Tag: Devin Ree

LSU’s Xavier Pinson becomes next Tigers player to enter transfer portal

The Tigers have lost their starting backcourt duo from this past season to the transfer portal.

LSU continues to hemorrhage players in the wake of coach Will Wade’s firing. The Tigers lost every commit in both the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, and guard [autotag]Brandon Murray[/autotag] entered the transfer portal.

Now, LSU has another loss to replace as point guard [autotag]Xavier Pinson[/autotag] also entered the transfer portal on Thursday. Pinson is back in the portal after arriving in Baton Rouge this season as a transfer from Missouri.

In his lone season with the Tigers, Pinson started 27 of the 28 games he appeared in while averaging 9.8 points and 4.8 assists. Pinson is a senior but will use his one remaining year of eligibility due to COVID-19 elsewhere.

With the losses of Murray and Pinson, LSU now has to replace its entire starting backcourt. The Tigers will almost certainly have to hit the portal aggressively themselves, as their two signees in [autotag]Julian Phillips[/autotag] and [autotag]Devin Ree[/autotag] were released from their letters of intent, while hard commit [autotag]Yohan Traore[/autotag] backed off his pledge, too.

LSU also lost the commitment of its lone 2023 pledge, five-star point guard [autotag]Marvel Allen[/autotag].

Between the roster attrition and potential looming sanctions from the NCAA, this is certainly not an easy situation for new head coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] to walk into. His first priority will be to simply fill out a roster that has taken major losses in the week since the offseason began.

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LSU basketball signee decommits in the wake of Will Wade firing

Devin Ree become the first LSU player to back off their pledge after Wade’s firing.

Attrition in recruiting is sure to follow any coaching change, an the ongoing situation at LSU is no different. After the program fired basketball coach Will Wade on Saturday, it lost the pledge of one of its three commitments in the 2022 recruiting class.

Four-star forward Devin Ree, who signed his letter of intent in November, announced late Sunday night that he has decommitted from the Tigers in the wake of the uncertainty surrounding the coaching situation. Wade was fired in the wake of a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA that cited him with multiple Level I violations, alongside associate head coach Bill Armstrong.

Interim coach Kevin Nickelberry will coach LSU in the NCAA Tournament, where it faces Iowa State in the first round on Friday night in Milwaukee.

Ree is the No. 82 recruit in the country, per the 247Sports Composite. The Terry (Mississippi) prospect averaged 23.2 points and 12 rebounds during his junior season in 2020, and he’s been pledged to LSU since December 2020.

With Ree out, LSU is left with one signee and one hard commit in the 2020 class. Five-star power forward Julian Phillips — the No. 12 player in the country — has signed his NLI, while five-star center Yohan Traore is unsigned but remains committed.

Still, with the news, both (as well as lone 2023 commit Marvel Allen) could look to head elsewhere. The Tigers could also be in danger of losing several players to the transfer portal.

It’s a lot for fans to wrap their heads around as this team looks to make a run in March Madness this week with an interim coach at the helm.

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