Basketball adds three new players
LSU’s men’s basketball team could be much better than expected this season.
Now that the roster purge has stopped and Matt McMahon and his team can get to work adding players, the coaches have added some pretty intriguing pieces.
First LSU dove into transfer portal and added former Mississippi State forward Derek Fountain. Fountain will be a junior this year and in two seasons in Starkville he has played 44 games with 13 starts. Standing at 6’9”, Fountain gives LSU some height it desperately needs now that Tari Eason and Darius Days have left for the NBA. Fountain averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds last season while shooting a respectable 38.5 percent from three (15-39).
The Tigers also signed a pair of highly touted rookies in the 2022 class. First, LSU landed a commitment of Jalen Roseau out of Jackson, Miss Reed is a four-star prospect, No. 45 nationally. Reed is the son of Justin Reed who was All-American at Ole Miss and SEC Freshman of the Year in 2001.
LSU then added another top prospect in the form of Tyrell Ward. Ward is a high four star / low five star prospect depending on which recruiting service you subscribe to. Rivals has him as the No. 23 prospect, while ESPN and 247 have him as the 34th. A native of DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, Ward averaged 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 against last season.
So how does this all happen? How does LSU, a program supposed to deal with something akin to the DEATH PENALTY, always attract the top 50 prospects? I think it’s one of three reasons.
- Matt McMahon is a very good trainer (probably!)
- Mark Emmert made a deal with Scott Woodward as he left NCAA boss (maybe! If you like conspiracy theories, do it with this one) OR
- Is it possible that the GHOST OF WILL WADE CASH CHECKS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE?????
Whatever reason ends up being correct (3, obviously), LSU’s 2022-23 team is looking much better than it should.