re: LSU Basketball Recruiting Thread: 2024 (And Beyond)

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because unless mcmahon is a total idiot and couldn't realize that dean provided much more useful minutes then the only other option is that he didn't play bc he wasn't on scholarship

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That's not the only 2 options though. The most likely scenario is that Baker was brought in to play the majority of the minutes at the 5 because McMahon wants a big who can step out and be a consistent threat from 3. Baker started the season playing that role relatively well. As the schedule flipped into conference play, Baker's quality of play drastically plummeted. McMahon then cut his losses and gave more minutes to Dean who could at least provide some rebounding and an interior presence once he finally came to the conclusion that Baker could no longer effectively play the stretch 5 role McMahon's scheme is suited for. The fact that Dean wasn't on scholarship had no bearing on playing time at all