By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU basketball coach Matt McMahon didn’t see his life pass before his very eyes, but he sure saw the season do that on Dec. 3, 2024.
In the opening minutes of the Tigers’ 85-75 win over Florida State in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, his best player – 6-foot-10, 245-pound junior forward Jalen Reed – went down with a knee injury.
It was found that Reed tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, which required major surgery, and he was lost for the season. Through eight games, he was averaging 12.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, and was LSU’s only true, physical inside presence.
The Tigers were 7-1 after that game, including a 109-102 win over Central Florida in triple overtime in which Reed scored 21 points with 13 rebounds.
“Obviously, when Jalen went down, we did not have the size and physicality in the front court to sustain what we were doing,” McMahon said. “I knew that was going to present some problems. I was correct. We were thin.”
Reed is back after an intense and long rehabilitation process for his knee and will play when LSU opens the season on Wednesday (7 p.m., SEC Network+) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Tarleton State (0-1), a Western Athletic Conference school in Stephenville, Texas, that was 12-20 last season, 7-9 in the WAC.
Reed could not be replaced last year, and LSU finished 14-18 overall with a 3-15 mark in the Southeastern Conference for second to last place. That was coach Matt McMahon’s second, single-digit SEC record in a losing season in his three seasons with the Tigers (14-19, 2-16 in 2022-23 before 17-16, 9-9 in 2023-24) He needs Reed and a rebuilt roster via the transfer portal to get closer to .500 in the league, or this, his fourth season, could be his last.
Tiger Rag Exclusive: “I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, man, I’ve got to win this number of games. I’ve got to advance this far in the Tournament.’” But LSU basketball coach Matt McMahon must improve significantly.https://t.co/332kxuyyud
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 14, 2025
“I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, man, you’ve got to win this number of games. You’ve got to advance this far in the NCAA Tournament,'” McMahon told Tiger Rag as practice opened last month. “Those are outcomes and results that matter and that are important. But I try to put 100 percent of my focus on getting better every day, improving our team.”
Reed could be the key, along with junior transfer Dedan Thomas Jr., the No. 6 point guard in the portal, from UNLV. Reed scored six points with four rebounds in 19 minutes in a 75-68 exhibition win at Central Florida on Oct. 26 as McMahon is bringing him back slowly. Thomas scored 16 with nine assists.
“It’s been inspiring to watch his return,” McMahon said of Reed. “As you saw last year, he was off to a great start.”
“Every day and every night, there were alarms, and you’re going to a safe room, and you just pray.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 24, 2025
-LSU freshman Ron Zipper of Ashkelon, Israel – 10 miles from Gaza Strip:https://t.co/mTrtOU8gUa
McMahon and his Tigers missed Reed on and off the court.
“Leader of the team playing at 6-10 and 250 pounds,” McMahon said. “He is just so skilled, his ability to score around the basket, so skilled off the perimeter for a player at his size. Really unique in that ability to live in the paint, create advantages, create scoring opportunities – not only for himself, but to create better catch-and-shoot plays for our other players. And obviously his presence on the glass. He was rebounding the ball at a very high level last year prior to the injury.”
Other programs have shown interest in Reed via the portal and NIL.
“I just have tremendous respect for him and his loyalty to LSU,” McMahon said. “He wants to be here to help us build something.”
Before it’s too late for McMahon.
“He’s just worked incredibly hard every single day, since he got out of surgery,” McMahon said. “We’re not going to rush it.”
Reed circled Wednesday, Nov. 5, months ago. And he has hit it with some change.
“I feel pretty normal when I’m out there,” he said.
They say one has to walk before one can run. Well, Reed couldn’t walk for three months after the surgery last December.
“Just on a wheelchair or crutches everywhere, or having someone take me somewhere,” he said. “And then going into the training room for ice and little subtle exercises, like raising my leg and stuff. Basically, starting over from zero and learning how to walk.”
Merely going to LSU’s games was a chore as he faced the first serious injury of his life.
“Yes, it was really difficult, especially because I wanted to be out there so bad,” he said. “It was difficult to get there, because I couldn’t walk. Just getting on the team plane was a hassle sometimes. Getting to the court on my crutches or getting somebody to roll me out there was difficult.”
Reed, an original McMahon signee as the No. 10 forward in the country from Southern Cal Academy in Los Angeles in 2022, said he is mentally stronger.
“It put some character on me for sure, going through that physically,” he said. “Major surgery, then trying to recover from that. But the toughest part was the mental – just being away from the game.”
McMahon has not noticed any apprehension from Reed toward possibly reinjuring the knee, which plagues some players.
“He has shown zero fear, zero hesitancy on the court,” he said. “He’s checked the box every step of the way in his process, and he’s way ahead of schedule.”
Reed simply can’t wait for a real game.
“I love basketball so much,” he said. “That’s my happy place, so having that stripped from me, it was much rougher on me mentally.”
It was pretty rough on LSU, too.
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