BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon put the Tigers through a two-hour session on the main floor of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Tuesday to begin the 30-practice preparation allowed for the start of the 2023-24 season on Nov. 6 at home against Mississippi Valley State.
The NCAA allows 30 practices in a 42-day window which began on Monday for teams that open play on Nov. 6.
The Tigers went through several defensive and rebounding drills before working on some offensive sets and finishing with some five-on-five and shooting drills to conclude the session.
Everyone was available for the opening practice with the exception of Jalen Reed who is being held out with a minor foot injury. He rode the bike for a good portion of the practice and later watched and encouraged his teammates during the team portion.
The Tigers will play an exhibition game prior to the season opener in the Maravich Center on Oct. 30 against Louisiana Christian.
Season ticket information can be found online at LSUTix.net.
Coach McMahon, entering his second season at LSU, met with the media prior to the practice and here were a few of his comments:
Coach Matt McMahon
Opening Statement…
“We are obviously really excited about the start of practice (Tuesday). Still hard to believe that 41 days from today is opening night. Great opportunity for us to kick things off this afternoon. It’s been a really productive offseason for us, starting with the work that was done in the transfer portal this spring, going into our summer and fall player development program and then the trip to the Bahamas was just a terrific experience for us. I’ve been really pleased with the maturity and work ethic of the team as we intentionally rebuild the roster. We do have seven players on this year’s team in their fourth or fifth year of college basketball and then two additional in their third with Daimion Collins and Carlos Stewart. Been really pleased with where we are at this point.”
On goals for this season…
“We just want to get better. We want to get better and take these talented players we’ve been able to bring in and build them into a team and max that opportunity out. For me, I always say, ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be at a place like LSU’. I don’t spend any time living in the past of the first year here. I think we all know the circumstances and now is the opportunity to move the program forward. I really like the experience and leadership that we have seen to this point. When we talk about leadership I would say from the returners, Mwani Wilkinson, who got cleared around the first of July coming off shoulder surgery, he’s been terrific; Derek Fountain, who has missed some time due to injury, he’s back cleared now, and we know what we are going to get from him every day. He’s just a warrior and a hard worker and all about winning. Then there are two newcomers, fifth-year seniors Will Baker and Jordan Wright, two guys who have produced at a high level, both very skilled and very smart players and guys we expect to connect the pieces in the locker room.”
On the transfer portal philosophy and bringing in Louisiana players…
“I think it was important for us to use the same philosophy as some of the other successful coaches on campus who have used the portal and used it to get some Louisiana talent back home. I think in this era of sports where it has been described as players just renting the jersey, you are looking for people who are going to take a lot of ownership of that jersey and I think one of the many things that make LSU such a special place is the pride that your instate players have not only in representing LSU, but the entire state of Louisiana when they put those three letters across their chest.”