`

LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell says Kentucky is a “great team” but he quickly qualifies that feeling going into Saturday’s game with the No. 4 Wildcats.

“We respect them, but they are beatable. South Carolina showed that against them,” Mitchell said.

LSU coach Trent Johnson has to hope Kentucky is beatable, but he sure didn’t sound like it when he talked about the Wildcats.

“Kentucky is very impressive. For me, when you look at the nucleus of guys with the exception of Jodie Meeks that we beat last year in Lexington, those guys are all role players now,” Johnson said.

“DeMarcus Cousins is really impressive, and if you saw him in the summer compared to where he is now, you’d say, ‘Oh my goodness.’ From a standpoint of length, athleticism, skill and being both mentally and physically tough, they are a tough group.

“We are going to have a light workout today, and probably walk through a lot of stuff. There’s nothing else you can do to get ready for this team because you can’t simulate their length and quickness. It’s a mental thing in terms of understanding they are going to put a lot of pressure on you. I don’t think they are a team that will double team Tasmin. I think they’ll probably run a guy at him instead. We have to handle the pressure and go from there.”

LSU lost to Tennessee Thursday night and has scheduled to score points without the quick turnaround it faces against Kentucky. Still, UK coach John Calipari says not to take a win for granted.

“You saw last night with Tennessee, it was a two-point game with a minute to go. It was like our South Carolina game. When you give a team like that a chance to win on their home court, they’ll be nuts. Now, they didn’t have the crowd against Tennessee that they’ll have against us. They aren’t going to have 5,000 in that building, so it will be a different environment and team that we’ll play. Again, I understand they haven’t won a game (in SEC play), but watch their tapes. They had chances to win three or four games, including last night,” Calipari said Friday.

Calipari says Mitchell, LSU’s top scorer, is a quality player any team in the SEC would like to have.

“He’s tough for everybody. He is one of the best players in the league and he commands double teams, which leaves people open. He’s got size if you are trying to put a 6-foot-5 guy on him, and he’s got skills if you’re trying to put a 6-foot-9 guy on him. It’s a tough match for everybody, which is why he is scoring and rebounding like he is,” the UK coach said.

Darius Miller played against Mitchell last year and knows how good he is.

“He is really good. I think we had a lot of problems with him last year. He played really good against us. We are expecting him to come out and have a really good game. We have to come out and know what he is capable of doing and be ready to step up and play good defense,” Miller said

Louisiana native Perry Stevenson will make his final trip to his home state this weekend and says he’ll have a “lot of people” at the game.

“I will have 15 family members there. My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmothers and my mom. They just ask if I like it and that is all they care about. They just want to make sure that I am having fun,” Stevenson said. “We know LSU can beat us, but it feels good going home with such a good team. They have good players and I am not for sure what is going on, (with them losing) but unfortunately they will be clicking on all cylinders when we go down there on Saturday. That is just how it goes.”

11 Responses to “LSU’s Mitchell says Kentucky is “beatable””