Projecting LSU Basketball's 2021 Rotation with Darius Days

Days provides Tigers with proven SEC veteran that will catapult expectations for 2021-22 season

LSU's roster received a tremendous boost this week when veteran forward Darius Days announced his return to the program for a senior season. The move propels the Tigers to the top of SEC relevance as the purple and gold have one of the deeper teams in the conference entering the 2021-22 campaign. 

With Days back, Will Wade and his coaching staff will have much to work out as the Tigers could legitimately go 10 deep with its rotations. Here's a way too early projection of how the rotations could look come the season opener this fall. 

Starting Lineup:

Xavier Pinson-Guard

Adam Miller-Guard

Tari Eason-Forward

Darius Days-Forward

Efton Reid-Center

The backcourt will likely be lead by the pair of transfer guards with winning experience and success in the SEC. Pinson and Miller are both natural scorers, with Miller recently being named to the U19 World Cup team. He's expected to be among the most improved scorers in the country under Wade and the Tigers' staff. 

If the Tigers have a dynamic scorer on the roster, Wade has not been shy about letting that player have a strong role in the offense, case in point Cam Thomas. Miller averaged 27.4 points as a senior and 29 points per game as a junior in high school so he knows how to put the ball in the basket and with LSU having to replace the core of its offense, Miller can come in and be one of the scoring threats for the program. 

Pinson shows significant scoring potential after upping his scoring each year at Missouri. One or both of the two will also need to assume the role of a shot creator not only for themselves but their teammates as well. 

As for the frontcourt, Eason has been one of the bright spots of the offseason since the team reconvened for workouts earlier this summer. Wade has talked about how much better he is than even the staff initially gave him credit for while Days will be in the running for a first team All-SEC bid as one of the premier threats from long range and on the boards. 

"Basketball wise, he's one of our best three point shooters, he's somebody who is reliable rebounding the ball," Wade said. "We didn't put him in great positions last year and he was out muscled most of the time but he'll be in better position now that we have Efton [Reid] and some other big guys to where he can play more to his strengths."

The hope is that having a player like Reid, who's more of a traditional big, next to Days, it will help Days play a more natural role and become a more consistent playmaker for the squad as well. Meanwhile Reid is one of the more gifted freshmen in the country and will give LSU something it hasn't had in recent years under Wade, a traditional big who can protect the rim and be versatile.

"Getting Efton was huge," Wade said. "That's been the difference for us, we haven't had that guy who can score in the low post and play on the perimeter. He can switch defensively, he moves very well for as big as he is. That's been the difference from when we've won the league and coming in second and third. I'm sick of coming in second and third. So that was a huge piece."

Bench Rotation: Mwani Wilkinson (Forward), Shareef O'Neal (Forward), Eric Gaines (Guard), Alex Fudge (Forward) Brandon Murray (Guard), Jerrell Colbert (Center)

Wilkinson, Gaines and O'Neal will be the only returning players from a season ago next to Days and all will be key pieces. Wade recently said that O'Neal is 100% after a foot injury derailed the end of his first year with the program and that when healthy, can have an Aaron Epps type of impact with the program. 

Gaines and Wilkinson are rising sophomores who will be looking for larger roles with the program. Both have been defensively impactful in their first seasons but have been working hard to expand their offensive potential with the team. 

Fudge was on the team dating back to its NCAA Tournament run this season so he’s seen what it takes to win at the highest level. He’s impressed the coaching staff with his defensive intensity and rebounding but is working to become a more efficient scorer.

The incoming freshmen Colbert and Murray will round out the rotation as having another big to spell Reid at times will be crucial and Murray can be a scoring punch with the second unit as well.