The Kentucky Wildcats closed out one season of college basketball Monday night with a national championship, but they proved titles are usually won during the sport’s other season: recruiting.
Recruiting will take on an added prominence at LSU during this offseason.
With three seniors exiting the program and five scholarships available, this year’s haul could define the Tigers’ long-term hardwood hopes.
To date, it’s been a mixed bag for LSU and coach Trent Johnson especially within the state.
LSU infamously lost out on Louisiana’s two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, 6-foot-8 Riverside forward Ricardo Gathers, who has verbally committed to Baylor.
Gathers implied Johnson and his staff were lazy in their pursuit, which Johnson dismissed as “comical.”
“Anyone that knows me knows that I’m about basketball,” Johnson said in February. “I take recruiting seriously because it’s about these kids. The work is for them.”
But Johnson has landed fellow Class 2A four-star shooting guard Malik Morgan, whom several scouts believe may be the state’s real star.
Morgan, a sleek 6-foot-4 shooter, led John Curtis to the Louisiana 2A title last month.
But with the senior departures, Johnson said LSU is far from finished in this season’s recruiting class.
“We want to sign two, maybe three more guys in this latter period,” he said last month. “Losing seniors is always a concern, but bringing in talented players is also a lifeblood for any program.”
The Tigers’ recruiting focus begins on the post. While Johnson won’t comment directly on any specific player, he acknowledged last month in a season wrap-up that LSU needs interior replacements.
It’s considered a long shot, but LSU is in the running for 6-foot-10 center Norvel Pelle, the No. 1 center in the Class of 2011 who had to attend a southern California prep school after not making adequate grades.
His coach recently said Pelle is considering LSU, and Johnson’s rampant West Coast and California connections could give the Tigers an outside shot at landing the coveted post phenom.
UNLV, San Diego State and UCONN are also pursuing Pelle, who decommitted from St. John’s in November.
Also high on LSU’s list is 6-foot-6 junior college forward Shavon Coleman.
A Thibodeaux native, Coleman recently completed his second season at Howard College in West Texas, where he averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game, making him the No. 8 JUCO recruit in the country.
Coleman would likely be an immediate starter and an instant boon to an LSU perimeter that shot 32 percent behind the arc last season.
He’s also expressed a keen interest in his home state’s flagship program, along with Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa and Southern Mississippi.
“If you’re from Louisiana, when you were a kid everybody dreams about playing for your home school,” Coleman told Scout.com in March. “LSU recruited me in high school, but not as hard as they are now.”
LSU’s other primary target has a distinctly international family feel.
Shane Hammink is the son of former LSU star Geert Hammink and one of the top 15 recruits in Europe, according to Rivals.com.
A 6-foot-6 small forward who is expected to grow a few more inches, Hammink plays at the prestigious Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain and is a lanky defensive force.
He was born in Baton Rouge in 1994 and is considering LSU’s official offer, along with Florida, Iowa and Miami.
But getting all three promising prospects isn’t probable, and LSU may have to look at another late signee, much like Anthony Hickey’s unsung commitment last spring.
Prime candidates for that include Pennsylvania power forward Barnett Harris and academically plagued shooting guard Nate Guy.
Signing Day arrives on April 11, and with it comes a likely glimpse into the Tigers’ future.
 
—-
Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]