Tag: Matt McMahon

LSU men’s basketball announced as part of inaugural Greenbriar Tip-Off field in 2024

The Tigers are heading to the mountains of West Virginia for an early season tournament.

The LSU men’s basketball team is taking a trip to West Virginia, in November to take part in the inaugural Greenbriar Tip-Off, as was announced on Wednesday.

The Tigers will join Wisconsin, Pittsburgh and UCF in the field as part of the mountain division, where they will play in a two-game bracketed tournament on Nov. 22 and 24. The event will take place at the Greenbriar Resort, which is in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Fans interested in attending the tip-off tournament can purchase travel packages beginning on May 21. Those packages include tickets to the game as well as accommodations at the resort.

LSU previously participated in the Cayman Islands Classic and Charleston Classic in the first two seasons under [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], winning two games in each.

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4-star guard Vyctorius Miller signs with LSU men’s basketball

The Tigers made things official with their third and final 2024 commit on Thursday.

The LSU men’s basketball team and coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] signed their third high school commit of the 2024 cycle on Thursday.

Four-star Los Angeles guard [autotag]Vyctorius Miller[/autotag] made things official, signing a national letter of intent with the Tigers. He was the third and final high school commit in the 2024 class to sign with LSU, joining forward [autotag]Robert Miller[/autotag] and guard [autotag]Curtis Givens III[/autotag].

All three players rank in the top 100 nationally.

Miller is the highest-rated of the group. He ranks 56th nationally, per the 247Sports Composite, and he ranks as the No. 10 shooting guard in the 2024 cycle. Miller began his high school career in Chandler, Arizona, before moving to Southern California.

LSU’s recruiting class currently ranks 13th overall, per 247Sports, and it ranks 16th nationally when you include the three transfer additions so far.

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LSU men’s basketball lands Richmond guard transfer Dji Bailey

The Tigers landed their third transfer portal commitment on Wednesday.

The LSU men’s basketball team continues to add to its transfer portal class entering Year 3 under coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag].

On Wednesday, the Tigers landed a commitment from Richmond guard transfer [autotag]Dji Bailey[/autotag], a 6-foot-5 senior from Wilson, North Carolina. Bailey has appeared in 71 games with 31 starts, 24 of which came this past season.

He was named the A-10 Most Improved Player in 2023-24 while averaging 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He also tallied career highs in points (22) against La Salle and steals (six) against Florida.

Bailey’s career field goal percentage of 56.4% also ranks fourth all-time in Spiders basketball history among players who attempted at least 300 field goals.

Bailey is the third transfer to join the Tigers this offseason, a group that is all guards so far and includes Kansas State’s [autotag]Cam Carter[/autotag] and UT-Martin’s [autotag]Jordan Sears[/autotag].

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LSU basketball’s Jalen Reed to return for 3rd season

Jalen Reed is coming back for what could be a breakout season in 2024-25.

LSU has already landed a couple of intriguing players in the transfer portal heading into the third season under coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], and it also got some good news from a player who is already on the team Sunday.

Sophomore forward [autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag] announced that he will return to LSU for his third season in 2024-25 rather than enter the transfer portal or the 2024 NBA draft. Reed announced his intention to return with a hype video posted on social media.

A former four-star and top-100 recruit, McMahon flipped Reed from Florida shortly after arriving in Baton Rouge. After appearing in 33 games with 11 starts as a true freshman, he saw his role increase significantly this year.

He started 20 of 32 games, averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. He scored in double figures in 10 games after doing so just once last year, and he recorded a double-double — the first of his college career — in a loss to Syracuse.

Reed could be poised for a breakout season after showing flashes this winter. Getting him back in the fold for a third year is a huge win for McMahon and Co.

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LSU basketball lands UT-Martin point guard transfer Jordan Sears

Jordan Sears was a First Team All-OVC selection in each of his two seasons with the Skyhawks.

Once again, coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] has the makings of a promising transfer portal class heading into Year 3.

On Thursday, the Tigers landed their second transfer in the cycle as they received a commitment from former UT-Martin point guard [autotag]Jordan Sears[/autotag].

The Daytona Beach native began his career at Gardner-Webb before joining the Skyhawks in 2022-23. He has been a First Team All-OVC selection in each of the past two seasons.

Sears has played in 64 games with 62 starts over the last two seasons, averaging 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists this past season. This will be his fifth and final season of collegiate eligibility.

Sears becomes the second transfer commitment in the cycle, joining Kansas State guard [autotag]Cam Carter[/autotag]. LSU is coming off an improved season in Year 2, but expectations will be high as McMahon enters a crucial Year 3 with another revamped roster.

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Mike Chatman joins LSU men’s basketball as head strength coach

The Baton Rouge native spent the last five seasons at Stanford.

LSU men’s basketball coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] is adding to his staff heading into Year 3.

On Thursday, the Tigers announced the hiring of Baton Rouge native [autotag]Mike Chatman[/autotag] as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Tigers men’s basketball team. Chatman has spent the last five years as the sports performance coach for Stanford basketball.

He has also previously worked on staff at Southern, Michigan, Texas, Penn State, Southern Mississippi and Towson.

“We are excited to welcome Mike Chatman to LSU as our head strength and conditioning coach,” McMahon said in a release. “Coach Chatman is well-respected in the profession for his ability to develop players, lead and build teams, and impact winning. He has coached multiple NBA draft picks and will be instrumental in our player development program. We can’t wait for him to get started in Baton Rouge.”

The hire is still pending the approval of LSU’s Board of Supervisors.

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LSU among the final 4 for Appalachian State basketball transfer Tre’Von Spillers

Tre’Von Spillers earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors in his lone season with the Mountaineers.

The Tigers took some noticeable strides in Year 2 under [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag]. They finished with a winning record and improved their SEC win total from two games to nine this year, earning a bid to the NIT in the process.

But the team still wasn’t in the tournament mix, and after two transfer-heavy offseasons in Baton Rouge, McMahon is likely to hit the portal hard once again this time around.

LSU is already making progress in that regard. Over the weekend, it cracked the final four for Appalachian State basketball transfer [autotag]Tre’Von Spillers[/autotag], alongside conference foe Arkansas as well as Wake Forest and UAB.

A Charleston, South Carolina, native, Spillers joined the Mountaineers this season as a JUCO transfer and played a major role. He averaged 12.8 points and 8.9 rebounds while earning First Team All-Sun Belt honors.

The 6-foot-7 forward would be a nice wing addition for the Tigers, who have already landed a backcourt transfer in Kansas State guard [autotag]Cam Carter[/autotag].

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LSU men’s basketball lands first transfer portal commitment from Kansas State’s Cam Carter

The Tigers have landed their first commitment from the transfer portal this offseason.

After the conclusion of Year 2 under coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], which saw the Tigers’ season end in the first round of the NIT against North Texas, LSU has landed its first men’s basketball transfer portal commitment of the cycle.

On Friday, Kansas State guard [autotag]Cam Carter[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Tigers, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. Carter finished his high school career in Virginia, but he’s a native of Donaldsonvile, Louisiana.

He’ll be making his return to the SEC after spending one year at Mississippi State before he spent the last two years in Manhattan, Kansas, with the Wildcats.

Carter was a rotational player with the Bulldogs but started all 70 games he appeared in at Kansas State. He averaged 14.6 points, five rebounds and 2.5 assists this season.

It’s a major pickup for the Tigers, which are set to lose both [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and [autotag]Trae Hannibal[/autotag] as well as possibly [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] from the backcourt.

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Kim Mulkey, Jay Johnson among Peter Burns’ best SEC hires of the last five years

Both Kim Mulkey and Jay Johnson won national titles in their second seasons.

LSU has made a number of high-profile coaching hires in the last few years.

While the jury is still out on some of those, like football coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and men’s basketball coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], two of them have been unqualified successes.

Both women’s basketball coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] and baseball coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] captured national titles in just their second seasons in Baton Rouge, and ESPN’s Peter Burns offered high praise for both.

Burns ranked the top five SEC hires across all sports over the last five years (in no particular order) and both Mulkey and Johnson made the cut.

Mulkey is searching for another national title — which would be her fifth overall — as the Tigers are in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. They’ll face UCLA in Albany, New York, on Saturday afternoon.

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LSU makes top 7 for 4-star power forward

Syracuse is a 14.6% favorite to land Sadiq White per On3.

LSU’s basketball season may have just ended, but the recruiting cycle is still heating up. [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] improved the Tigers team from Year 1 to Year 2 under his leadership and he is continuing to try to land the best players in the country.

This time, he has the Tigers in the final seven for the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina. [autotag]Sadiq White[/autotag] is a four-star power forward from Charlotte where he plays for Myers Park High School. The Myers Park Mustangs finished the 2023-24 season with a 27-3 record and a loss to North Mecklenburg in the Class 4A Elite 8.

LSU joins Alabama, Arkansas, Syracuse, Georgetown, Texas and Tennessee in the final seven. There are currently no crystal ball projections for White at this time but Syracuse is a 14.6% favorite to land him per On3.

LSU does not have any commits for the 2025 recruiting class in basketball yet.

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