LSU's Mitchell on Naismith watch list

• Advocate news services
• Published: Oct 31, 2009 - UPDATED: 4:38 p.m.

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LSU senior forward Tasmin Mitchell was named one of the 50 players on the Naismith Award preseason watch list by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

The Naismith Trophy will be awarded at the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis.

Fan voting will account for an unprecedented 25% of the final results — more than any other national college basketball award.

Mitchell averaged more than 16 points per game in 2008-09 as LSU won the Southeastern Conference championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, according to a news release.

Blanton to join radio team

Former LSU men’s basketball star Ricky Blanton, a member of the school’s 16-man All-Century Team, will join the LSU Sports Radio Network’s expanded coverage of home basketball games when the season begins against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 13, LSU announced Saturday.

Blanton will join Jim Hawthorne and host/analyst Kevin Ford for coverage of the 18 home games this season. Blanton will be the game analyst at home, while Ford will host and handle the pregame, halftime and postgame portions.

“We are very pleased to have Ricky Blanton join our broadcast team for the home games this year,” Hawthorne said in a statement. “He gave us a lot of thrills when he was playing for the Tigers and has gone on to become a great ambassador for LSU athletics. I know his expert insight into the strategies and nuances of the game will be a big plus for our broadcasts.”

Tickets on sale

Single game tickets for LSU’s 10 nonconference home games, including the first two rounds of the Dick’s Sporting Good NIT Season Tip-Off, go on sale Monday at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office and online at LSUsports.net.

Tickets for all 10 nonconference games, including the NIT games on Nov. 16 and 17, are $14 for middle level seats, $13 for upper prime and $11 for upper level seats.

Youth tickets are available in the upper sections for $5, with the exception of the NIT games, which are $9.

Groups of 10 or more can buy tickets for all the nonconference games with the exception of the NIT games for $5 per ticket. Group tickets for all Southeastern Conference games are also on sale, with group prices ranging from $10 to $14.