Efton Reid completes impressive offseason overhaul for LSU Basketball
There was a ton of pressure and LSU Basketball this offseason, knowing how much of a reloading effort they were going to go through. The team’s top three scorers (Cameron Thomas, Javonte Smart, and Trendon Watford), who each averaged at least 16 ppg this past season, each declared for the NBA Draft.
The departure didn’t end there, as double-digit scoring forward Darius Days also entered the draft but left the possibility of a return. Add a few reserves transferring out and you have a number of open roster spots available.
The Tigers have been busy in the past month in the portal, landing several key transfers. Missouri guard Xavier Pinson and former Illinois freshman guard Adam Miller make up the team’s projected starting backcourt, while Cincinnati transfer forward Tari Eason provides frontcourt depth. But the position that he’s eluded them in the portal has been at the center position so far.
Turns out, LSU didn’t need to get a center via the portal. Instead, they landed one of the top available players out of high school in Efton Reid, a consensus top-30 overall prospect and five-star commit according to 247sportsComposite. He’s a 7’0 big man with an impressive inside and out game with real NBA potential and could very well be a “one and done” prospect.
In an SEC that has filled up with a ton of talent in the frontcourt everywhere, landing a player like Reid that can come in and compete immediately is a major boost for LSU’s aspirations of making another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022.
Reid joins fellow incoming freshmen centers Bradley Ezewiro and top-100 prospect Jerrell Colbert, along with another top-100 guard Brandon Murray. LSU now has a top-10 incoming recruiting class, and eight newcomers overall.
There’s plenty of talent on the roster but the question will be how it all fits. Neither Pinson nor Miller are true point guards so how they mesh in the backcourt will go a long way towards determining how good the team. And as for Reid, the pressure is now on him to be an offensive force to provide the balance needed to win games in the SEC. And he better be ready defensively, as the likes of Walker Kessler, Charles Bediako, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, and other talented underclassmen are joining the league as well.
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We’ll know whether or not this collection of talent will be good enough for LSU Basketball next season. But you can’t doubt that the coaching staff did as good a job in landing talent in the past month as possible. And that’s why you pay Coach Wade the big bucks.