re: Does McMahon get a 3rd year?

No such thing as a McMahon hater only losing haters. You can go look at any alleged “McMahon haters” post in the spring of 22, during non conf last season and to start conf this season and you’ll find optimism among 99% of them but the fact is he’s not getting it done and the team isn’t improving other than talent upgrades which he gets credit for. His record vs P5 schools for his career is something like 8 and 35, nobody who’s being honest about it can say there’s reason to think this guy will turn LSU into a winner again.

LSU is not a basketball school.

McMahon will be here for 3rd and likely 4th year.

I will be pleasantly surprised if we make ncaa tournament in his first 4 years, unfortunately.

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Ok but you do realize we only had 1 fewer returnee than the previous season for McMahon’s first year

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Yep. It is CONSTANTLY brought up that McMahon was left with "no players". While it is accurate LSU's entire roster either left for the NBA or entered the portal in April LSU had 3 returning players when the season started in October. In Wade's final season the only returning players were Days, Gaines, Wilkinson, O'Neal.

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Thats far from being dead in the water, we were picked to finish 8th in the conference.

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No one who covered college basketball for a living thought LSU was "dead in the water". Like you said, KJ was probably a top 10 transfer. LSU had some returning players with significant NCAA starting experience (Miller and Wilkinson). Plus, he added a top 20 HS recruiting class. You will never be able to convince me that was last in the SEC and one of the 5-10 worst power conf. talent. Probably not NCAA Tournament talent. But not THAT bad.

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Yep. It is CONSTANTLY brought up that McMahon was left with "no players".

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This ground has been trod again and again here, the "program was left in shambles and CMM had no chance" crowd, vs. the "the talent really was not all that bad crowd".

I've always been of the opinion that the talent was middling but definitely underachieved. Both can be true and were true last year.

Kinda started out that way this year again - talent ok not great, but underachieving again.

Then we beat A&M on the road and Ole piss at home and I saw some things that I had not before under CMM and for the first time really I felt some hope, I was seeing development.

The last 3 games the things I was hopeful in seeing unfortunately have seemed to revert back to pre-A&M game 1.

What it boils down to is LSU doesn’t play winning basketball since McMahon has taken over. We can argue, talent, scheme, recruiting or the situation he inherited but the bottom line is we don’t take care of the ball, we don’t get to the FT line enough, we don’t take good shots, or value possessions, we don’t rebound and we’re terrible in end of half or game deciding situations. Talent or no anytime you’re going to be in close game situations which is the vast majority of games you’re not going to win enough because these things are lacking whether it’s a close game vs Nicholls State, UGA or ATM. You will have games where your guys are hot or someone is a mismatch but you aren’t going to get through the grind with any semblance of success because you don’t do any of the little things necessary to win and that’s coaching.

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The last 3 games the things I was hopeful in seeing unfortunately have seemed to revert back to pre-A&M game 1.

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Just like the game at Auburn, LSU wasn't winning at Alabama. So that one doesn't move the needle for me one way or the other. Though I can't understand why McMahon tried to play at Alabama's pace?

The A&M and Georgia games were disappointing. But unlike last year, LSU was in those game throughout with arguments to be made they "should have won." It's a fine line, but get those two and LSU is 5-2 in SEC going into a winnable home game vs. what looks to be the worst Arkansas team under Musselman by a long shot. The game at Tennessee coming up soon will likely be another one of those "no chance" games. But Saturday is another measuring stick. If they can't beat Arkansas at home then you start to look at the schedule and think they may not win again until late Feb/early March.