How LSU men’s basketball’s frontcourt can help it fly in 2025The Tigers lost nine key players from last season’s roster, including four forwards, three of whom entered the transfer portal.

First, it was Corey Chest. The New Orleans native missed a handful of games this season battling injuries, but in the 26 games he played, he showed off the potential that made him a top-100 player in high school.

Chest averaged 6.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 60.7% shooting from the field. The freshman’s most notable game was against Alabama earlier in the year, in which he had 12 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. He will join in-conference rival Ole Miss for his next destination in his career.

Next was the 6-foot-9 junior from Atlanta, Texas, in Daimion Collins. He had the best season of his career this year, averaging 8 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 58.1% from the field with the Tigers, but he will be taking his talents to USF for next season.

A loss that wasn’t as detrimental for LSU was the loss of Noah Boyde. Boyde transferred in from McCook Community College but saw limited playing time as he was battling back from an ACL injury at the beginning of the season. In the five games that Boyde played, he only averaged 1.4 points in 2.2 minutes per game.

Many people thought Boyde would see some playing time, as he’s the tallest player on the team, standing 7-foot, 245 pounds. However, that was not the case, and he’ll be looking for an increased role at his new school, Western Kentucky.

While LSU did lose three big men in the offseason, they’ll have two key players returning: Jalen Reed and Robert Miller III. Reed will be working his way back after tearing his ACL back in early December, and Miller showed flashes last season as a true freshman that give the Tigers hope in the frontcourt for the future.

Although those were crucial, the Tigers needed to acknowledge the need for depth at the prominent position, and they signed two key players to do so.

Michael Nwonko signed with LSU in late March after spending two seasons at Mississippi State. The athletic, rim-rocking big averaged 6.1 points and 4.6 rebounds on 52.5% shooting with the Bulldogs but will be playing for the Tigers next season, where they hope he can make an immediate impact.

He might not be a stat sheet stuffer, but he gives the Tigers another body to add to the roster. LSU added Marquel Sutton, a 6-foot-8 transfer who averaged 18.9 points and 7.9 rebounds with Omaha this past season.

He was a big get for LSU as he added scoring, rebounding and versatility on defense.

Currently, LSU has four forwards projected to play next season: Reed, Miller, Sutton, and Nwonko, but the Tigers could still use a couple more.

It will take a minute for Reed to return to his regular self, even though he’s already made significant progress after five months since his injury. Miller is still young, but LSU hopes he will take a big step forward in his career.

Nwonko isn’t precisely a scoring big, and like Sutton, he’ll need time to adjust to a new team with new players.

LSU doesn’t have a player over 6-foot-10 currently on the roster, and in a league like the SEC, which has been dominated by bigs who have allowed them to be successful, the Tigers have some catching up to do.

You look like teams like Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, and Alabama, who all have multiple dependable bigs on their roster.

Auburn has one of the best players in the country, Johni Broome, and a solid backup in Dylan Cardwell.

Florida was a prime example and even won the national championship. The Gators have a quartet of bigs, including Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Micah Handlogten, and Reuben Chinyelu.

Kentucky was gutted after John Calipari’s departure, and he took the majority of his players to Arkansas with him, but it reloaded under Mark Pope. Players like Amari Williams, Andrew Carr and Brandon Garrison were key contributors to the Wildcats’ success this season.

Alabama also had a solid frontcourt that allowed them to reach the Elite Eight: Grant Nelson, Clifford Omoruyi, Mouhamed Dioubate and Jarin Stevenson all played good minutes.

There’s no surprise behind it. A team that can dominate in the frontcourt will have success, and they don’t always have to get the highly recruited guys. Broome started at Morehead State, Amari Williams began at Drexel and Grant Nelson came in from South Dakota State.

LSU doesn’t need to swing for the fences and has to get a guy from a power four school, but it would help.

LSU couldn’t keep up with the presence of its bigs on either end of the court, and it was a big problem.

For what they had last year, this has been a significant upgrade for the Tigers, but LSU could get one or two more bigs that will give them multiple options and depth at the position.