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Does Matt McMahon get the LSU job without Ja Morant?
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:25 am
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:25 am
I know there was a dark cloud over the program at the time that limited interest from some potential candidates. Even with the situation at the time would Matt McMahon have even been considered had he not gotten carried by the best player in college basketball in the 18-19 season?
McMahon had a coaching record of 154-67 .697% in his time at Murray State.
If you take alway the two years he had Morant he’s on his team he’s 100-56.
(Is this fair to do?)
Certainly Woody knew this right?
To argue this point you could say McMahon’s final year at Murray State he went 31-3 and 18-0 in conference without Morant.
Do you think McMahon gets the job without Morant? I will admit at the time of the hire I thought it was a pretty decent move.
McMahon had a coaching record of 154-67 .697% in his time at Murray State.
If you take alway the two years he had Morant he’s on his team he’s 100-56.
(Is this fair to do?)
Certainly Woody knew this right?
To argue this point you could say McMahon’s final year at Murray State he went 31-3 and 18-0 in conference without Morant.
Do you think McMahon gets the job without Morant? I will admit at the time of the hire I thought it was a pretty decent move.
This post was edited on 2/3/25 at 10:26 am
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to TigersGeaux001
Don’t know if there’s any truth to this but I’ve heard he and Buzz Peterson (hornets front office) are friends and McMahon played for Buzz so that was the connection. Again just heard this, don’t know if it’s true at all.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to TigersGeaux001
It was a good hire on paper. He was more proven at the time than Jans and Golden but now he has proven that he is not built for this.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to TigersGeaux001
quote:
Does Matt McMahon get the LSU job without Ja Morant?
Probably not.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to TigersGeaux001
I mean you have to give him some credit for getting Morant. But he probably would’ve gotten the job anyway because he’s a super nice guy
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:30 am to TigersGeaux001
Look his resume was fine. That is not the problem.
The problem is we hired a resume instead of looking this guy up and down to see if he would work out for us. Did we even interview anyone else? I don't recall any names, I just remember Murray St loss (to a 15 seed) and then the next week or two we hired him.
To me it seemed like a lazy hire.
No point in harping on it, it happened and its probably best for both LSU and CMM to get this nonsense over with.
The problem is we hired a resume instead of looking this guy up and down to see if he would work out for us. Did we even interview anyone else? I don't recall any names, I just remember Murray St loss (to a 15 seed) and then the next week or two we hired him.
To me it seemed like a lazy hire.
No point in harping on it, it happened and its probably best for both LSU and CMM to get this nonsense over with.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:34 am to TigersGeaux001
I don't think him helping Ja had anything to do with his hire. Given the talent he did alright at Murray St but he just joins the list of small conference to big conference coaches that busted.
I just hate that our recruiting looks decent the last couple seasons and we literally have nothing to show for it. .500 in the SEC should be the minimum even with holes. I just think he never adjusts and is bad at the managerial part of coaching. Gotta remember coaches get paid the big bucks for that above sentence otherwise anyone could do that job. He's not only failed but failed miserably pretty much created another realm of failure.
I just hate that our recruiting looks decent the last couple seasons and we literally have nothing to show for it. .500 in the SEC should be the minimum even with holes. I just think he never adjusts and is bad at the managerial part of coaching. Gotta remember coaches get paid the big bucks for that above sentence otherwise anyone could do that job. He's not only failed but failed miserably pretty much created another realm of failure.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:44 am to TigersGeaux001
Yes.
He was 31-3 in his final season at Murray St (without Morant) and a 7th seed in the NCAA Tournament. A lot of mid-major HC's are hired after one really great season. In fact, you could argue him winning big without Morant was a big resume boost because you couldn't just tie him to one transcendent player.
Go back and look at the resumes of the other 5 coaches hired by SEC schools in that cycle. McMahon's resume was arguably better than every one except Mike White (who pulled a Trent Johnson and got of of Florida before they fired him). Todd Golden (Florida's HC) did not have as good a record as McMahon (albeit in a tougher conference). In fact he had a losing season two years before Florida hired him.
I've said it all along. The decision to hire McMahon had merit and was not a sin. Particularly given the circumstance which led to LSU having to hire a new HC. The amount of money was not a sin (it was middle of the pack money). The length was probably a year too long, but LSU didn't have a lot of negotiating leverage.
The sin will be keeping him too long once it has become clear it isn't going to work. I think we are there now. Not moving on will simply be delaying the inevitable
He was 31-3 in his final season at Murray St (without Morant) and a 7th seed in the NCAA Tournament. A lot of mid-major HC's are hired after one really great season. In fact, you could argue him winning big without Morant was a big resume boost because you couldn't just tie him to one transcendent player.
Go back and look at the resumes of the other 5 coaches hired by SEC schools in that cycle. McMahon's resume was arguably better than every one except Mike White (who pulled a Trent Johnson and got of of Florida before they fired him). Todd Golden (Florida's HC) did not have as good a record as McMahon (albeit in a tougher conference). In fact he had a losing season two years before Florida hired him.
I've said it all along. The decision to hire McMahon had merit and was not a sin. Particularly given the circumstance which led to LSU having to hire a new HC. The amount of money was not a sin (it was middle of the pack money). The length was probably a year too long, but LSU didn't have a lot of negotiating leverage.
The sin will be keeping him too long once it has become clear it isn't going to work. I think we are there now. Not moving on will simply be delaying the inevitable
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:46 am to TigersGeaux001
Would Curley Hallman had gotten the LSU Football job without Brett Favre?
N O !
N O !
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:47 am to TigersGeaux001
It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback but given the situation at the time it was about a good a hire on paper as could have been made. You can’t hand wave away Ja considering MM recruited him and as you say he had just finished a 30 win season without him.
We can’t make hires in men’s basketball the way we can in most other sports. That’s just reality.
We can’t make hires in men’s basketball the way we can in most other sports. That’s just reality.
This post was edited on 2/3/25 at 10:48 am
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:49 am to TigersGeaux001
Does Press Maravich get the job if Pete doesn't join him?
Frank Truitt and Jay McCreary were worse than McMahon
Frank Truitt and Jay McCreary were worse than McMahon
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:57 am to TigersGeaux001
Same could’ve been said for Trent Johnson and the Lopez twins.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:58 am to TigersGeaux001
Murray St is one of the better mid-major programs and many coaches have used it as a stepping stone job - Steve Prohm, Billy Kennedy, Mick Cronin, Mark Gottfried, etc.
McMahon didn't have to build anything and everyone seems to win there.
McMahon didn't have to build anything and everyone seems to win there.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:07 am to BRUNNIN4
quote:
Murray St is one of the better mid-major programs and many coaches have used it as a stepping stone job - Steve Prohm, Billy Kennedy, Mick Cronin, Mark Gottfried, etc.
McMahon didn't have to build anything and everyone seems to win there.
The EXACT same thing could have been said about Wade and VCU at the time LSU hired him.
It's going beyond the resume that is important when you are evaluating mid-major HCs
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:12 am to TigersGeaux001
This type of conjecture is difficult. He had a great final year. Would his team have done significantly worse without Morant, slightly worse, or would it have been insignificantly different? Theoretically, it should be at least slightly worse without that sort of talent. Then you wonder if Morant helped draw some of the talent on the 31-3 team.
But if you use the 100-56 mark, I doubt he would have been considered one of the better up-and-coming young coaches. The hire seemed really good at the time but it was the risk of the up-and-coming coach we were taking. Short of a miraculous turnaround, that does not seem to have generated the reward expected.
But if you use the 100-56 mark, I doubt he would have been considered one of the better up-and-coming young coaches. The hire seemed really good at the time but it was the risk of the up-and-coming coach we were taking. Short of a miraculous turnaround, that does not seem to have generated the reward expected.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:17 am to Alt26
If you took a closer look the red flags were there. Huge talent advantage when his teams were good but small margins of victory and really didn’t compete vs better competition.
This post was edited on 2/3/25 at 11:18 am
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:21 am to Alt26
quote:
The EXACT same thing could have been said about Wade and VCU at the time LSU hired him.
It's going beyond the resume that is important when you are evaluating mid-major HCs
I pretty much agree 100% but Wade did at least have a successful stop at Chattanooga before VCU.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:21 am to Alt26
quote:
The sin will be keeping him too long once it has become clear it isn't going to work. I think we are there now
Unless givens turns into upperclassman Skyler mays mid season, and Robert miller becomes Naz Reid, I don’t think there is any good argument to keep him.
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:30 am to TigersGeaux001
I have a family member that played ball at Murray. Had nothing good to say about McMahon. Was happy to get rid of
him honestly. Not a good recruiter nor a great coach. Was carried by Morant.
If we want to be good In basketball again, a serious financial commitment needs to be made. A stadium and better facilities must happen and NIL investment has to occur. Otherwise, we are what we are in this current environment
him honestly. Not a good recruiter nor a great coach. Was carried by Morant.
If we want to be good In basketball again, a serious financial commitment needs to be made. A stadium and better facilities must happen and NIL investment has to occur. Otherwise, we are what we are in this current environment
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