re: When did LSU fans become so invested in MBB??

I get that. But we have experienced SOME success, albeit limited and not sustained for the most part.
The one thing I will say is that LSU, whether it has been luck, relationships, money, or other factors, has attracted plenty of talent when it has a coach invested in getting them.
From, Petit, Pistol, Shaq, Chris Jackson, Days, Big Baby, Randy Livingston (before injury), Stromile, Brandon Bass, etc. LSU used to raid other states routinely for their highest ranked recruits.
For me, it starts with getting the right coach. NOT NIL. NIL comes second.

When you say “we” are not serious, I think you mean “the administration.”
The fans have always been serious. “We” just need to get rid of this unserious coach and get one who wants to and can do what needs to be done. Then, support him

They support complaining, just read each thread, it's full of whining mayo.

Yup. I think most of the time people are talking past each other, but meaning well.

The rest are so tied up in either totally giving up or uninterested in the program that it doesn’t matter what you say. Same with the Wade or bust people. Arguing about Wade is counterproductive.

It always starts at the top and what they want to invest in time and money (which is why I don’t donate more). Once I (and the fans) believe that they are serious, then the program can be successful and have what it needs from coach, to NIL, to players, etc.

I think WW was the prototype for the coach needed in the portal and NIL. But, I don’t think Wade is walking back through that door. That ship has sailed.

But, the next coach should have those qualities that made him successful. This is what I am looking for and what the administration needs to be doing. Not throwing away money on a coach that doesn’t have ALL those qualities.

Some folks have argued that the buyout will be lower next year. I think it’s digging the hole deeper because I think he’s lost the locker room as well as the fans.

They’ve already announced the extra NIL. Taking that at face value, they should be able to convince a prospective coach to come here and build.

I mean, it’s not that he can do much worse. Just don’t give him a ridiculously long contract with a huge buyout

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I just feel that LSU has shot itself in the foot due to not taking it serious and the climb will be steep and higher than Everest.

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A good coach can entirely flip a program in literally one offseason. And I don't think the issue is so much that the administration doesn't take MBB seriously, it's that they dug themselves into a hole by hiring the wrong guy at the wrong time. Like it or not, a HC has to be as much of a "fundraiser" as coach these days. That's not McMahon. He came from a mid-major with a long history of success pre-dating him, and most of his personal success came in the pre-NIL era. McMahon never coached at the high-major level where "fundraising" was ABSOLUTELY taking place to pay players (illegally) before NIL was "legal".

He took more of the Trent Johnson approach in that winning solves everything. "I don't have to fundraise or press the flesh with the boosters/donors if I just win". Unfortunately, he hasn't...at all.

The donor support is there for MBB. But it is going to take a HC going out there and working for it. The first summer Wade was at LSU, before he ever coached a game, he basically went on a barnstorming tour of the state. He spoke to any group that wanted him, anytime, anywhere. Of course, part of that was to promote the program. But more was to raise the funds he knew he needed to compete with the likes of Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, etc for players (unless you are naive enough to believe those schools weren't shelling out huge sums for blue-chip/lottery pick players). He got that money too.

McMahon ain't doing it. It's not his personality and it's not his strength. But if you aren't going to fundraise, you damn well better have someone on staff who can, and you damn well better be able to coach. Neither has happened. And what money he has been able to get has been allocated more to HS recruiting than transfers...because that's how teams used to be built. Not anymore. HS recruiting is still very important, but you can't 100% rely on it to be your source of roster building because there is no guarantee those guys will stay multiple years and develop.

In a previous era of college basketball maybe McMahon has good success building LSU over the course of a few years. But that is not the era we live in. Right now LSU has the wrong guy at the wrong time. A few (purported) more NIL dollars isn't going to change that next year.

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Some folks have argued that the buyout will be lower next year. I think it’s digging the hole deeper because I think he’s lost the locker room as well as the fans.

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It just appears as though this is a pretty bad situation and you will likely have no choice after next year. So basically all you are saving is $2 million and putting an already tuned out fan base through another year of caring less about mens hoops I'm not sure it's really worth the $2 million - I mean do they really think CMM can salvage anything at this point?

I mean I'd love to see it, but......

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Actually we had a consistent winner in Dale Brown for many years in a row.

We also had that in Will Wade, but then decided to blow it up instead of giving the finger to the NCAA like everyone else basically.

So basically, with the right coach, we can make a lot of noise in the conference and be a pretty consistent NCAAT team.

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Absolutely, but it ain't easy - the type of coach it would take that could both energize the program, create excitement and fund raise - those guys don't grow on trees. WW was that guy but he ain't coming back. Sorry but CMM does not appear to be that guy. We can delay it for a year as it looks as though we will but when that expires finding that guy will be easier said than done.