re: LSU will never be a basketball power and the main reason

At one time in the 80s we were bleeding players to teams like Georgetown and other large programs out of state.

Link: John Thompson and Louisiana

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is because the lack of talent in state of LA doesn't support it.

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Does Kansas, Duke. or Kentucky produce their talent?

Does Mulkey depend on Louisiana talent.
Does Jay Johnson?
Did Wade?

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You do not know the criteria used in making that map.

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I found that map when googling. Its 10 years old and it is using 'birthplace' to assign a player to a specific state. It's also using 'all time' numbers, not current players. LINK

Right now there are roughly 14 players in the NBA born in Louisiana. I already mentioned 4 of them who went to HS out of state: De'Aaron Fox, Kelly Oubre, Thad Young, & Aaron Holiday.

Yes, LSU missed out on some of them, but the majority of the list is a combination of players that left the state before HS or were very low rated players.

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Big Baby Skylar Mays

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Glen Davis was a top 20 recruit nationally. Skyler was a 4 star by some sites.

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Kelly Oubre (1st rd draft pick)

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From earlier in the thread, but why are we counting guys like this? He moved to Texas when he was 10 years old. Played all his basketball there except senior year went to Findlay Prep in NV.

For basketball we don’t have the booster support to pay the players and their families and get top talent. Our last coach had to pay them himself. Maybe back in Dale’s time it was different but not now.

22-11 is not impressive with a team full of bought players.

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. Skyler was a 4 star by some sites.

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How many Top 25-50 schools offered him? The point is, you can build a championship caliber team with some La. talent. But in basketball, you MUST recruit regionally at the very least to fill the holes.

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what did Brian Kelly do when he arrived? He put the word out that every Louisiana kid that was passed over by the previous staff but wanted a chance to play for LSU should contact him. We filled our depleted football roster with the “cast offs” and they came back and gave us a very good season.

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Again. This isn't football. LSU is not going to win big by simply "putting a fence around the state." Basketball is a NATIONAL recruiting game. John Brady had one anomaly season where he reached the Final Four with a Louisiana starting 5. But that is far from the norm. Going back all the way to the Dale Brown heyday the success was built with a lot of national recruits

Rudy Macklin - Kentucky
Greg Cook - New Jersey
John Williams - Los Angeles
Shaq - San Antonio
Chris Jackson - Mississippi
Jerry Reynolds - New York
Ricky Blanton - Miami

And, to be honest, LSU has generally done a good job in getting the top players in Louisiana...when there are top players to be had. McMahon signed the top player in the state, Corey Chest, this season. There was no one else in the top 100.

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Matt McMahon needs to try a similar path. There are some solid players around the country who played high school ball in Louisiana. Those guys are certainly better than what we saw on the floor in purple and gold this season

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You're not winning big my just getting "underrated Louisiana players". Best case scenario is you later get those guys from the transfer portal if they unexpectedly become good players elsewhere. But LSU will get stomped even worse than this season if they just had a team of mostly Louisiana guys. That's my point. You can't look at basketball through the prism of football. It's different. Louisiana is not producing 3, 4, 5 top 100 players each year. McMahon has to recruit nationally (assuming he can even get anything out of them if they come...which he didn't, at all, this season)