re: Every knowledgeable basketball person you hear or read from

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He seems like a program-builder

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Based on what, exactly? He didn't "build" the Murray St. program. It was built LONG before he inherited the job. Here, only 5 players returned from from last year's team. That's only 2 more that returned for his first LSU team.

It is GREAT LSU/McMahon are finally having a bit of success. There is every reason to be cautiously optimistic. But the unequivocal posts after each win chest-bumping that "LSU has their guy for the long term" are ridiculous. Anyone who has been an LSU basketball fan for longer than 2 weeks can tell you it's FAR too early to reach such conclusions. Brady went to the Final Four...then finished dead last the next season. Johnson won the SEC in his first year...then won 5 SEC games, total, the next two years. Jones took a roster of misfits and went .500 in SEC play his first season...he then spent the next 4 reaching only one NCAAT and bottoming out the program in his last year. At points in the careers of EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of those coaches there were fans on here definitively stating LSU "had their guy!"

Thus far, since becoming "whole", LSU is a better team than last year. And while the 3-1 record is great and reason for optimism, it's NOT reason for overreaction (just like the 12-1 start last season). LSU has one great, unexpected win (at A&M) and two home wins over opponents against which they were favored. Ole Miss's record is the reason they are ranked. But the data suggested they aren't as good as their record indicates...which is why LSU was a favorite. The one loss was a blowout against at the home of one of, if not the best team in the SEC.

Is McMahon "the guy"? I hope so. But let's wait to see how the season progresses before we start drawing any definite conclusions.