NCAA Basketball: 5 best coaching hires from 2022 offseason

1. Matt McMahon, LSU

Will Wade was a winner with the LSU Tigers. He was also a controversial figure, accused of a myriad of recruiting allegations. The program had no choice but to move on from him, even doing so while the team was gearing up for the NCAA Tournament.

Matt McMahon should bring stability to Baton Rouge. He should also be able to bring the winning ways he became accustomed to with the Murray State Racers during his seven-year tenure.

McMahon took the Ohio Valley Conference squad to March Madness three times during his tenure, twice advancing to the Second Round. He went 154-67 in seven seasons and may have capped off his time with the team with his best season to date, running the conference table before falling to Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament.

The coach has a little bit of experience in the SEC, though not enough for it to be all that relevant. Nevertheless, McMahon was a graduate assistant with the Tennessee Volunteers for a couple of seasons at the turn of the century.

McMahon recently scored his first win in the transfer portal, securing a commitment from forward Kendal Coleman. Coleman averaged 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds for Northwestern State as a sophomore, even recording a double-double against the very school he’s joining. It’s a solid get for the Tigers.

Several Tigers are testing the transfer portal in light of the coaching change, including Shareef O’Neal and Xavier Pinson. A rebuild of the roster may be in order.

But McMahon has a history of turning programs into winners quickly. His only losing season at Murray State happened in his second season, when the program finished one game below .500. A year later, they were in the NCAA Tournament.

Give him time and Matt McMahon should showcase his potential to be the best head coaching hire of the 2022-23 offseason.