LSU men’s basketball planned to be active in the transfer portal after a 3-15 campaign in the SEC this past season.
There was less than two million dollars in NIL money invested in the Tigers roster while most teams in the SEC have an NIL budget between a reported five to eight million dollars.
So just as they did with football, LSU made the decision to be active in the transfer portal to give Coach Matt McMahon the players needed to compete in a very tough basketball conference.
The transfer portal opened on March 24th and we are starting to see results.
One of the top point guards in the portal, Dedan Thomas Junior committed to LSU. The six-foot-one sophomore chose the Tigers over Florida and Kentucky. He averaged 15 points and four assists a game last season at UNLV.
The fact that he chose LSU over two of the better teams in the SEC, shows LSU is finally playing in the deep end of the NIL pool.
And McMahon has signed six-foot-ten, Michael Nwoko (nuh-WOE-koe), who was a starter at Mississippi State and averaged six points and four rebounds a game this year. Nwoko started his college career at Miami, so LSU will be his third team in three years. He will be a junior next season.
LSU is not done. Expect the Tigers to sign a couple more players.
The Portal Report says Charlotte guard Nik Graves is expected to visit LSU. The six-foot-three junior averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists this season. Graves will also visit Creighton and Missouri.
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The popularity of LSU men’s basketball is way down, and many fans do not think McMahon is a good coach.
But he hasn’t had the players to compete. If he gets the players and still can’t compete, then the conversation changes and LSU will look at buying out the remaining of his contract.
The 2024-25 season was a year to forget for LSU men’s basketball, but it appears that better days are ahead.