Last Monday, the world saw an SEC team cut down the nets in the national championship game.
The Florida Gators defeated the Houston Cougars, 68-65, winning their first basketball championship since 2007.
As many LSU fans watched their conference rival be on top of the college basketball world, they thought, “When is that going to be us?”
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The Tiger fans haven’t had much to be happy about these past few years since Matt McMahon took over the coaching job in 2022 after Will Wade was fired.
The first three seasons have been a rocky one for McMahon. Starting over from scratch and having to bring in new hauls of players who can potentially turn the program around. The following year was no different.
Expectations increased after the leap from year one to year two under McMahon. The Tigers brought in eight new players, including Jordan Sears, the nation’s No. 9 scorer a year ago at UT Martin.
However, things didn’t go as planned, as the Tigers suffered bad luck at the beginning of the season. Right before the tip-off against Louisiana-Monroe in LSU’s first game of the season, it was announced that junior forward Tyrell Ward was stepping away from basketball to focus on his mental health.
It was a big loss for LSU, as Ward averaged 9.1 points per game while shooting 41.3% from 3-point range the year before. Ward showed promise and was expected to be one of the team’s main scorers and leaders for the 2024-25 season.
Things continued to go downhill for the Tigers as they were only in their eighth game of the season when forward Jalen Reed tore his ACL against Florida State.
In the eight games Reed played, he averaged 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 60.4% from the field. It looked like Reed was on his way to becoming a pivotal piece for the Tigers, but unfortunately, his season ended early.
After the loss of Reed, there were two things that LSU missed: scoring and size.
Standing in at 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, Reed was able to get to work inside and gave LSU an option if the shots weren’t falling, which was the theme for the majority of the Tigers on the roster outside of Cam Carter, who shot 39.2% from three.
From that point on, it was a struggle for the rest of the season.
On the offensive end, it was like pulling teeth. Besides Carter, there wasn’t much direction or consistency on offense. The team averaged roughly 74 points per game and shot 44.46% from the field and 30.5% from three.
Carter led the team in points, averaging 16.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in his one season with the Tigers. He was one of the two scorers that the Tigers brought in the transfer portal he became extremely efficient shooting ball espically from the three point line, but the rest couldnt be said for the others.
Sears had trouble scoring in his first season in the historic SEC, only averaging 12.3 points after scoring 21.6 a season ago.
Dji Bailey was a good glue guy for the Tigers doing all of the dirty work; rebounding and usually guarding the best player on opposing teams. However he wasnt much of a scorer on the offensive end.
LSU only brought in three players from the portal a year ago and they had a lot of faith that guys like Sears and Carter would propel them on the offense along with guys like Reed, Ward, Vyctorius Miller, Curtis Givens and Daimion Collins.
This year, McMahon is trying to change the identity of the team. Earlier this year, it was announced that LSU basketball would be getting a bigger boost in NIL money after seeing that the Tigers ranked near the bottom for NIL spending.
McMahon has been under a lot of pressure, but he can only do so much with what he has. NIL is a massive factor in college sports, and to be the best, you are going to have to have the money to pay for the best.
LSU listened to this and gave McMahon more money, and the Tigers have been off to a hot start.
According to 247 Sports, LSU ranks No. 4 in the transfer portal. The Tigers are tied for first with the most commits in the transfer portal class with five.
Not only are the Tigers getting more players, but they’re getting players who can all score. Four out of the five commits that LSU has signed averaged more than 14 points and led the team in scoring at their respective colleges.
Dedan Thomas Jr. is a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Las Vegas, Nevada, who played at UNLV this past season, averaging 15.6 points, 4.7 assists and only 1.9 turnovers.
Thomas is a lefty guard who likes to attack downhill and get to the basket. He also likes to stop the elbow and settle for the pull up jumper when the defender sags off playing for the drive to the basket.
He’s a solid three-point shooter, averaging 35% from three-pointers on 1-3 three-point shots a game. His efficiency could use some improvement from the field, but having a point guard who can score, facilitate, and not turn the ball over is huge for a team that has struggled with turnovers all year long.
The next incoming Tiger is a 6-foot-6 guard from Evan, Georgia, in Rashad King. King played three seasons at Northeastern before signing with LSU in the offseason.
King had a great junior year for the Huskies, leading the team in scoring with 18.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Similar to Thomas, King gets most of his points attacking the basket. His athleticism is what stands out when you watch him play. Whether it’s his quick first step that allows him to blow past his defender or his ability to rock them for dunks when he goes baseline.
King didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, shooting roughly 32% from three but does attempt between 1 and 4 threes a game. He can make them, especially on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
A guard that has good size, can score and defend, the Tigers are hopeful that King can make an instant impact next season.
Shooting was a problem for LSU, and they are looking to fix the problem by bringing in a player that shot 41% from this past season in Max Mackinnon, a forward from the University of Portland.
Averaging a team high, 14.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assist and shooting 46.7% from the field, the 6-foot-6 junior from Brisbane, Australia, Mackinnion is the most well-rounded player that the Tigers brought in.
Just like the rest of the guards, he also loves to attack the basket, but the difference with him is that he’s a knock-down shooter. He’s a career 35.6% with time at Elon and Portland, so any time you see him on the perimeter, the defense has to respect his shot. He’s not just a catch and shoot three-point maker; he can also take his defender off the dribble and create his shot.
Doing so, he’s able to attack the basket, shoot the midrange and faciliate to his teammates. LSU is going to have a lot of talent on next year’s roster but he could be the player to watch for the most.
Speaking of talent, the Tigers picked one of the best ones in the portal in the Summit League Player of the Year in Marquel Sutton from Omaha.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Tulsa, Oklahoma, ranked 46th in the country for points per game and led his team to their first NCAA tournament appearance in program history, earning the No. 15 seed.
Sutton’s play style excelled in the Summit League. In a league where athleticism and height are things that not every team can have, he was able to dominate in the post.
He overwhelmed his defenders and backed them down to get the basket. He’s not just a post player that can only play with back to basket.
Sutton can take his defender off the dribble and slash to the basket. Although he only shot 27.7% from three, he takes them with confidence and can even create separation on his threes.
His best attribute is his athleticism. When he gets out in transition, he’s hard to stop.
Sutton spirits down the court and uses his speed and strength to get the paint, or he finds a mismatch, gets positioning, and abuses smaller defenders.
Going to a league that has 14 out of 16 teams makes the tournament is going be an adjustment for Sutton, but the Tigers found another player that has shown he can score and can defend multiple positions with his height.
Last year’s transfer portal class was small, only signing three players who combined for a total of 46.5 points per game before transferring to LSU.
This year, the four scorers that McMahon brought in combined for 67.5 points per game.
It’s now or never for the Tigers. We saw how much of a struggle it was to score for LSU and with losing nine players to graduation or the transfer portal, you have to find a way to replace production on offense and improve it.
This off-season, they’ve hit the nail on the head.
