Will Baker and Jordan Wright
- Will said he wanted to come here because after graduating from Nevada, he had one year of eligibility left and he always liked LSU and was a fan on Matt McMahon.
- Wright graduated from Vanderbilt and wanted a change of scenery, so he hit the portal and said he wanted to be a part of rebuilding LSU MBB. He also wanted to come back home - he's a Waggaman, LA native.
- Said Jalen Cook is a tremendous scorer and is someone that can carry a load for this team. Wright said the game looks so effortless for him. He looks like he's not even trying.
- They want to establish a winning culture. They say McMahon is trying to establish a "blue collar" style of play where the team is physical and tough.
- Talked about the experience on this team. They have a lot of players that are juniors-graduate players. Feels they have a good infusion of youth that are really talented, so he feels being with 8 upperclassman will help their game.
- Says they're looking at everyday as an opportunity. They're trying to "stack days" and get better everyday as they work to build relationships and play as a team.
- Wright played with Carlos in high school and he says they know each other very well so it'll be nice to play with him at LSU this year.
- They both think they can compete in the SEC. Wright says this team has the highest ceiling of any team he's been on in college.
- Said almost everyone who's going to get a lot of play time has 3-4 years of playing experience. With that experience comes a lot of leadership and Wright says that's going to be an advantage for them.
- Excited for their first exhibition game. They have some excited things planned for Monday and the game is free so he's encouraging people to come out.
- Feels that being here with a year under his belt will help out. Said everything happened so quickly last year and this year he's been able to fully build a roster through the transfer portal.
- Feels it's important to have some big non-conference games. LSU plays Dayton, Syracuse, Texas and Kansas State in their non conference schedule. Says they're trying to "play the computer" to get their NET ranking up.
- They're still waiting for an answer on Jalen Cook's waiver. They have to prepare for Jalen to be in or out and whether he's in or not changes their style of offense.
- Talked about how he had to rebuild the program from scratch. When he got here he had nothing to work with, but in just one year, he brought in a top 10 transfer portal class and a top 15 recruiting class in 2024. Talked about the NCAA Investigation that made it challenging to start a program over from scratch, but that's over now so he's excited about what's ahead.
- He thinks it's really important to continue to bring guys in from Louisiana. Talks about BK, Kim Mulkey and Jay Johnson doing it for their sports and finding success. He knew that LSU had a very passionate fan base and knew what it meant for local kids to play for LSU, so he thinks it's important to keep bringing them in.
- Prioritized players with proven track records from the top 9 leagues in the country when selecting players out the transfer portal. Also wanted to bring home LA guys. Said last year they were scrambling to build a roster, so this year was his first chance to be intentional in their transfers.
- Calls LSU the "greatest brand in all of sports." Said they use that brand and use help from other sports to learn how to best recruit.
- Wants his team to play with relentless effort and bring energy in their scrimmage.
- Says they don't have any significant injuries, but they've had quite a few minor injuries. Derek Fountain is out with a stomach issue, but they hope to have him back this weekend. Jalen Reed had a knee injury this summer but has been playing very well since coming back. Expects to be 100% by Monday unless something unforeseen happens to Fountain.
- Thinks they need to improve on their consistency. Likes the size they have - they have 7'0 Will Baker and a lot of guys over 6'7.
