It's the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. fans of your team, and you can even jump into the national chats and talk about whatever's happening across the league. Tap the Everydayer Club link in the show notes to learn more. Is internal support for Matt McMahon growing? We'll talk about it. Locked on LSU. Here we go. you are locked on LSU your daily podcast on the LSU Tigers part of the locked on podcast network your team every day okay let's get it it is locked on LSU your team every day I'm your host Matt Moscona thanks so much for making us your first listen we're free available wherever you get great podcasts, of course, on YouTube as well. So please subscribe. And as always, one of the fastest ways to help us grow is by leaving your comments below. So thank you sincerely for that. Thank you for helping make the Locked On Podcast Network the number one sports podcast network and to those watching every weekday on the Gulf Coast Sports and Entertainment Network. Hey, you can have your cake and drink it too. Birthday cake flavor is back. No fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor. Caffeinated kick and no sugar. It's party time. Order now at five hour energy.com or on Amazon. LSU basketball scored a win on Wednesday and double overtime against Ole minute Ole Miss. By now you probably already saw that and you love to see it. Hat tip to the, whoever the social media manager is running the LSU basketball account who posted the final score graphic with the Twitter caption that said, spot the ball, which of course is Lane Kiffin's famous Twitter mantra. I'm here for a good troll job. And I'm here to watch Ole Miss melt, especially after they lose to LSU here for all of well, I think maybe even more so than just that result is what came out of it. Not necessarily one result. Look, LSU is a three win team in the sec been a massively disappointing year. They're going to play out the string. There's three games remaining. They got a great shot to beat Oklahoma. I don't think they're going to beat either Auburn or Texas A&M. They'll probably be one and done in the SEC tournament. And in a couple of weeks time, this season will be over. And Virge Osbury and Wade Roos, the new president at LSU, will have a decision to make about the future of the men's basketball program with Matt McMahon. Four years in, and LSU has not made the NCAA tournament. Well, we're getting to the point now where you're going to start hearing influential people maybe plant their flag in the ground with what they want to do. and one of the things that I've said here on the show if you're in every day or shout out you've heard me say it is that there is hardly a consensus around Matt McMahon meaning there's a lot of fans who are people who follow this program who look at the record which again no tournament appearances in four years. It's been bad. Overall at LSU, Matt McMahon is 59 and 66. His conference record is 16 and 52. Excuse me, 17 and 52 after the win this week. 17 and 52 in conference. 17 and 52. It's been atrocious. So, I think there's this natural assumption that the season's going to end. Matt McMahon's going to be fired. I've been telling you that's not the case because every conversation that I have about the possibility of LSU moving on from Matt McMahon, there has not been some definitive statement saying they're moving on. A week ago, I interviewed Virge Osbury, and Virge was noncommittal, said they'll assess after the season. And he made reference to the finances of firing Matt McMahon, which, by the way, as I've checked, would cost LSU a hair under $11 million. The number would be right about $10.8 million to fire Matt McMahon and his staff. So to illustrate the fact that there is no consensus, on Thursday morning, E.J. Kuyper, who is the president and CEO of the FML Health System, which is a $4.5 billion health system, and the single biggest corporate partner that LSU has. and to be perfectly honest, it's not even particularly close. And if that name sounds familiar, it should. If you remember when Virg Osbury, when Scott Woodward was let go or the mutual parting away, he's called it what you want, he was fired. When Scott was let go, Virg Osbury was appointed as the interim. At that press conference on that Friday, Virg announced a committee to search for a new football coach And he announced Scott Ballard and John Carmouche and then Bordelon and EJ Kuyper. And, of course, Verge was on it. Then Wade Roos, when he was brought in as a new president, joined the committee as well. Point being, this man, whose opinion I'm about to share with you, was on the six-person selection committee to find a new basketball coach. He's the president and CEO of LSU's single biggest corporate partner by a wide margin. His words carry weight. So when he speaks, it's newsworthy. It's noteworthy. And EJ posted on social media a Thursday morning, LSU men's basketball beats Ole Miss in Oxford. Matt McMahon is a good coach. Took over a program that was in shambles and had to deal with key injuries all season long. He deserves another chance. That is a really significant vote of confidence for Matt McMahon. Now, I don't know if that alone is going to be enough to retain Matt McMahon. I don't know the answer to that question. There are other people who will have an influential voice in that decision and I don know what they think What I will tell you again is what I been telling you is what echoed in that comment that I just read which is the fact that there's hardly a consensus. And when you look at how expensive the last year has been, and even go beyond, $54 million committed to buy up Brian Kelly, $91 million committed for Lane Kiffin over the course of his contract. The staff you just hired with Lane Kiffin, the roster you just bought in the transfer portal. I mean, you are struggling right now to find ways to pay for all of this. Do you really want to go add another nearly $11 million of dead money onto the balance sheet and then have to go hire a new coach and then have to go pay a new roster? It's the thing I've said over and over again, And you may think the answer to that is yes. And by the way, if we were just talking about the product on the floor, I think the answer obviously would be yes. But this is far more complex than just the product on the floor. This conversation will become a financial decision in part, if not a large part, with whatever Virge Osbury and Wade Roosal like to do. because you're going to have to pay for all of this. And you don't have to like what I'm saying. And I'm not even giving you an opinion because I don't know. I don't know what they're going to do. I mean, I can tell you that if Will Wade, the pipe dream, with Wade Roos, who is the president of McNeese, with Lee Mallett, who's now the chairman of the board of supervisor, with Governor Landry still in place, and Mallett and Landry last year tried to get Wade, Will Wade from McNeese to LSU. Those two are still in position. Wade Roos is now the president. Like, could they go make a run at Will Wade? Sure, they can make a run. Now I'll say it again. I have no idea if Will Wade would leave NC State. He's at a place that cares about basketball. Why would he leave there to come here? I don't know. I don't know the answer to the question. That would be a unanimously celebrated hire if you were able to get Will Wade back to Baton Rouge. But short of that, what else would move the meter? Are great coaches lining up to take your job? I don't see it. So I think you ask yourself this question one of two ways. One is, can you afford to fire McMahon and his staff? Can you afford another $11 million? And the answer to that question is, are there wealthy people who could give LSU $11 million of a commitment over the duration of that contract? Sure. Sure, they could. Do you have people who are willing to do it? That's maybe the better question. And then the other part of it is, can you afford not to? I mean, men's basketball is the only sport other than football that generates revenue. And last year you made about $2 million despite being the second worst team in the SEC. If you went all in on basketball and won, how much more money could you make? I mean, estimates I've heard are another $4 to $6 million. So you'd be talking about $6 to $8 million profit in men's basketball. Is that worth doing in a $200 million budget entity? Maybe. I don't know. I just know that if you're sitting there thinking they stink, Dundee deal, they're firing him, it ain't that easy. And a very influential voice effectively told you that here. Tigers have three regular season games remaining in the SEC tournament. Shortly after that, we'll know the answer to that question. But again, I'm not sitting here saying Matt McMahon's going to return. I'm not saying that. But I'm also very adamantly stating, if you think it's a done deal, far from it. Locked on LSU, your team every day. Welcome to the five-hour energy flavor draft with 18 different flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow, or cotton candy. There's something for everyone. The board is set. The flavors are ready. I've got my number one pick for the five-hour energy draft, and I'm going with pomegranate. Deep, slightly tart pomegranate flavor. More sophisticated, less candy-like. Subtle fruit bitterness for complexity. Balanced sweetness with a dry finish. 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And one of the real big questions you know they start of course on Friday with Dartmouth at 6 p Central Saturday against Northeastern at 2 o in the afternoon sunday at one o against dartmouth and then a monday night game against northeastern at 6 30 well one of the big questions is about starting catcher kate aranbeady tuesday against um against mcneese there was a while aranbeady was catching a ball was fouled off his foot he left the game jay Johnson didn't have an update after the game, but on Thursday, Johnson did have an update on Aaron B. Do you have an update on Cade? Yeah, he's fine. I expect him to play fully tomorrow. Love to hear that. Now, Jay Johnson is usually very coy when it comes to injuries. I mean, a year ago when we were talking about Gavin Guidry, he said something to the effect of, yeah, well, it's like it's below his neck, but above his knees. It's kind of like the middle region. I never really said he had a back injury until he was shut down for the season was having back surgery. So Jay's coy, but he says this weekend, Aaron Beattie will be good to go. And I believe him. I do think Aaron Beattie will be good to go. And I think Kate Aaron Beattie is just as irreplaceable a player as there is on this team. Keep in mind, after Aaron Beattie, Omar Serna is your next catcher, the true freshman, who really is in the same position that Aaron Beattie was a year ago when, thankfully, Luis Hernandez, who was a veteran player, played a ton of college baseball, emerged as a guy that managed your pitching staff, was a really calming presence on the field, and had some really clutch at-bats, but certainly wasn't a high-ceiling defensive catcher. I'm not talking about throwing runners out. talking about managing the pitching staff framing balls being still behind the plate controlling the running game all all in Luis Hernandez was outstanding well if Aaron Beatty emerges into that and on top of it the amazing physical ability that he has well now you're talking about a future pro big leaguer there uh behind the dish and after that it's Serna a freshman and then Eddie Yaman who redshirted a year ago and it's been a really good start to the season for Aaron Beatty He's averaging 355 right now. Just for comparison's sake, Stephen Milam and Derek Curiel are both at 333. Seth Dardar, who feels like he's knocking the cover off the ball, also at 333. So he's out hitting those guys. When you look at on-base percentage, Aaron Beattie, a 474 on-base percentage. He has been really good and then obviously very good behind the plate as well. So love to see Aaron Beatty back there this weekend. But I'll say it again. If there is some limitation, I am totally fine giving him two weeks off. Because you have got to have Cade Aaron Beatty healthy for SEC play. I don't need him playing against Northeastern and Dartmouth. I need him playing against Vanderbilt opening weekend and conference play in a couple of Fridays from now. So see if he's out there on Friday when LSU takes on Dartmouth in the first game of that weekend series. Now, if it's not, it'll be Omar Serna, who Jay Johnson likes his defense a lot. I think he's been outstanding. Yeah, I mean, I would give him high, high marks across the board. And not a surprise. And just as Cade has improved, he will improve. And I'm really pleased with that so far. He was asked, Johnson was, to dig in a little deeper about what specifically he liked about Serna. Receiving. Like he's keeping strikes, strikes, stealing some strikes, blocking. And as simple as it sounds, catching the ball, you know, and it's the pitch of the shit named after like, and I think the guys like throwing to him too. So I like that. That makes me feel really good. The thing that oftentimes whenever we talk about a defensive catcher that people overlook, it's his ability to receive the baseball. So often when we think about a defensive catcher, we think about controlling the running game just with throwing out would-be base stealers. The more impactful role is being still behind the plate and receiving the baseball and framing pitches and stealing strikes. Alex Malazzo was the best at that. He's one of the best we've ever seen at LSU at doing that, being still behind the plate, receiving the baseball, controlling your pitcher, controlling the game. I mean, there's a reason Malazzo caught Paul Skeens. So it's a very obvious thing when you actually bear down into it about how important that part of the game is. So I love to hear that Jay thinks Cerna is outstanding at that. But sounds like Cade Arambiti will be good to go this weekend, which you want him there full strength against Vanderbilt when you open up conference play. Now, Jay Johnson was also asked for an update on Chris Stanfield, who hasn't played since the second game of the season. Progress advancing what he's doing in practice today. I don't think hitting is on the table this weekend, but my hope is by next weekend that we're back. My hope is by next weekend, we're back. But if Stanfield's not hitting, then obviously he's not playing. Again, this gives you a great opportunity with Stanfield out. Again, I want Stanfield back, but it gives you a great opportunity with Stanfield out to get some other guys like Braden Simpson and Tanner Reeves opportunity in the outfield. But remember, Chris Stanfield in his college career has played in nearly 200 games, 172 games played, 160 starts, and he has 564 at-bats. Stanfield led LSU in hitting in-conference games a season ago. So yes, Chris Stanfield, not Derek Hurriel, was the leading hitter on LSU's national championship team in conference play. So getting Chris Stanfield back for the start of conference play, awesome. In the meantime, getting Simpson and Reeves at bats and reps in left field, you love to see that as well. So Tigers with a really good opportunity for games in as many days coming up this weekend and another weekend after that before you start conference play. But some of this stuff is rounding in shape. Of course, we'll be here for your postgame shows, give you all the recap and reaction to LSU's baseball weekend out at the box. Kim Mulkey and the LSU women scored a very impressive win on Thursday. We'll wrap up talking about that. Next, it is Locked On LSU, your team every day. Post Pay is giving Locked On college listeners up to $2,000 credit for your business when you get started today. 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And unlike old fuel cards, there are no contracts or commitments, just smarter expense control. Right now, Coast Pay is offering our listeners up to $2,000 credit when you get started at coastpay.com slash locked on college. So go to coastpay.com slash locked on college to see how you can earn up to a $2,000 credit. terms apply the coast visa commercial credit card is issued by celtic bank all card accounts are subject to credit approval you know as lsu gets ready for this weekend series it was interesting our friends over at tiger rag did an exclusive interview with jay johnson and they talked about the finances and the program sort of dovetails to we talked about the start of the show with Matt McMahon. And if you needed any further illustration about sort of the dire straits financially that not only LSU, that every athletic department is in, listen to what Jay Johnson said in this interview. He was asked about spending in the new rev share era where football gets 75%, men's basketball gets 15%, women's basketball gets 5%. and every other sport combines to share 5%, meaning Jay Johnson isn't even getting a million dollars in rev share money. He said, quote, Jay Johnson, quote, it's a really hard topic. What I'm going to say is schools are going to decide which sports they want to excel in. He asked if LSU is already doing that. He said, quote, tough question. All I'm going to say is schools are going to have to decide what sports they want to be really good in. And there are some schools that are all in on baseball. And we need to be one of those schools. We're not there yet. You know, I know that's tough for some people to hear, but it's true. I have been told Mississippi State, for example, is leading the way in rev share commitment to baseball. They've committed Mississippi State as $3.5 million annually to baseball from rev share. That's before you start talking about NIL. Remember, I just told you LSU and baseball will be less than a million dollars in rev share. if you want to be good in everything, it's almost impossible because there just isn't enough money in the rev share to go around. So you have to get creative in different ways that you can do that and build a structure. So if you want to be really good in women's basketball and you're committing 5% of your rev share budget to women's basketball, that's going to take away from Jay Johnson's opportunity to be good in baseball. So what do you want to be good at? It's not me saying it. It's not EJ Kuyper when we talked about the Matt McMahon conversation. It's Jay Johnson saying it. Virg Osbury was quoted in this piece as well, and he effectively said the same thing. He said that's going to be over time about who's winning and doing well and who's not. When you prioritize these things, you've got to get there and say, hey, what are we going to be great at? What do we have to be great at? And that's the football team. Virg is saying we've got to be great at football. But after that, what do we want to be good at? Not me saying it. That's Virg saying it. That's Jay Johnson saying it. That's a very prominent LSU booster saying it. It's all stuff that we're going to start to figure out. In the meantime, the LSU women's basketball team did score a win on senior night on Thursday. They beat Tennessee, the Lady Vols, 89-73. Tigers trailed early. A storm back in the second quarter to take a one-point lead at halftime. and then in the third quarter, outscored Tennessee 27-17 and coasted the rest of the way. Michaela Williams had 20-10. By the way, shout out to Michaela Williams, 17th player in LSU history with 1,500 career points. Malaysia Fulwiley had 18. Zakiya Johnson had 14. Grace Knox, 13. Flaugier had 10 on senior night. So congrats to the LSU women's basketball team on the win. They moved to 25-4, 11-4 in the conference. They currently sit fourth in SEC play behind South Carolina, Vandy, Texas, and then, of course, LSU. And they'll wrap up the regular season against Mississippi State on Sunday on the road. So for Kim Mulkey now, the challenge is how high can you go on a seeding line? If you win against Mississippi State on Sunday, what you'll be favored to do, you go into the SEC tournament, make a deep run, maybe even win it. there's a really good shot at that point, then you would be a number one seed. As of right now, Tigers are ranked sixth in every bracketology they're projected as a two seed. Can they climb up onto that one line? We'll see what they do over the next week and change. And of course, we'll be talking about it right here on Locked On LSU. Hey, thanks so much for tuning in to today's Locked On LSU podcast. And make sure you subscribe and follow Locked On LSU so you get all the latest episodes. And if you never want to miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. You can get Locked On LSU ad-free plus members-only Discord access and so much more. So head to the link in the description of this episode if you want to join the club. And for those of you on video, we're now going to send you to the first ever 24-7 National Locked On Podcast Network YouTube channel. If you're on audio, make sure your second listen is Locked On College Basketball. Perfect for this time of year. Okay, that's going to do it for us here on today's episode. Do me a favor. If you're on podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Rate us, leave a review. If you're on YouTube, smash that like button, subscribe to the channel, hit the bell so you're notified whenever we post a new video. Also on YouTube, please jump into the audio podcast and subscribe. That would help us as well. 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