It has not been a banner year for LSU Men’s basketball, to say the least.
First, the Tigers had to fire former head coach Will Wade last month for a whole host of reasons right before the NCAA tournament began. Why? Boiled down: Wade wasn’t particularly adept at cheating (or hiding that he’s cheating).
Despite a mostly promising year on the court, without their leader for the entire season, LSU predictably lost in the first round in an upset to No. 11 seed Iowa State. A team loses steam when they don’t have the same person roaming the court boundary. Who knew!
Now, as the program continues to pick up the pieces and dust itself off amidst Wade’s departure, many of the young men the guy once recruited aren’t too keen on the future in Baton Rouge.
In fact, they want out altogether.
New: Will Wade's firing resulted in all 13 players on #LSU's roster choosing to enter the portal or turn pro.
Matt McMahon will now build the roster from scratch.
So far: 2 Murray State transfers, he flipped a Racers commit + got an in-state transfer. https://t.co/pnxN1P0ZJo pic.twitter.com/ByUmoEPVoJ
— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) April 1, 2022
I’m sorry. Does that say all 13 current (or former?) LSU players are moving on for far less purple and gold pastures? (Rubs eyes, cleans glasses) Why yes, it does. Oh. My. Goodness. What an absolute disaster.
I mean, it’s no shock that players would want to go elsewhere after losing the person that reeled them in but still: The entire team! Does no one like new head coach Matt McMahon? What on earth happened?
Mr. McMahon, a query for your thoughts.
From 247 Sports:
“I want people who want to be here,” McMahon said in his introductory press conference. “I want people who want to be a part of something special because that’s what we’re going to build here. We’re going to do things the right way, and we’re going to make sure we’re developing young men, not only on the court — I know everyone wants to play in the NBA. But the average career is three and a half years, so it’s going to be an all-encompassing program.”
Honestly, that’s all well and good, man. You do you. You get new players to buy into your vision. That’s what you’re supposed to do as a coach. More power to you, sir.
That said (clears throat) — 13 players, including the entire 2022 freshman class? You’re not going to coach-speak your way out of this one.
Are you kidding? Those young guys were recruited in the fall. The overwhelming majority of programs are not starting from scratch with recruitment in the spring. They’re well into off-season conditioning programs and workouts. What a mess through and through.
It might be a while before LSU gets back on its feet. They have Wade to thank for such an unfortunate “blessing.”
