While the college men’s basketball season is still over a month away, that doesn’t mean we can’t start getting excited for it. With the team’s first official practice being this Wednesday, Matt McMahon held a press conference; discussing the prospect of working with a team featuring 13 new members, what the next six weeks of preparation will hold, team dynamics, leadership; and more. 

Here’s what we learned today: 

Who’s expected to lead the team 

With lots of new faces in the LSU locker room, there isn’t much veteran leadership present that you would normally see on a college basketball team. With that being said, McMahon was sure to highlight some of the returning players who are prominent candidates to lead the team. Those being, Mwani Wilkinson and Adam Miller. He mentioned their familiarity with LSU as high-level players before elaborating on their personalities further. 

On Wilkinson, he discussed his abilities and what he brings to the court. Describing him as a warrior and winner before highlighting his defense; rebounding ability, corner three-point efficiency and all around athleticism; as strong points of his game. He hopes Wilkinson can develop more of an offensive game and firmly believes he can be a great leader.  

“I think we have a player with that type of toughness who wants to do whatever he can to impact and do anything for his team,” McMahon said. “Although he’s sometimes quiet, that [toughness] opens up an opportunity for him to be a great leader for the team.” 

He provided a similar description of Miller; mentioning his incredible shooting ability, competitiveness, intelligence; and desire to win.  

“It’s going to be important for him to not only carry the load on the floor as a player, but to be a leader on the team,” McMahon said. “He’s going to have a great year with us [and] has been an absolute joy to coach.” 

Besides returning players from last season, McMahon also mentioned Justice Hill, a point guard who played for him last season at Murray State. Hill is coming into the season as a senior and is expected to take on starting point guard. McMahon believes leadership is a vital trait in a point guard. 

“That’s a critical part of being the point guard, the ability to lead and impact others and set the tone for how we work and communicate in practice,” McMahon said. “He’s done a great job of that.” 

The freshmen 

Despite having a limited time for recruitment, McMahon was able to put together the No. 17 composite recruiting class according to 247sports. Securing three four-star prospects: Tyrell Ward, Jalen Reed and Shawn Phillips, along with three-star, Corneilous Williams. He briefly discussed all of them. 

Beginning with Reed, McMahon praised his accomplishments over the offseason, especially in the weight room. He currently weighs 235 pounds, 15 pounds more than what was reported in May. Then, he talked about his intangibles, comparing his understanding of the game to Miller’s. Categorizing him as a modern-day power forward who’s a skillful passer and perimeter shooter.

He then moved on to Ward, crediting him for the progress he’s made throughout the fall semester and claiming that they are starting to see his progress on the floor. According to McMahon, he is a small, athletic forward with great shooting ability; and a strong desire to better himself.

Moving onto Phillips, McMahon commends him for his weight loss. Displaying his commitment over the past two years by dropping from 320 pounds, to a current 245 pounds. He highlighted his ability to block shots and shoot around the basket as a seven-footer.  

Lastly and unfortunately, Williams will be out for a better part of the preseason with a shoulder injury, which will be difficult to deal with as a freshman. There isn’t a definite timeline for when he’ll be back.  

It’s difficult to gage the strength of these players, however Reed or Tyrell is said to potentially start alongside Wilkinson. It depends on what strategy McMahon will implement going forward, though his appraisal of Reed is worth noting.

Attitude on NCAA Sanctions and team building 

Despite the possible sanctions looming over the basketball program, including a potential postseason ban, McMahon has the team locked in. Their only focus over the summer and early fall has been improving their game and being ready to win come November.  

“We’ve got to control what we can control,” McMahon said. “We don’t ever talk about it. I came to LSU to move the LSU basketball program forward and to build a championship program, so we’ve focused on that every single day.” 

That’s been the question since day one of McMahon’s time with the program, how is he going to be able to bring great players in if they can’t compete in the NCAA Tournament? Well, he clearly hasn’t had any problems.  

McMahon states that: genuine relationships, a player-development plan, style of play, opportunity to better themselves and ultimately further their careers; are key factors recruits and their families look for in a program. He believes they offer all those factors and that’s why he was able to bring in the talent he did this season.

“It’s an all-encompassing plan with our players, that they know we genuinely care about [them] on and off the basketball court, that we’re going to take care of their academic plan as well and that we are going to invest and care about them as people,” McMahon stated. “Regardless of circumstances, those things have at the foundation of what we’re trying to build here.” 

Another problem that was presented to him was how he would deal with team building, as most of the players were unfamiliar with each other. To build team chemistry, he’s had the team participate in all kinds of activities outside of basketball, including bowling, escape rooms, team meals and more. 

“At the end of the day, you have to build that trust within the team,” McMahon said. “The only way to do that is to invest the time and to have a high level of communication within the program.”