re: Dedan Thomas to LSU

Did Vandy lose 2 of their top players this year? Did they have 4 freshmen/ a soph and a Jr with freshmen minutes experience playing majority minutes. Quit with the apples and oranges comparisons. Even Vandy had more NIL money than LSU.

Coach M must be incredibly knowledgeable of the game but getting it to come to life is his problem. There is no way guys getting courted by Florida or Kentucky are picking us just because of CMM.

I'm very excited about him. Just hope he keeps his mojo and is able to adapt to the SEC

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According to On3 LSU's avg NIL rank for the recruiting 24 class was 195k. That puts us 6th in the SEC.

And On3's adjusted Index score for portal rankings has us 3rd in the SEC last year and 12th in the country.

Vandys overall transfer portal ranking for 24? 50th

So again, you're just throwing out factless bullshite.

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On3 themselves have said those numbers are bullshite

So it’s his claim of vandy spending more

No one really has any idea

$$$

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get my information from someone that was involved in the NIL aspect from day one and also trains and represents a lot of these athletes both college and pro.

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So just hearsay and bullshite that you speak out as facts.

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But I saw the wall Wade put us up against. McMahon was given a short deck to play with

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That was the thought in the immediate aftermath of Wade's firing and McMahon's hiring. However, as it turned out, relative to the college basketball landscape, there was no "wall" or "short deck". Over the last 3 years anyone who follows college basketball had seen it is the NORM for the majority of, sometimes the entire, roster to leave in the wake of a coaching change. That even happened the year McMahon was hired. Multiple new HCs had as many, or less, returning players.

The "shroud of negativity" was isolated solely to the fanbase. It didn't appear to have the "devastating" effects on actual recruiting the fans thought, and some still evidently think it had. McMahon signed a highly rated HS recruiting class that included the future best player on the team (possibly ever). He also signed a highly rated transfer class. One that included KJ Williams...who was very much in demand for schools besides LSU. A roster that everyone who follows college basketball for a living felt was good enough to finish in the middle of the SEC and, if everything broke right, potentially reach the NCAA Tournament. Those were the consensus preseason projections for a coach who had never coached a game at LSU and a completely new roster. To say otherwise in the wake of a terrible performance is purely revisionist history.

The ultimate sanctions did not create a "wall" or a "short deck" whatsoever. In fact, LSU still signed 13 "scholarship" players each year they were on probation despite only having 12 scholarships available. Ultimately, the number really was of no significance because McMahon has effectively redshirted a scholarship player each of his three seasons.

He's had as much opportunity as any other new major conf. HC has had in the last 3 years and the results have been awful. That's not subjective. LSU has the lowest winning % of any SEC program over the last 3 seasons and the fewest conference wins...by a decent margin (not including Texas and OU).

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Now, he's making headway, and idiots are deriding his efforts.

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Not on the court. The only "headway" he's made is signing an average SEC transfer and another highly rated transfer. While that is not nothing, it isn't reason conclusively eliminate the skepticism that has been EARNED over the course of 98 prior games. Fans can, and many have, acknowledged the signing of Thomas is reason for optimism. But McMahon simply isn't going to be given the benefit of the doubt until fans see results on the court. That skepticism is not unreasonable. It's based on actual evidence. Not some irrational need to be proven right on an anonymous message board.

It's great that he signed Thomas. Hopefully there are more to come. But no one wants to hear about how you "won" in April and May. Go produce on the court if you want the skepticism to cease.

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What I don't get is talking about it on the phone.

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Coaches talk to handlers on the phone all the time.

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Coaches must know that tapping into calls happen.

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The FBI had never looked into basketball handlers and tapping basketball handlers bribery cases, prior to then, in the history of the world. No one thought they would ever be a casualty on a wire-tapped. Additionally, the strong-arse off was referring to a player that was subsequent cleared to play by the NCAA and was much ado about nothing.

Unfortunately, that bad luck led Dickie V and Pat Forde on a crusade that Wade's actual actions were never going to be let go. Still, LSU only received 1 scholarship loss. Wade received a 2 year show cause and was coaching the very next season and making the NCAAT again.