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re: LSU Basketball Recruiting Thread: 2024 (And Beyond)
Posted on 3/27/24 at 8:05 am to ForeverLSU5
Posted on 3/27/24 at 8:05 am to ForeverLSU5
Just a heads up, I don't have time to update the transfer portal list daily so I will only be updating for commitments
1
Posted on 3/27/24 at 8:26 am to ForeverLSU5
That's OK. It seems like LSU reaches out to half the players in the portal, so keeping up with every contact is pretty insane.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 8:36 am to Stately
quote:
Sometimes you just need a player who is willing to let them fly. At a lot of times this year Wright, Ward, and Williams seemed to pass on wide open 3's instead of shooting them. Especially against State when Ward went down, no one would take a shot, and quite frankly they looked scared too.
Just for comparison Cam Thomas (who never hesitated)
-32.5% 3Pt shooter
-40.6% FG
-1.4/1.7 AST to TO
He's a take
Please never compare this guy to Cam Thomas ever again. Cam Thomas had a over 20 PER, this guy has a 13.3 PER. Thomas scored 23 ppg on 17 shots. This guy scored like 14 on 12 shots a game. Thomas got to the line to shoot almost 8 FTs a game. Huge difference. Thomas may not have been a very efficient scorer, but he is still a much more efficient scorer than this guy is.
Also, Cam Thomas was a freshman, this guy will be a senior next season. I could only imagine what Cam Thomas would have looked like as a junior or senior in college after what he was able to do as a freshman. His "junior" year of college he was dropping 4 40 point games in the NBA.
In the end, we're in on this guy because of his ties to LA, it's ok to just admit that. This is probably just an easy land for McMahon and whats he's been doing a lot in past in the portal. I highly doubt we're fighting any particularly good teams for him. This guy needs to be depth at best for us, not a primary player playing 25-35 minutes.
This post was edited on 3/27/24 at 8:50 am
Posted on 3/27/24 at 9:02 am to thunderbird1100
quote:
In the end, we're in on this guy because of his ties to LA, it's ok to just admit that. This is probably just an easy land for McMahon and whats he's been doing a lot in past in the portal. I highly doubt we're fighting any particularly good teams for him. This guy needs to be depth at best for us, not a primary player playing 25-35 minutes.
I wouldn't hate Carter as a take...as long his role is pretty well established. If you are bringing him in to be Adam Miller or even Jordan Wright on offense, i.e. a guard who is going to take the 1st or 2nd amount of shots per game then expect similar poor efficiency. But he is a very capable defender and rebounder with major conf. experience. God knows LSU could use improvement in BOTH areas. Particularly when for the second straight year they were a worse defensive team than offensive team.
Maybe that takes LSU out of the running because he wants to be the primary offensive threat at a different school. And that's ok. But in the right role he could be a good piece for LSU.
McMahon and LSU are not exactly in position to nab the top tier transfers (unless they have LA ties). So you have to get the best guys you can and find a way to make the sum greater than the individual parts.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 9:12 am to Alt26
quote:
McMahon and LSU are not exactly in position to nab the top tier transfers (unless they have LA ties). So you have to get the best guys you can and find a way to make the sum greater than the individual parts.
It's not necessarily about landing the #3 player in the portal or something, but in the end, McMahon has to get players who can play and play well over a lot of minutes. Thats the position he's put himself in with barely taking any high school talent the last couple years. It's not like he can be picky and only take 2 or 3 guys from the portal and wait things out for a 2 or 3 really good players. He is probably taking bare minimum 4 if not 5-6 guys this cycle once again from the portal.
Which again is fine if you land a player or two like this, but in the end he cant just settle for every LA kid that wants to come back home for a year or two. Step up your game, increase your search and land a good player that isnt necessarily very high on everyone's radar, or get in with someone really early on and put the full court press on them. We cant just settle for a bunch of mid-tier talent in this portal season or we'll keep getting the same results over and over basically. The guy needs to land a Tari Eason at some point. We cant just always settle for a Louisiana kid or some other mid-tier type talent. Gotta land some guys who can go out and start for you and play well at some point. Wade didnt get to play the portal game long here but he made sure Tari Eason was coming here as soon as he hit the portal and it sure wouldnt surprise me if we had a lot of contact prior to him hitting the portal because Wade knew a ton about him very early on. Gotta be aggressive like that. Still a lot of teams playing in postseason games not totally focused on the portal and thats when you can focus all your attention on someone like Clifford Omoruyi or Malik Mack and try and land them before many other schools even get a chance to get them on campus.
Heck, Oats and company have been busy with the NCAAT but still was able to land Houston Mallette from Pepperdine as soon as he was in the portal basically. Kid fits in great there too, shot 42% from 3 taking 5 a game this year, 6'5 guard.
This post was edited on 3/27/24 at 9:19 am
Posted on 3/27/24 at 10:03 am to thunderbird1100
quote:
It's not necessarily about landing the #3 player in the portal or something, but in the end, McMahon has to get players who can play and play well over a lot of minutes.
I think Carter can play well in 20-25 minutes per game. It just may not be on the offensive end...which is not the ONLY end of the floor teams have to play. In fact, I'd argue it's more important to be better on the defensive end. So just because he may not be an incredibly efficient scorer doesn't mean he can't have a big impact on the game.
quote:
It's not like he can be picky and only take 2 or 3 guys from the portal and wait things out for a 2 or 3 really good players. He is probably taking bare minimum 4 if not 5-6 guys this cycle once again from the portal.
You aren't going to get 5-6 "stars" from the portal. No one is. Some guys are going to have to be more role players
quote:
Step up your game, increase your search and land a good player that isnt necessarily very high on everyone's radar, or get in with someone really early on and put the full court press on them. We cant just settle for a bunch of mid-tier talent in this portal season or we'll keep getting the same results over and over basically.
I don't think McMahon is not trying. LSU is just a tough sell right now. Certainly it's because of his performance to date. But you have to really get some momentum rolling to really attract the big time players.
quote:
Wade didnt get to play the portal game long here but he made sure Tari Eason was coming here as soon as he hit the portal and it sure wouldnt surprise me if we had a lot of contact prior to him hitting the portal because Wade knew a ton about him very early on.
That's not true at all. Eason entered the portal shortly after the mutiny at Cincinnati in mid-march. He didn't decide to transfer to LSU until over a month later. Wade himself said he didn't know Eason before he entered the portal. However, the analytic service that Wade used at the time to evaluate portal player came back with data that evaluated Eason as a guy with All-Conference potential. That piqued Wade's interest. He then tried to figure out if there was any connection to Louisiana or LSU. That's a HUGE part of recruiting. Which is why you saw a lot of LA players transfer to LSU last season. Eason played HS ball in Seattle. LSU didn't recruit him out of HS. However, Wade soon learned that Eason had at one point lived with LSU signee Bradley Ezewiro in California for a brief period. Something Wade didn't know until he started looking to recruit Eason...AFTER Eason entered the portal. It wasn't some pre-portal recruiting coup by Wade. It was the good fortune of having a guy on the team that had a prior relationship with Eason.
quote:
Gotta be aggressive like that. Still a lot of teams playing in postseason games not totally focused on the portal and thats when you can focus all your attention on someone like Clifford Omoruyi or Malik Mack and try and land them before many other schools even get a chance to get them on campus.
Look, I've been highly critical of McMahon. But I'm sure he knows of several players likely enter the portal...before they enter. McMahon talked about going to Nashville very soon after Wright entered the portal.
So yes, McMahon does need to get impact players from the portal. But to expect it's going to be 4 of the top 30 players or something like that is foolish. There hopefully will be a few "stars" along with some key experienced role players. Carter can be one of those role players while to continue to work for "stars"
Posted on 3/27/24 at 10:28 am to Alt26
quote:
You aren't going to get 5-6 "stars" from the portal. No one is. Some guys are going to have to be more role players
I never said anything of the sort, so weird comment here. Just that if we are getting 4-5-6 players, we will wind up with a "carter" or two, but we really still need to find 3 really good players IMO. Carter is not one of those 3. So if he's a take, and we're taking say 5 from the portal, his list is narrowing quick of who he should be looking at for the other spots.
quote:
I don't think McMahon is not trying. LSU is just a tough sell right now. Certainly it's because of his performance to date. But you have to really get some momentum rolling to really attract the big time players.
I mean this just seems like a cop out. Either you're good or you're not. We cant possibly still be blaming things on the now completely settled NCAA matter. McMahon went 9-9 this year in the conference which looks better than last year so it's not like he's trying to sell some bottom feeder. There are cases literally everywhere of teams getting turned around in year 1 and 2 with new coaches. We cant still be making excuses for McMahon in year 3, its just BS at that point. If he was better recruiting high school players, he wouldnt be in this position of having to take so many guys from the portal and needing most of them to be very good players. If he simply recruited a little bit more and better from high school early on we wouldnt still need to be leaning so heavily on the portal still going into next year. I dont mind leaning on the portal, but you still have to go out and get the players. If you strike out too much in high school recruiting and also portal recruiting, you get non-torunament teams, bottom line.
quote:
But to expect it's going to be 4 of the top 30 players or something like that is foolish.
Again, not sure where you keep getting stuff like this, but nobody expects him to land 4 Top 30 (out of ultimately what, 1k-2k) players. But his predicament is exactly what it is, he needs to get 3 VERY good players out the portal. Also the portal rankings are so laughably bad, and rightfully so because trying to rank this many players so quickly is a really tough task to do especially when they come from so many different levels (mid major vs. major) and classes (Fr. vs. super senior). If you look at on3 transfer rankings, McMahon landed 2 Top 30 players just this past season in Cook and Stewart. Now we can look back and laugh hilariously anyone who would rank Carlos Stewart in the Top 30 basketball transfers, but that goes to show who really cares about the portal rankings because they really dont have a great clue about a lot of those guys.
Could care less where exactly they are ranked, but they have to be able to an SEC starter and play a lot of minutes and play very well. That's just the position he's put himself in. The only starters on the team next season returning should be Ward and maybe 1 out of Reed or Williams. And that's assuming either Reed or Williams take that next step needed. So that tells me we need 3 really good players out the portal, bottom line. No excuses can be made there, he's made his bed for what he needs to be successful in year 3, gotta get it done in the portal now.
This post was edited on 3/27/24 at 10:33 am
Posted on 3/27/24 at 11:25 am to thunderbird1100
The suggestion seems to be that a guy like Carter shouldn't be a take because of his offensive numbers and that, instead, LSU needs to take only "really good" transfers. I'm saying a guy like Carter can be a nice piece...if he's not supposed to be the offensive centerpiece of your backcourt. Perhaps we are saying the same thing...just in a different manner.
I'm not blaming it on NCAA investigations or anything of the sort. I'm saying that LSU isn't a prized destination right now because of their futility in the last two seasons. With those other first year HC's they could sell optimism and their performance at a previous job (which was likely very good...and why they got the bigger job in the first place). It's why McMahon, on paper, didn't have a "bad" first year signing/transfer class. Now, however, he can't sell what he did at Murray St. He has a record at LSU. And it isn't very good. The transfer players who are considered to be "very good" today likely won't be considering LSU. So to expect he will get some of those guys is probably unwarranted. What he has to do is find some good pieces that maybe aren't quite in that top tier of prospects that outplay their "rankings" so to speak.
While not top level, he hasn't been terrible in recruiting the HS ranks. He's going to have 5 top 100 players in 3 years. Wade had 6 in the same time frame. But the game has changed and coaches aren't relying on HS recruiting as much as they used to. Just look at Auburn. I think they've signed 5 HS players over the last 3 years. The reason is because the game has gotten "older". That is it is better to get multiple experienced 3, 4, 5 year players than HS freshman. One, because you can't teach experience, and two, because players move around, so you may not get much benefit from that HS signee if he only plays one season. I'm fine with the emphasis being more on transfers.
Ultimately, I'm more in the camp that the issue hasn't been as much one of a "lack of talent" as it is poor coaching. The running narrative is "good x's and o's coach" (Of course, no one can ever explain the basis for that opinion) but he just can't recruit. I disagree. I think his recruiting has been fine relative to teams like Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi St, A&M, etc. The coaching has been the bigger issue. I think McMahon will do a decent job bringing in players this offseason. I just have my doubts he'll actually be able to maximize their production.
quote:
I mean this just seems like a cop out. Either you're good or you're not. We cant possibly still be blaming things on the now completely settled NCAA matter. McMahon went 9-9 this year in the conference which looks better than last year so it's not like he's trying to sell some bottom feeder. There are cases literally everywhere of teams getting turned around in year 1 and 2 with new coaches. We cant still be making excuses for McMahon in year 3, its just BS at that point.
I'm not blaming it on NCAA investigations or anything of the sort. I'm saying that LSU isn't a prized destination right now because of their futility in the last two seasons. With those other first year HC's they could sell optimism and their performance at a previous job (which was likely very good...and why they got the bigger job in the first place). It's why McMahon, on paper, didn't have a "bad" first year signing/transfer class. Now, however, he can't sell what he did at Murray St. He has a record at LSU. And it isn't very good. The transfer players who are considered to be "very good" today likely won't be considering LSU. So to expect he will get some of those guys is probably unwarranted. What he has to do is find some good pieces that maybe aren't quite in that top tier of prospects that outplay their "rankings" so to speak.
quote:
If he was better recruiting high school players, he wouldnt be in this position of having to take so many guys from the portal
While not top level, he hasn't been terrible in recruiting the HS ranks. He's going to have 5 top 100 players in 3 years. Wade had 6 in the same time frame. But the game has changed and coaches aren't relying on HS recruiting as much as they used to. Just look at Auburn. I think they've signed 5 HS players over the last 3 years. The reason is because the game has gotten "older". That is it is better to get multiple experienced 3, 4, 5 year players than HS freshman. One, because you can't teach experience, and two, because players move around, so you may not get much benefit from that HS signee if he only plays one season. I'm fine with the emphasis being more on transfers.
Ultimately, I'm more in the camp that the issue hasn't been as much one of a "lack of talent" as it is poor coaching. The running narrative is "good x's and o's coach" (Of course, no one can ever explain the basis for that opinion) but he just can't recruit. I disagree. I think his recruiting has been fine relative to teams like Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi St, A&M, etc. The coaching has been the bigger issue. I think McMahon will do a decent job bringing in players this offseason. I just have my doubts he'll actually be able to maximize their production.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 12:04 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:
thunderbird1100
I think you're shitting on Carter a bit too much. Carter is a GOOD player. He is not, however, "the guy". He is not a Tari Eason or a KJ Williams. Undoubtedly, McMahon has grabbed good players out of the portal, like Wright. The issue- however, is the role, not the skill of the player. Jordan Wright was essentially a 3&D player at Vandy, mostly scoring from off ball catch and shoots. Then his role rapidly increased at LSU, where he becomes a ball dominant volume scorer.. and it led to mixed results.
I think you're projecting your distrust and disdain for McMahon on Carter. Carter is not a bad player, but he's not a star. He's not the guy. And no one should expect him to be.. I know we dogged on Jordan and Baker a lot of times but in their defense they should never have been given the keys to a team. They aren't those types of players and that's OK- every good team has quality role players. LSU suffered last year from the lack of having "the guy" (we hardly got to see Cook play even though that was his role) and I think we will see similar results UNLESS McMahon changes his coaching style or we get "the guy"
But back to Carter, I don't think he is a role player, either. You mentioned earlier playing 30-35 minutes or something like that. That's ridiculous, even for a star. Carter can play 25 minutes a game and be a quality player. He can start at the 2 and we can be a good team. He can be a key piece and we can be good, even if he's not "the guy". He just needs to play a smaller role. Don't conflate his ability with the prospect of McMahon turning him into Jordan Wright / Adam Miller 2.0.
quote:
The only starters on the team next season returning should be Ward and maybe 1 out of Reed or Williams. And that's assuming either Reed or Williams take that next step needed.
I've thought about this for a while now and I'm calling it now- Mike Williams will be a better player than either Ward or Reed. Maybe not next year, but he has intangibles that both lack. He was a quality recruit by McMahon, but even then he won't be "the guy"... and it doesn't matter. As I previously said, you can be a key contributor without being "the guy".
Looking at the bigger picture of Williams season- he was playing out of position for a large portion, but still managed to be one of the best players on this team. Great defender, good shooter, decent finisher. I love his game and he's becoming one of my favorite players on this team. I love guys who play defense and have that dog in them.
This post was edited on 3/27/24 at 12:10 pm
Posted on 3/27/24 at 12:11 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:Right now, with Mwani in the portal, we only have 2 spots for adding from the portal. If Cook leaves (75%) that gives us 3. Some people have mentioned Stewart, but he hasn't entered yet so must not be a given. So if you add Cook, we only have 3 players to add from the portal. IMO, if we get an extra spot beyond that, we may try to add a 3rd player out of HS. There are still some decent talents left.
It's not like he can be picky and only take 2 or 3 guys from the portal and wait things out for a 2 or 3 really good players. He is probably taking bare minimum 4 if not 5-6 guys this cycle once again from the portal.
So this year it appears that we will be more selective in adding 2-3 really good guys out of the portal. Probably 1 C and 1 PG. May have room to add a wing, but there are some very good ones out there.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 12:32 pm to mmcgrath
quote:
Right now, with Mwani in the portal, we only have 2 spots for adding from the portal. If Cook leaves (75%) that gives us 3.
4 graduates + Wilkinson + Cook = 6 open spots
- 2 HS signees = 4 available spots for transfers, right?
Or is the reduced scholarship sanction in play? The reason I ask is because it was purportedly in play this past season. Yet, LSU had the full complement of (presumably) 13 scholarship players.
This post was edited on 3/27/24 at 12:32 pm
Posted on 3/27/24 at 12:36 pm to mmcgrath
quote:
Right now, with Mwani in the portal, we only have 2 spots for adding from the portal.
LSU has FOUR spots to fill from portal and possibly more depending on Cook's status. No clue where you are getting only 2 spots from. LSU will have a minimum of 6 brand new players next year between portal and HS.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 1:00 pm to Alt26
quote:Yes, I am counting on only getting 12 for this upcoming season. Unless we are "self enforcing" our self imposed restriction and hoping nobody from the NCAA is counting.
4 graduates + Wilkinson + Cook = 6 open spots
- 2 HS signees = 4 available spots for transfers, right?
Or is the reduced scholarship sanction in play? The reason I ask is because it was purportedly in play this past season. Yet, LSU had the full complement of (presumably) 13 scholarship players.
I guess there is a possibility that someone is a walk on but we don't know about it.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 1:03 pm to ForeverLSU5
quote:I am counting on the sanction removing a scholly kicking in for next year.
LSU has FOUR spots to fill from portal and possibly more depending on Cook's status. No clue where you are getting only 2 spots from. LSU will have a minimum of 6 brand new players next year between portal and HS
And it would only be 3 before counting Cook even if we are at full strength with 13. 4 graduating seniors + Mwani - 2 hs signees.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 1:21 pm to mmcgrath
Hunter Dean wasnt on scholarship this past season, so we just had 12 on scholarship this year.
Mod on premium board mentioned this a week or so ago about Dean.
Not sure if they plan on going with 12 again for next season but I'm not sure why we're even remotely scared abut the NCAA any more.
Mod on premium board mentioned this a week or so ago about Dean.
Not sure if they plan on going with 12 again for next season but I'm not sure why we're even remotely scared abut the NCAA any more.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 1:42 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:
Not sure if they plan on going with 12 again for next season but I'm not sure why we're even remotely scared abut the NCAA any more
LSU self-imposed the two year scholarship reduction (1 per year). It probably wouldn't be looked upon too well if LSU chose to renege on their own sanction
Posted on 3/27/24 at 1:43 pm to thunderbird1100
We offered this juco player today:
Jeff Nwankwo
6'6, 210 wing who averaged 18.6 pts, 7.6 boards this past season. Shot 37% from 3 and 49% from the floor overall. 2 assists and 2 steals a game too.
JUCOrecruiting has him ranked #7 overall, seems like he would be a good pickup
Jeff Nwankwo
6'6, 210 wing who averaged 18.6 pts, 7.6 boards this past season. Shot 37% from 3 and 49% from the floor overall. 2 assists and 2 steals a game too.
JUCOrecruiting has him ranked #7 overall, seems like he would be a good pickup
Posted on 3/27/24 at 1:47 pm to Alt26
quote:
LSU self-imposed the two year scholarship reduction (1 per year). It probably wouldn't be looked upon too well if LSU chose to renege on their own sanction
Thought this would have been completed by now, why on earth did we have 13 on scholarship in McMahon's first season? Royally stupid move if so. Just another excuse for next season though I suppose.
This post was edited on 3/27/24 at 1:49 pm
Posted on 3/27/24 at 2:08 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:
Hunter Dean wasnt on scholarship this past season, so we just had 12 on scholarship this year.
Mod on premium board mentioned this a week or so ago about Dean.
If this is true that's a damn shame.
Posted on 3/27/24 at 2:10 pm to mcmaniacinsaneasylum
quote:
If this is true that's a damn shame.
Should have just done the same with Chest since they redshirted him and completely fullfilled the scholarship reduction.
No idea why we're taking this into year 3 still going to be down a man. But maybe like Dean we just carry a "Scholarship" level player as a walk on with NIL help.
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