• By GARY LANEY
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 22, 2009

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When you’ve been around as long as Tasmin Mitchell has at LSU, you tend to know what you’re talking about when it comes to Tigers basketball.

So in the preseason, when he predicted that the extra attention he was going to get from opposing defenses this year was going to open things up for teammates, it was worth paying attention. Especially when he started naming names.

“Especially Storm,” Mitchell said, when talking about who would be open as a result of defenses emphasizing stopping Mitchell and Bo Spencer, LSU’s top returning scorers from last season. “Getting garbage baskets, rebounding, a lot of that stuff is going to be wide-open.”

His observation has proved quite prophetic.

Warren is the hottest Tiger in a 3-0 start, averaging 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds and getting a double-double in all three games. It’s helped the Tigers offense produce despite successful attempts by opposing defenses to slow down Mitchell, who’s averaging 11.7 points per game, and Spencer, who’s scoring 20.3 points per game, but with a poor field-goal percentage (35.7 percent overall, 27 percent from 3-point range).

And Warren, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who is replacing Mitchell at power forward this season after Mitchell moved back to his old spot at small forward, is doing it mostly by the ways Mitchell talked about. A beast on the offensive boards, Warren has more offensive rebounds (20) than defensive (15), a sign that when shots go up, Warren is taking advantage of chances to get to the ball while avoiding being blocked out.

The truth is, the last thing opponents would want to do is not put a body solidly on Warren, a player with a knack for the ball.

“He’s an offensive glass machine,” said his roommate, Dennis Harris, a freshman big man who is off to his own unexpected fast start. “I’ve enjoyed it. He brings more intensity, more excitement to the team.”

But there is more to Warren’s early success than simply crashing the boards. Warren is finishing his shots, shooting a blistering 70.4 percent from the floor, 19-of-28. He also gets to the free-throw line and converts, making 11 of 12 of his free throws this season.

There have been games, like LSU’s 56-45 win over Indiana State, where Warren has done all his damage with offensive rebounds. All six of his field goals that game came on put-back baskets.

But Warren has also shown an improved offensive game from when he was a little-used freshman. Though smaller than some opponents in the paint, Warren can score with a jump hook and he’s hit some 15-foot jumpers, a shot Harris said they often work on together.

“I like the confidence and improvement in three games that Storm and Dennis have displayed,” coach Trent Johnson said when asked what his team’s most pleasant surprises have been so far this season.

Whenever he talks about his early success, Warren generally takes the “ah, shucks” approach, saying, “It’s pretty surprising to be off to such an amazing start.