re: Let's try for a positive MBB thread: Next Year

What about that game makes you think he mailed it in compared to normal?

We need a rim protector and big league rebounder more than anything else. LSU is horrendous in the paint both offensively and defensively.

I truly don’t get the Givens hate

His numbers aren’t good but we are asking him to run an offense that has 1 shooterand no low post guys. He is a true freshman. He has a beautiful shot. Outside of the Kentucky disaster, our turnovers are WAYYYY down and assists way up since he started getting the majority of playing time

While I’m hoping for a better year next year and looking to get season tickets again, will he hold on the roster he has or a complete rebuild? That’s the big question before thinking about the growth to year 2 or 3.

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Givens, V Miller, R Miller, Reed are going to be very good and a solid core

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But are they? We could finish dead last in the conference. So are they really a solid core are we just hopeful?

Even if the portal doesn’t take half our current roster and all the pieces you talk about are back, you are glossing over the problem here. Substantially the same roster with the same coaching staff. Where does the improvement come from? The program needs a turnaround. We are fortunate not to be dead last in the SEC. You don’t get the kind of turnaround needed by keeping things the same and making incremental improvements via year to year (hopeful) growth in the roster.

All of your assumptions would require we hang onto what we have. And that we want to hang onto to what we have.

Hard to see guys wanting to come back if they get a good offer elsewhere.

There is a lot of criticism to go around but sayin MM mailed it in at KY when he was without Reed, Chest and V Miller is just stupid. Chest is one of your best rebounder and rim protectors and Vmiller is basically your 2nd or 3rd scoring option on this team. This team needs maturity more than anything else. KY started 4 seniors and a junior. That is the main difference in the 2 teams. LSU was down 7 with 2 minutes left against Miss St on the road without reed,Chest and VMiller who got hurt in the 1st half. So to say MM can't coach is ridiculous. Never said he was perfect but he has done a reasonable job with what he has, They have been in almost every game with ranked teams at home and away. They do not have the maturity and experience to win most of those games. Especially without Reed and Ward much less Vmiller and Chest who have been hurt on and off all year.. MM needs to get some big physical guards in his system. That 6'4" 220 lb guard that KY has was physically dominating Carter the whole game. Givens may end up being a good PG but you need some post presence which we had with Reed and BMiller showed some promise as the season went on. The portal will decide whether LSU is successful next year. It it is a repeat of this year then he needs to go.

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The lack of basketball knowledge in this fanbase is truly wild

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Welcome

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Givens

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I've givens up on Givens. Maybe he'll develop into a decent player but I've seen nothing to make me believe he will.

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V Miller, R Miller, Reed are going to be very good and a solid core

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Agreed, but I'm not very confident all 3 of these guys are on the roster next year.

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Sears and Bailey were expected to help carry this team, and Bailey has been kind of serviceable, but Sears was a disaster.

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If McMahon expected Bailey to carry any significant load offensively, then that's on McMahon. Bailey was a defense first glue guy at Richmond, he wasn't going to magically turn into a plus offensive player after being dropped into the SEC. That should have been apparent before he arrived to LSU.

Sears was a complete miss out of the portal. He racked up a bunch of empty stats in the nonconf. against subpar teams (like he did for 4 years at UTMartin). McMahon hasn't brought in a serviceable 1 in the 3 years he's been here. And when your offense consists of a single ball screen, having a 5'10" guard who can't hold onto the ball does not bode well for success.

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The fact is that Chest can jump, but he has zero IQ, zero ball handling skills, zero post skills, zero shooting skills, and is a bit undersized.

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Every good team has a player like a Chest. Just a bigger guy who can run and jump. I like Chest, and I hope he comes back, but he's the easiest guy to replace of the bunch if he were to leave.

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Collins shows potential but he is a string bean and has no low post offense and is limited offensively and defensively.

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I would love to see what Collins could do running in tandem with another legit big, particularly on the defensive side. We've seen him get abused by opposing bigs with any sort or "meat" to them. But, with a true big, or just with someone who could defend the block decently, Collins could rack up help side blocks at an insane rate. I think Reed or an even more improved R. Miller could potentially fill that role, but I wouldn't be surprised if they try to go to the portal for a more traditional 5.

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Williams is the best of the bunch but mcmahon proves he doesn’t value him a lot, and he is quite inefficient with his shooting

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I don't think I'd go so far as to call him the best of the potential returnees, but I wouldn't mind keeping him around. Can never have enough shooters and he's at least proven the ability to make a couple here and there in some big spots. He has to improve his ball security and defense if he wants a more consistent role though.

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If we bring in 1 talented big, 1 talented wing, a talented ball handler and mix them with our core, we are a tournament team.

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Totally agree. McMahon for large part has whiffed on his portal additions sans KJ, Wright, and Carter. It's obvious McMahon wants to pair a good ball handler with a good big and PnR/P teams to death. I don't think that's a great strategy, but it can be done with the right personnel. He has yet to bring that in at this point.

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i am not sure how people can watch other teams and think LSU is talented

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Probably 97% of people on this board don't watch other teams

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no one wins with freshmen anymore

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Yea you're not turning a program around in one year with a high school recruiting class. That's an outdated model. People fail, or refuse, to realize that for whatever reason.