarks:
“First I want to congratulate the four universities for earning their way to the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship.  I emphasis the word earning because, unlike many of the events involving preseason basketball, this is a true tournament.  You four guys have had to win two games to get here.  Your teams have done that and you should be very proud.  To have Mike (Krzyzewski), Herb (Sendek), Trent (Johnson) and Jim (Calhoun) here is very significant because we have four outstanding coaches, four really outstanding universities and four quality basketball teams again, and I emphasis this, who have earned their way here.  We will play this off as a true tournament where we will end up with a first place champion, a runner up, a third place finisher and a fourth place finisher but all of them are winners in our mind in the fact that they have earned this chance to come to New York City for this.  Also want to thank Dick’s (Sporting Goods) for your corporate sponsorship, Madison Square Garden and all of the folks there making this championship what it is.  I also want to thank the Committee.  They have been named but this Committee works hard both for the preseason as well as the postseason championships.  We are very proud with the work they have done and we appreciate the fact that you guys and gals have taken the time to cover this on a busy timeframe for you.  Again, congratulations to the teams and we look forward to a great championship.”

LSU Head Coach Trent Johnson
Opening remarks:
“I would like, again, to thank the gentlemen to my left (Selection Committee).  Obviously Coach Newton, Jack Powers, Don DeVoe, Les Robinson...and you guys are all coaches.  The NCAA has grown into something large and it all began with the NIT.  LSU, under my leadership, is very thankful for having the opportunity to be here.  It is a special tournament.  The gentlemen to my right, starting with Coach Calhoun and Coach K, who have done more for college basketball than anyone can imagine.  Then Coach Sendek...we have two greats and then one on his way to be being one of the greatest.  It is an honor for me to be standing here.  Our basketball team is a work in progress.  We return two players who were quality players on a team where we were very successful.  Tasmin Mitchell, in my mind, is probably one of the better college basketball players.  He is not overly explosive, he is not overly quick but he understands the game.  I have never been around, in my short 11 year as a head coach,  a player who has as much passion for his school, his teammates and respects the game the way he does.  We are going to ride his shoulders for a long, long time this year.  We beat a very good Western Kentucky team and we beat a very well coached Indiana State.  We will be a much better team as the year progresses.  What I feel good about with this basketball team is that there is a sense of accountability socially, academically, and athletically.  The good thing about being in this tournament against these three teams is that they are well coached, very talented and your accountability as far as offensively and defensively will be tested.  Yes, we are in New York, yes we are in the Garden and your accountability will be tested on each and every possession.  We are looking forward to the challenge and thank you for your time.”

Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun
Opening remarks:
“I think the NCAA has taken a great step by utilizing the people who have made such a great difference in college basketball.  By utilizing ex-coaches who understand the various things that we need is a great step forward and we should do more of it to utilize the incredible brain power, the incredible charisma and the incredible contacts.  I really appreciate being here and I congratulate the NCAA for making them part of this.  It is really, really special.  It is an incredible stroke of genius.  Anytime you get to New York, it is the Mecca of College Basketball.  Being a Bostonian, you don’t understand how much that hurts saying that, but New York City and the Garden is certainly the mecca of college basketball.  My team is a mystery to me, but I do believe this team can be and will be get better.  Kemba Walker, to me, is still one of the quickest point guards in the country as a sophomore.  Jerome Dyson was the glue that we missed at the end of last season.  He has been an all-purpose player and Stanley Robinson could be one of the best small forwards in the country.  Being through this an awful lot, it is an honor for me, our kids and our basketball program to be here.  It is a great tribute to our kids to win those two games and win something this early.  You have to set aspirations because in the NCAA tournament, you play on a Thursday and you want to be there on a Saturday.  I want to thank everybody at the NIT.   You really started off our careers.  In 1988, my second year at UCONN, we won the NIT title over Ohio State and we really haven’t looked back.  I have always been an incredible fan of this mecca of college basketball and of New York City.  I want to thank you and we are looking forward to playing two great games and hopefully our kids will play particularly well.”

Arizona State Head Coach Herb Sendek
Opening remarks:
“Arizona State is ecstatic to be here in New York.  To come to this venue, to play against competition like this, it can only help your basketball team get better.  We will look forward to the opportunity to play.  Our team is reconfiguring ourselves a little bit with James (Harden) and Jeff (Pendergraph) moving onto the NBA.  But it is a group that have approached the early season with a lot of enthusiasm.  They are a fun group to coach and I think this tournament will be very valuable for us.”

Duke Head Coach Krzyzewski
Opening remarks:
“It is always an honor to come to New York, play in the Garden and play in the NIT.  No preseason tournament does it any better.  Our perimeter, in (Kyle) Singler, (Jon) Schyer and (Nolan) Smith are all really good players and they like each other and they know how to play.  It is the biggest team we have ever had at Duke.  I don’t know if that is good or bad but we have a lot of developing big guys.  If they develop well in November, December and January, then we have a chance to be really good by the end of the year.  It is good to be with Jim (Calhoun), Trent (Johnson) and Herb (Sendek)...good people, great coaches, outstanding programs and great kids.  I would like to mention, in my brief moments up here, the NIT.  To me, the NIT epitomizes what the NCAA and college basketball should be, and that is evolving.  If you think of the evolution of the NIT, when I was at Army, the NIT was as big as the NCAA.  To play in the NIT, really, was the biggest honor you could have in college basketball.  And as our game changed, the NIT changed and what the postseason NIT became and what it has become now.  In 1985, the NIT was innovative and it evolved and that’s why we have a preseason NIT.  What they have done is really give an example to college basketball and that is evolve.  There is no greater example of what we should do with our resources of the game than the NIT.  I hate to say resources, but you guys (Selection Committee) are resources.  When we say resources, we mean something that can be put to good use.  In our game, we have a collective group who love this game whether they be former coaches or administrators or both who have knowledge, experience, passion and love.  The NIT has figured out how to use it and to me it should be an example of what we should do at the NCAA tournament in picking our teams for the tournament, in how we market our sport and how we keep it going.  In other words, how we evolve.  I want to thank the NIT for giving us that example and it is an honor for the Duke basketball team for being here.”