Though it’s not fair to suggest LSU’s season was doomed after 6-foot-10 starting forward Jalen Reed tore his right ACL in early December, the loss played a role in derailing the Tigers’ season. LSU was 7-1 when Reed went down, but without his 11.1 points and 6.5 boards a game, the Tigers won just seven games the rest of the season, finishing 3-15 in the SEC and 14-18 overall.
“[Reed’s injury] killed us,” LSU coach Matt McMahon told Hoops HQ. “But injuries are part of it. We’re moving forward from last year. That’s the only way to go. You can’t look backward.”
McMahon and his assistants entered the portal season with an extensive shopping list. A top priority was to add interior support for Reed, who was granted a redshirt year and will return in 2025-26. McMahon found what he was looking for in 6-foot-10, 245-pound Mississippi State transfer Michael Nwoko and 6-foot-8, 225-pound Omaha transfer Marquel Sutton.
LSU saw firsthand how talented Nwoko was as he piled up 14 points and 11 boards in two games against the Tigers. “He plays with physicality and toughness,” McMahon said. “You can’t have too much of that, which we found out last season.”
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McMahon loves Sutton’s energy. Last season he averaged 18.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in leading the Mavericks to the Summit League Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. “He plays with relentless effort,” McMahon says.
With Reed returning, the addition of Nwoko and Sutton, and emerging 6-foot-10 forward Robert Miller back for his sophomore season, McMahon has reason to feel good about his frontcourt rotation.
The LSU staff had three other areas to shore up. Having coached NBA star Ja Morant at Murray State, McMahon knows the value of what he calls an “electric point guard.” One of the most coveted floor generals in the portal was 6-foot-1 junior Dedan Thomas. He earned third-team All-Mountain West Conference honors after finishing ninth in the league in scoring (15.6) and third in assists (4.7) at UNLV.
“A point guard had to be the foundation of our class,” McMahon said. “As someone who has been blessed over the years to have coached some incredible point guards, I understand what it means to have that quarterback who can run your team.”
Thomas is a multi-talented threat.
“I just love everything he brings to the table,” McMahon said. “He made 44 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes last year. He’s one of the elite passers in the country. He’s not only a willing passer but he has great vision of the floor. He’s a real facilitator.”
McMahon also wanted an older, more experienced team. After adding seven Division I transfers and 6-foot-5 Israeli guard Ron Zipper, seven of the Tigers’ 13 scholarship players will be age 22 or older by time next season begins.
Zipper checks off a number of boxes, filling a need for more perimeter size, shooting and veteran experience. “He played in a great league against quite a few players who [had previously played] at SEC schools,” McMahon said. “He’s got great size, and he can really shoot it. He’s really been on that international stage, not only playing for his club team but in U18 and U20 competition.”
McMahon loves the stat-sheet stuffing game of 6-foot-6 senior guard Rashad King, a Northeastern transfer who earned first-team All-Coastal Athletic Association honors last season. King led the Huskies in scoring, assists and steals and was second in rebounding. “He shot 37 percent on catch-and-shoot threes,” says McMahon, who also singled out King’s willingness to do some of the game’s more blue-collar tasks. “He was excellent on the defensive glass, and he’s a really good defender.”
LSU also signed two other shooters with size. Last season at Memphis, 6-foot-4 guard PJ Carter shot 39.3 percent from behind the arc. He’s also a tough perimeter defender.
LSU gained more perimeter shooting in 6-foot-6 senior guard Max Mackinnon, who averaged 14.5 points and shot 40.7 percent from deep last season for Portland. The native of Australia will be playing at his third school after having started his career at Elon, where he was the CAA’s 2023 Rookie of the Year.
“I’m pleased with our class,” McMahon said. “We tried to be very intentional with how we constructed our roster. As I said, it started with the point guard position. Then we looked to our frontcourt; we wanted to add size and physicality. We wanted to add rim finishing offensively and rim protection defensively. And we wanted to have a massive presence on the offensive glass. We were able to address all those needs.”
