LSU men's basketball has its new head coach for the foreseeable future in Matt McMahon, but he has his assurances, just in case.
The Tigers' new coach inked a deal for 7 years and up to $20.3 million with incentives, according to a report from The Advocate, but the deal will be adjusted should the school be slapped with a significant postseason ban or scholarship reductions.
Should the violations levied against his predecessor, Will Wade, result in three-plus years of sanctions, McMahon's deal gets extended an additional season. Those sanctions would be relative to the seven alleged violations against the LSU basketball program under Wade, revelations that immediately preceded his firing ahead of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
LSU likely won't know its fate in that regard for some time, during which McMahon will begin building his new vision for the program. Wade's tenure lasted five mostly successful seasons, ending with a record of 105-51 and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances -- and likely four if not for the 2020 event being called off due to COVID. That first Tigers tourney run (2018-'19) ended in the Sweet 16 during the season that the allegations against Wade first came to light. Those games were coached by interim Tony Benford with Wade suspended from the program indefinitely.
The Tigers earned a No. 6 seed in the 2022 field but departed after an upset at the hands of No. 11 Iowa State. It was another postseason game coached by interim leader, this time Kevin Nickelberry.
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McMahon heads to LSU after 7 seasons as the head coach at Murray State, fresh off a Round of 32 appearance in this year's tournament, which ended at the hands of 15 seed Saint Peters. Murray State logged a record of 154-67 during McMahon's tenure and reached the NCAA Tournament three times, advancing twice to the Round of 32. McMahon also recruited and developed now-Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant, who went No. 2 overall in the xxx NBA draft behind Zion Williamson. McMahon was a shooting guard at Appalachian State from 1996-2000, and has served in assistant roles there, as well as at Tennessee, UNC Wilmington and Murray State prior to being elevated into the head coach role.
Click here for the full report from The Advocate.