LSU men’s basketball team suffered through a losing season this year, but Coach Matt McMahon is trying to bring a winner to the Boot and has a much bigger NIL budget to bring in better players.
“There’s been a great investment in Men’s Basketball, and I think we’re really well-positioned, not only from a retention standpoint, but the ability to go out here and sign the players in the transfer portal that are going to come in here and impact winning,” McMahon said.
LSU signed two players on Monday. UNLV point guard Dedan Thomas, who chose the Tigers over Kentucky and Florida. He led the Runnin’ Rebels in scoring and assists, averaging 15 points and four assists a game this season. The Tigers have also signed 6’10” Michael Nwoko, who started at Mississippi State and averaged six points a game. McMahon says they are type of players they wanted to add.
“I think it’s important for us to not only identify elite talent, but the experienced, proven guys, and then I think, positional size are some areas we’re really locked in on,” McMahon explained.
LSU went 3-15 in the SEC and finished in 15th place. But McMahon says Vanderbilt and Missouri were in the NCAA Tournament this season after finishing at the bottom of the conference standings a year ago.
“There are a lot of examples of teams that have been able to flip the script very quickly through signing the right guys in the transfer portal, development from an age and experience and leadership standpoint,” McMahon said.
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