Allen Graves - Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year

Last year’s POTY went to Boise State after being offered by LSU.. I don’t know if these players are that bad or if there is something else going on here.
It’s not like they are shrugging off LSU for the likes of traditional perennial basketball juggernauts like Duke, UNC, Indiana, Kentucky or even recent top teams like Gonzaga.

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Last year’s POTY went to Boise State after being offered by LSU.. I don’t know if these players are that bad or if there is something else going on here.
It’s not like they are shrugging off LSU for the likes of traditional perennial basketball juggernauts like Duke, UNC, Indiana, Kentucky or even recent top teams like Gonzaga.

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Lockett was offered by LSU like his freshman year when he was considered a top 15 prospect in the class. As a senior, he averaged 16/6/4 playing against small schools with the best roster in the state. He then redshirted his freshman year at Boise.

Him not coming to LSU was LSU's decision.

ETA: Just to show what I'm talking about, in March of 2022, Lockett released a Top 5 of LSU, Tulane, Baylor, Arkansas, and Kansas.... Then signed with Boise State 5 months later. He had a bunch of injuries throughout highschool and went from a 5 star point guard prospect to a middling 3 star forward prospect.

Allen is a phenomenal player. I do not think he is ready to play in the SEC.
He is still only 17 years old and will be for a few more months. He will be a big time player once his body matures more.

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Last year’s POTY went to Boise State after being offered by LSU.. I don’t know if these players are that bad or if there is something else going on here.

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LA has produced next to no talent in basketball recently. It's been pretty bad.

Lockett who you speak of at Boise St redshirted this year, didnt even play. Just like Corey Chest here.

I always see Texas A&M offers on these low rated / unknown Louisiana kids. Buzz must have identified something in Louisiana kids that LSU hasn’t.

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Last year’s POTY went to Boise State after being offered by LSU.. I don’t know if these players are that bad or if there is something else going on here.
It’s not like they are shrugging off LSU for the likes of traditional perennial basketball juggernauts like Duke, UNC, Indiana, Kentucky or even recent top teams like Gonzaga.

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bruh, if you can't figure it out, i don't know what the frick to tell you....

With the transfer portal, couldn’t he just transfer or ask for his release if we really wanted him?

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Yes last year they had a dude from freaking Baker HS who was a beast and Radford is from McKinley

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The dude from Baker was Dexter Dennis...who played one season as a Grad Transfer at A&M. He was at Wichita St for 4 years prior to that. He was in the 18-19 signing class. You may recall Wade was the HC at LSU then and that class was pretty damn good (Reid, Williams, Smart, Days). There wasn't a spot for Dennis then. Regardless, LSU did recruit him out of the portal before las season. He chose A&M.

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Radford is from McKinley

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He, like Dennis, was in that 18-19 class. He signed with Virginia Tech. He transferred to A&M ahead of the 21-22 season (when Wade was still at LSU)

It's not like A&M is finding these "diamond in the rough" LA kids out of HS. Neither signed with A&M initially. They ended up there as transfers after multiple years in college.

If a low-rated Louisiana player goes elsewhere and makes a bit impact and LSU can get him out of the portal, great! But you aren't going to make a living just signing low-rated HS prospects. Now, more than ever, where teams are preferring older transfers who can immediately make and impact over HS players. Particularly those who may not be ready for 2-3 years.

A&M's coaching staff, including Buzz Williams, have a ton of Louisiana ties. Which is why you see them get more LA players than many other out of state schools. Buzz was someone I was hoping LSU would try to get when Wade was hired. He was at Virginia Tech then and building them towards being a solid program. He was later brought to A&M by a certain AD who is currently at LSU.

That said, the results there have been a little underwhelming. They have been a good team the last 3 seasons, but generally average in SEC play. This year they were picked to finish second in the SEC...and went 9-9. They found their offense late which is why they had a good end of the season. But they've been more inconsistent than they probably should be.

Then again, who knows what next year brings. IF the LSU job opens up there will be a VERY natural connection between Buzz and LSU for several reasons.

Allen is a great person and would be the type of player that would stay in school for 4 years. LSU needs players that could be solid and would improve and stay loyal to the program. Letting him leave is a mistake. His parents are great people. I wish him nothing but the best.

Tell that to Ricky Blanton and John Tudor. And the many other players that made final 4 teams. Keeping a team together for many years pays dividends. He led Ponchatoula to 2 consecutive State Championships. Have you ever watched the kid play?