re: MBB Offseason '26 Transfer Portal / HS Tracker

quote:

---

I don't hate anyone, but I have the right to be concerned about the risk and amount of money our program is spending on guys who can't play together yet, and there's other teams ahead of us. If some of you are really wanting LSU basketball back to prominence, this should frustrate you. Even if every player is given the green light today, there are rival teams that have been conditioning since July 29th, and playing multiple games together. We are behind the eight ball.

---

As a fan there really isn't any financial concern because the only money the average fan puts in is the cost of a ticket and a TAF fee (if applicable). But that also didn't seem to be much of a concern when LSU was wasting money paying for last place finishes as there were MANY (not specifically on this board) who wanted to bring McMahon back for this season.

As far as bringing LSU back to prominence, the question is what exactly is "prominence"? LSU has never been a consistent championship contender, so no one is expecting that this season. In Wade's last season at LSU his team was a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Most fans would be content with that after having to suffer through the last 4 years and I don't think that is an unrealistic bar.

Your concern is also based upon what is an unlikely supposition...that none of these guys are conditioning/working out. The college transfers have been on campus for a while now and the pros are pros. Pro players don't move into dorms 6 months before the season and have organized team workouts for months on end. They generally handle their own conditioning. Sometimes at the team facilities, but not always. And not always in an organized team fashion. Pro and veteran players don't need as much "ramp up" time. We are still three months away from the start of the season.

Regardless, I'm fine with Wade taking a novel approach this season. What is the downside risk? That LSU is not a championship contender and that they are the worst program in the SEC? They ALREADY are/were that. As has been discussed, including by Wade himself, the opportunity to add experienced pro players to a college roster may be over after this season. So why not take advantage while you have the opportunity?

Again, the only fans voicing "concern" are coincidentally those who spent the last 4 years bending themselves in pretzels trying to explain the dreadful results on ANYTHING but the HC being awful. Wade gets the full benefit of the doubt. Why? Because (a) we've seen him win at LSU and everywhere he's been for 12 years and (b) things can't be any worse than they were the last four years.

It's a crap shoot whether Wade improves a program when he takes over, or makes them worse.

What a terribly incorrect statement

Might be tough to call but when can we expect a decision on Dent & Clark? Someone said on Discord they might be bullish on them coming to LSU. Would be amazing but tempering my expectations.

quote:

---

As a fan there really isn't any financial concern because the only money the average fan puts in is the cost of a ticket and a TAF fee (if applicable). But that also didn't seem to be much of a concern when LSU was wasting money paying for last place finishes as there were MANY (not specifically on this board) who wanted to bring McMahon back for this season.

As far as bringing LSU back to prominence, the question is what exactly is "prominence"? LSU has never been a consistent championship contender, so no one is expecting that this season. In Wade's last season at LSU his team was a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Most fans would be content with that after having to suffer through the last 4 years and I don't think that is an unrealistic bar.

Your concern is also based upon what is an unlikely supposition...that none of these guys are conditioning/working out. The college transfers have been on campus for a while now and the pros are pros. Pro players don't move into dorms 6 months before the season and have organized team workouts for months on end. They generally handle their own conditioning. Sometimes at the team facilities, but not always. And not always in an organized team fashion. Pro and veteran players don't need as much "ramp up" time. We are still three months away from the start of the season.

Regardless, I'm fine with Wade taking a novel approach this season. What is the downside risk? That LSU is not a championship contender and that they are the worst program in the SEC? They ALREADY are/were that. As has been discussed, including by Wade himself, the opportunity to add experienced pro players to a college roster may be over after this season. So why not take advantage while you have the opportunity?

Again, the only fans voicing "concern" are coincidentally those who spent the last 4 years bending themselves in pretzels trying to explain the dreadful results on ANYTHING but the HC being awful. Wade gets the full benefit of the doubt. Why? Because (a) we've seen him win at LSU and everywhere he's been for 12 years and (b) things can't be any worse than they were the last four years.

---

An unlikely supposition that no one is working out? Not what I'm trying to say. Every program I've been around has a strict regimen of what they want for players based on what they plan on doing during the year. Did you not hear the story of how much of a difference there was for Florida football when Sumrall got there? It was a complete overhaul of philosophy. When you're dealing with the European game, it's much slower. So no, majority of these guys will not be in the shape to run and gun or press. They don't press at all in the pro leagues.

Alot of this is fair to say, this is a different era with a much stronger conference. That being said, you may not fall into the "not just being mediocre" category that alot on here have placed themselves in. Good for you. No one really cares about what he did in the past, good or bad. He got us here to begin with, like it or not.

There's not much anyone can do to defend MM. He was extremely successful before he got here, and if he's successful and capable somewhere else, it may open up the possibility of a different narrative around him. Until then, the job was way over his head.

Wade has whiffed since he's been here. He has focused so much on getting this group eligible, he's missed on a few recruits, and has upset another. So just as much as people have blindly trusted in his ability this go around, it is fair up to this point to be critical because of what has happened since he's been here. Both stances are fair.

quote:

---

Every program I've been around has a strict regimen of what they want for players based on what they plan on doing during the year.

---

Do those programs have multiple 22-24 professional basketball players joining the team? If this were 2018 and Wade only had a handful of 18-21 year old college players with no way to add to those ranks at this point in the process I'd be more concerned. But it's not. College basketball has become more "professional" than ever before so the context in which it is view changes as well.

quote:

---

So no, majority of these guys will not be in the shape to run and gun or press.

---

That's great! Wade doesn't "run and gun or consistently press either. He will utilize it intermittently to increase the tempo, or when the end of game situation calls for it. NC State played at essentially the same tempo as Wisconsin last season. His McNeese teams played much slower. Even his LSU teams generally ranked in the 70s-80s nationally in terms of tempo. Compare that to Alabama who, under Oats, has always been in the top 15.

I guess that's just another hallucination of what people think is "streetball". Wade's been willing to adapt his style (at least offensively) to his personnel.

quote:

---

Did you not hear the story of how much of a difference there was for Florida football when Sumrall got there? It was a complete overhaul of philosophy.

---

That's 85+ players in a sport where professionals aren't transferring in. It may take more time to overhaul a philosophy with that many players. Adding 2, 3, 4 vets to the mix doesn't take as much time to "overhaul"

quote:

---

Wade has whiffed since he's been here.

---

His team hasn't played a single game since he's returned as HC. So how can anyone judged whether he has "whiffed" or not? For 4 years we had to "celebrate" how great McMahon did in the offseason in signing players....only to watch him actually whiff when the games were played. Forgive me if I'm not all that enamored if a coach "wins" in May or June. I'll wait to see the results of the actual games to decide if he's "whiffed" or not.

quote:

---

he's missed on a few recruits, and has upset another.

---

HS recruits? Who cares? That's not primarily how great teams are built anymore and there is no guarantee any stay beyond one season. Plus, of the current top 50 ranked HS prospect for next season, only 11 have committed. Only 4 SEC schools have a HS player committed for next season at the moment....and each only have 1. He has time.

Saying something like this will be one of the best LSU teams ever and a Final Four contender at this point is silly. But so is presuming a coach that has never had a losing season in his 12 years career, at 5 different schools, and has (or would have) been to the NCAA Tournament 9 of those 12 seasons suddenly forgot how to recruit, build a roster, and get them ready for a season.

quote:

---

That's great! Wade doesn't "run and gun or consistently press either. He will utilize it intermittently to increase the tempo, or when the end of game situation calls for it. NC State played at essentially the same tempo as Wisconsin last season. His McNeese teams played much slower. Even his LSU teams generally ranked in the 70s-80s nationally in terms of tempo. Compare that to Alabama who, under Oats, has always been in the top 15. I guess that's just another hallucination of what people think is "streetball". Wade's been willing to adapt his style (at least offensively) to his personnel.

---

Wrong. Out of 361 teams, Wade’s teams have ranked in the Top 70 of pace in 9 of his 12 seasons, 2 of those were his first 2 years at Chattanooga, one was a year at McNeese. When he was at LSU, he had 4 of his 5 teams in the top 50 and 3 in the top 25. With most of his teams falling in the 85th percentile and a few falling in the 95th percentile, that’s quite a statement.

We need a kid who has an on campus job to look in the database to see if certain people are enrolled

quote:

---

I guess that's just another hallucination of what people think is "streetball". Wade's been willing to adapt his style (at least offensively) to his personnel.

---

You forgot that wade’s style pales in comparison to the Villanova offense lsu has deployed the last 4 years. So none of this matters.

quote:

---

For comparison sake do you beleive the four transfers signed by Wade are better than Nwoko, Mckinnon, Sutton and Thomas

---

Uh….yes.

Those four players led us to an awesome 3-15 SEC record and a predictable first round SEC tournament exit.

Unless you think those players were actually decent and the record was a result of poor coaching?

So were the players not as good as advertised (recruiting misses) or was the coaching subpar? 3-15 records don’t happen by accident. Please answer the question if you can other than mentioning opt outs and “injuries”. Thanks.

quote:

---

people talking how terrible of a coach your sub-25% savior is after this.

---

That's been done ad nauseum. They still do it in this thread for whatever reason, Its mind boggling their need for a villain is so pronounced they have to continue slinging shite at a coach who has been gone almost six months.