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Does Matt McMahon get the LSU job without Ja Morant?

Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:25 am
Posted by TigersGeaux001
Las Vegas, Nevada
Member since Feb 2014
896 posts
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.
This post was edited on 2/3/25 at 10:26 am
Posted by Madking
Member since Apr 2016
59748 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to
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 by lsudave1
Baton Metairie
Member since Jan 2005
9995 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to
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 by GumboPot
Member since Mar 2009
133666 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to
quote:

Does Matt McMahon get the LSU job without Ja Morant?


Probably not.

Posted by Darth Aranda
Naboo
Member since Dec 2016
2804 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:28 am to
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 by Pnels08
Member since Jul 2014
10046 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:30 am to
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.
Posted by USAFTiger42
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2016
3462 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:34 am to
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.
Posted by Double Oh
Louisiana
Member since Sep 2008
21990 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:41 am to
Nope
Posted by Alt26
Member since Mar 2010
32191 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:44 am to
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
Posted by Vincenzo Pantangelli
Member since Nov 2024
1410 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:46 am to
Would Curley Hallman had gotten the LSU Football job without Brett Favre?


N O !
Posted by Draconian Sanctions
Markey's bar
Member since Oct 2008
86719 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:47 am to
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.
This post was edited on 2/3/25 at 10:48 am
Posted by LSUFanMizeWay
Picayune MS
Member since Sep 2014
6217 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:49 am to
Does Press Maravich get the job if Pete doesn't join him?
Frank Truitt and Jay McCreary were worse than McMahon
Posted by The Hurricane
Gulf of Mexico
Member since Aug 2011
8947 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:57 am to
Same could’ve been said for Trent Johnson and the Lopez twins.
Posted by BRUNNIN4
DFW
Member since Mar 2010
3098 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 10:58 am to
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.
Posted by Alt26
Member since Mar 2010
32191 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:07 am to
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 by mdomingue
Lafayette, LA
Member since Nov 2010
38425 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:12 am to
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.
Posted by Madking
Member since Apr 2016
59748 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:17 am to
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 by BRUNNIN4
DFW
Member since Mar 2010
3098 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:21 am to
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 by Mats86
Member since Mar 2021
4822 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:21 am to
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 by Geauxld Finger
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2005
32309 posts
Posted on 2/3/25 at 11:30 am to
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
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