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

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I agree that's your opinion. your opinion is supported by nothing.

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Typical cherry picking of one sentence and ignoring the rest of my argument and all the evidence I provided. Never change bro.

Let me repost it for you and give you a chance to read it again before you say that I provided zero evidence or make some wild shite up about the Bursars office.

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You said yourself that "shouldn't the best players play" and yes, I think they should. Dean was better than Baker but played less. At that point you have to ask why.

Scheme wise with a stretch 5, Dean could shoot just as well if not better than Baker but yet wasn't allowed to take these shots. The stretch five argument starts to fall flat when you accept the fact Dean could shoot in addition to providing more.

The explanation that McMahon is dumb might appeal to madking and some others but I'd personally like to give McMahon the benefit of the doubt. I have no doubt in my mind he eventually realized that Dean provided more. I don't think McMahon is an idiot.

When you look at the bigger picture there HAS to be a reason as to why Dean hardly played. In my opinion the only logical reason is that Dean was not on scholarship. This has an impact on team morale, locker room chemistry, and so much more. A player that was recruited to essentially fill a roster spot taking over a player who was supposed to be a focal point would not sit well with said player. I've seen Baker's ego first hand. Every athlete is competitive.

It's not so much about the bursar's office and finances as you're claiming. It's more so about the IMPLICATION of being scholarship vs non-scholarship. It's not about the money. That's not what I'm claiming. My apologies for expecting you had the brain capacity to realize that's not what I meant. The implication of being a scholarship athlete in ANY sport is that you were deemed valuable enough by the coaching staff to take one of the limited spots (more so for LSU when we were restricted). Dean was clearly not valued as highly as Baker (or any other player on the roster minus walk ons) which is why he did not receive a scholarship. It's not about the bursars office. It's about the implication of being scholarship vs non-scholarship and what that role on the team entails.

This, in turn, had a direct impact on his minutes and what he was allowed to do. After he hit a three in one of the later games in the season, McMahon remarked in a press conference that he looked towards the coaching staff in a way as to say "I should be allowed to shoot more". I don't personally think it's a logical stretch to say if he was recruited more heavily and given a scholarship (not for the money but for what that implies to your role on the team) he would be allowed to shoot more. It is abundantly clear Dean was never supposed to be an important player. He likely would have barely played had Collins not had disciplinary issues.

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It’s not about who the bursars office gets the money from. That’s not at all what I mean by “the scholarship situation”. You have to use your critical thinking skills and realize that a scholarship is about more than just who pays the bursars office. My apologies for expecting you to understand this and realize that I wasn’t speaking of financial reasons.

There are a limited number of scholarships per team. Therefore, every player on scholarship is important to the team, especially on a team like LSU that was facing a scholarship reduction. It is not a logical stretch to come to the conclusion that baker was seen as a more sought after recruit and a player that was going to be a pivotal point of the team, hence he got a scholarship. Dean was never supposed to be an important piece. He was brought in as a culture guy (see LSU MBB IG in the offseason). That is why he did not receive a scholarship.. and that is why he did not play much or get to show his ability. That is what I mean by “the scholarship situation”.

In fact a lot of people seem to agree with this, as a previous poster mentioned something like “a player that was expected to play a lot and be a P6 level player” would never do what Dean did. Yet, you want to misconstrue what I’m saying and make it seem like it’s because of shite with the bursars office.