Tiger Rag: McMahon is “fired up” about transfer portal recruiting

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“It’s still a little early to sign players, but I really love the direction that we’re going,” he said on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night. “We’re involved with a lot of really good players. And I’m fired up about the way it’s going here so far.”

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two of McMahon’s three portal signees – guard Jordan Sears of UT Martin and guard Dji Bailey of Richmond – were not impressive. Each were from smallish schools and not ready for prime time SEC basketball. McMahon got what he paid for on a limited NIL budget, which was among the lowest in the SEC at approximately $2 million.

This year, McMahon’s NIL budget for roster retention and enhancement is approximately to $8 million, according to sources, because of newfound NIL strategies and financial deployment by LSU. That means McMahon can shop for much better players than last year. He is likely targeting four portal players, but in significantly more elite pools because of his larger budget.

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“I think we’re in a really good place there,” McMahon said when asked about his additional portal recruiting resources. “There’s been a great investment in men’s basketball, and I think we’re really well positioned – not only from a retention standpoint, but the ability to go out and sign the players in the transfer portal that are going to come in here and impact winning, and allow us to build a NCAA Tournament team.”

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Scott Woodward, who hired McMahon, decided to keep him amid this year’s losing season and give him a better chance in the near future with an enhanced NIL package for his roster construction.

“I’m thrilled with with that and appreciative of the opportunity to do it,” McMahon said. “And now we’ve got to execute the plan as these visits start up. We’ve been doing a lot of intel work, a lot of film study, and lots of zoom calls and phone calls and in-person visits. Really excited about the progress being made in the portal right now.”

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Three LSU players entered the portal Monday – starting forward Corey Chest and guards Mike Williams III and Tyrell Ward, which left McMahon with eight scholarship players. Those moves may have been more mutual or even suggested by McMahon than some of the media reports on their departures indicated, as they freed up NIL money for incoming portal players. Williams was a reserve, and Ward sat out the whole season for mental health reasons. Chest had his moments last year, but was inconsistent.

“I’m certainly not looking to re-recruit or bring anyone back once they’ve made that decision,” McMahon said. “Wish them all the very best.”

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“I think it’s very realistic,” McMahon said when asked if he could be in the NCAA Tournament next season. “It’s happened in our league. I’m excited about the investment made into the program, and the talent we’re going to be able to identify and bring in. It’s college basketball in this new era, and that’s what we’re planning to do. I’m going to be really excited about the players we bring back and have already signed. We’ll combine those with the players we’ll bring in through the portal.”

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“Then it’s time to get to work,” he said. “We have to make sure we get the right people on the bus, get them in the right seat and move the team forward toward the NCAA Tournament next season.”

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