How LSU Basketball Is Adapting to New Norm With Interim Coach Kevin Nickelberry

Tigers won't change up the structure much with NCAA tournament getting started later this week

Heartbroken, tough and overcoming adversity were popular words out of LSU basketball interim coach Kevin Nickelberry's mouth on Sunday. The Tigers found out they would be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, setting up a matchup with No. 11 seed Iowa State.

But shrouded in the excitement of making a third straight trip to the tournament are the very real circumstances LSU will be under when the Tigers take the court later this week. Their head coach Will Wade is gone and interim coach Kevin Nickelberry is now tasked with leading this group through the final "win or go home" tournament of the season. 

"This team has had some up and downs this year, we're the youngest team in the SEC and have a lot of young kids on this team," Nickelberry said. "They've dealt with adversity throughout the year and as you get older you have to deal with adversity, that's part of life. This was a tough situation for them but they did a good job of receiving the information and by the end of yesterday they were locked in and focused on selection show today."

As for some of the impending changes, director of player personnel Vernon Hamilton will move into an assistant coaching role as will assistant to the head coach Brandon Chambers. Outside of that there won't be too many changes but Nickelberry doesn't want to change what isn't broke. 

There will be some internal changes in terms of responsibilities with the remaining coaching staff but there is also a structure in place left behind by Wade in the way the team practices and prepares that won't change. 

"I feel confident this staff can lead these young men, in these challenging times, can lead them to where they wanna be," Nickelberry said. "They've had a great year, these guys have earned the right to be here."

The team found out of the news much like most did, with athletic director Scott Woodward and president William Tate informing the team of the decision. Nickelberry did say Wade has not spoken with the team following the news of his firing. 

Preparing for these new roles is one area this staff will be focused on the next few days. Nickelberry not only has head coaching experience in the past and has also been a part of Wade's staff for a few years now and knows the system. The day-to-day with how they operate won't change much but what Nickelberry does want to do is practice enough to where the players can really understand his cadence and train of thought come tournament time. 

The plan is to get on the floor a few times on Monday and prepare like they usually would for an opponent. Not changing up the script too much will certainly benefit this team and the new norm of what these final handful of games will be like.

"I understand what we have to do to give these guys the best chance to win," Nickelberry said. "We'll get on the floor, watch some film, do something as a team and try to create an atmosphere in the gym, some adversity as much as we can, create situations where we're up or down. They need to get used to my voice, that'll be the biggest thing."

The Tigers and Cyclones are set to tip off at 6:20 p.m. on Friday evening on TBS. While the news over the weekend certainly stung on multiple levels throughout the program, Nickelberry was adamant that the team had put it in the rearview mirror and is ready to make a deep run, playing for one another and their school.

"Obviously they were heartbroken but these guys are resilient, they know the task at hand," Nickelberry said. "We're gonna love them up and make sure they know that adversity will bring us together, will bring us closer. We'll play together, play for LSU. Those guys are excited about that opportunity. It's been a tough couple of days but you're asking us to go play basketball and we've been very successful this year playing basketball."