re: What’s the story on Jalen Cook and Daimion Collins?

Hannibal is a warrior. Nuff said. Wish we could take what he has and inject it into Reed. He'd be a monster. But he's starting to come along.

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How good should Collins be when healthy?

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Collins was a 5 star, McDonald's All American coming out of high school. His physical traits and combined athleticism is probably the best on the team. But that ability never manifested at Kentucky...which is part of the reason why he's not there anymore. IF, he can put it all together he is probably the best NBA prospect on the team. He's 6'9 with great length and explosion. At worst, he should be an excellent shot blocker and solid rebounder. The knock on him is that he is really thin for a 6'9 guy. Before he was sat down for the year you saw a few glimmers of hope. He was even shooting the ball relatively well from 3.

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Also, what’s the scoop on Chest? Why the redshirt?

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I'm suspecting McMahon felt his frontcourt was crowded with experienced players (most notably Baker, Dean, Reed and for a while, Collins) and Chest wasn't going to get a ton of minutes. He's really more of an undersized "5" in terms of strengths, which are rebounding and put-backs. Similar to an Emmitt Williams type of player. I thought is was silly to redshirt him on a team that (a) could use some help rebounding at time and (b) in the age of the transfer era, but McMahon prefers experienced players.

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It is really just a thread to insinuate there are problems on the team with zero evidence.

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Cook is medically cleared to play. You can choose to believe or not believe that if you'd like, but that is the truth. Why he is not playing is conjecture. Is it possible there is friction between he and the staff? Maybe. But there's been no hard evidence of that. What is more likely is there is still some residual pain/discomfort from his hamstring injury (which he did have) and he is choosing not to play through it. Contrast that with Ward who is still dealing with some pain from the hip injury he suffered vs. Mississippi St but choosing to play through it.

For his part McMahon has moved on with Hannibal as the primary PG, and that wouldn't necessarily change if Cook did return for the final few games. Now, I don't think McMahon would prohibit Cook from playing. LSU's offense is better with him available. But I don't think he's pressing for a return either. He's leaving it up to the player.

To be fair hammies can linger for a while.

I guess MM thinks there must be a shot to change his mind since he hasn’t sent him packing over it.

I can’t see MM letting a guy that is not wanting to play and transfer be around the team.

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Maybe it's already been covered but if Cook is a "healthy scratch" of his own accord, why would CMM allow him to stay on the team? Hard to imagine him on the bench night after night with that kind of friction attached.

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There’s a difference in him being 100% and just cleared to play

I think the injury was legitimate but everyone has their own pain tolerance and where they need to be to play and play well

Maybe there’s a chance he returns, maybe there isn’t. But only Cook knows that, and if he’s told McMahon that he *could* be back in the next week then of course McMahon isn’t gonna kick him off the team.

I do agree that MM doesn't seem like the kind of coach that would allow a player to do that on his team. Hope it's a case of him wanting to be 100% healthy before returning. I know Cam Thomas and Justin Jefferson both made those type of statements when they were hurt. Weren't coming back till they were 100% healthy.

Btw, this is his 4th year in school…I don’t know what his personal plans or academics look like, but if he’s graduated, I would expect him to at least consider moving on. I have no inside information, but I doubt he thought the plan here was to be the 6th man. Just my take on the situation.

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LSU's offense is better with him available.

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maybe offensively but not as a whole team. I don't even know if it is true that we are better with him offensively...i have seen the team down 15-20 make runs to get back into games with him on the bench when he wasn't "hurt"

Hamstrings are tough because you have to let them heal completely. If you try to play with a slight pull you risk reinjuring it and starting from scratch. And Cook's game depends on his speed.

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All this talk about cook and rightfully so , but Carlos Stewart has had “ knee soreness “ for awhile now . He also got hurt right after he was benched . This a guy we were counting on to be a huge contributor this year . I’ve also heard the staff is not happy at all with cook or Stewart and would be surprised if we see either of them to finish this year . Makes the job Matt has done the last couple of weeks even more impressive when two guys he was counting on this year are choosing to sit in warmups on the bench while their teammates play their arse off without them

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Agreed 100% that McMahon has been doing tremendously with a depleted roster. I think there's a silver lining to Cook's injury, it's allowed Ward to come into his own as a player and have a larger role on offense. Against Vandy especially I loved his shot diet. He wasn't afraid to take it into the paint and it's clear he's not afraid of contact. He had some nice hop steps, spin moves, etc.

On the other hand, I was EXTREMELY disappointed with Stewart's production this year. I was really high on him coming out of Santa Clara. I do think a large part of his lack of production has to do with role, scheme, and fit- BUT even when he did get a chance to shine a lot of it was poor and underwhelming. He also contributed to our piss poor perimeter defense at the start of the year.

Unless he makes huge leaps in the offseason, I don't really know where he fits into the team moving forward. Curtis Givens is likely better and at worst just as good from day 1. If Cook stays (which depends entirely on whether or not he graduates imo) Stewart will be pushed further down the rotation. I genuinely think we can get someone better in the portal. Hell if we sign Anthony Gilkes he'd probably be better than Stewart. I've even joked to some of my buddies that MM should politely ask him to transfer.

Regarding Cook, I do think he genuinely was dealing with a hamstring injury. Watching his movement after the win vs Kentucky sold it on me. I think that he is cleared to play now, but he is likely not at 100%. Undoubtedly, he's choosing not to play. But the WHY is just conjecture. Maybe he wants to transfer. Maybe he wants to wait until he's 100%. Who knows. What I do know is that he is a good player (but he is replaceable) and that the things Trae Hannibal does contribute more to winning.

I'm not as low on Cook as others. I do think his body language has been poor at times (reminds me of Brandon Murray), but I do think if MM pulls the reins in on him he could be a productive player. Better shot IQ and an emphasis on making others around him better would make him a better fit for this team.