LSU F Alex Fudge continues Tigers' transfer portal exodus
One of LSU's final two remaining rotation players entered the transfer portal Friday.
Freshman forward Alex Fudge continued the mass roster exodus from Baton Rouge which now sits at 10 players in the transfer portal in the past nine days and another two declaring for the NBA Draft.
Only sophomore forward Mwani Wilkinson remains among Tigers to have appeared in more than five games or played more than 26 minutes this past season.
The 6-foot-8, 185-pound Fudge played in 29 of the team's 34 games, including one start, and averaged 3.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.0 minutes.
He follows the portal footsteps of guards Brandon Murray and Xavier Pinson last Thursday, forward Shareef O'Neal on Monday, center Jerrell Colbert and guard Adam Miller on Tuesday, forward Bradley Ezewiro and guard Justice Williams on Wednesday and guard Eric Gaines and center Efton Reid III on Thursday.
Forwards Tari Eason and Darius Days also declared their plans to enter the 2022 NBA Draft on Friday and Wednesday, respectively.
Those 12 players accounted for 87.2% of the Tigers' minutes this past season, including 94.0% of their points, 90% of their rebounds and 92.5% of their assists.
LSU received a notice of allegations from the NCAA's Complex Case Case Unit two weeks ago and terminated coach Will Wade and associate head coach Bill Armstrong days later.
A full scope of what further recruiting, roster or postseason sanctions or restrictions could affect the program remains to undetermined.
The university announced the hiring of Matt McMahon on Monday and held an introductory press conference last Wednesday.
The former Murray State coach repeatedly emphasized his priority on building relationships with players, including when asked about "re-recruiting" members of the current roster to potentially remain in Baton Rouge.
"That's the most important thing here and we've hit the ground running," McMahon said. "We're gonna invest a lot of time with our players. I want people who want to be here, want people who want to be a part of something special because that's what we're gonna build here."
McMahon and the Tigers have added three transfers and one high school commitment so far this week as they begin rebuilding the roster for 2022.
On Friday, Trae Hannibal became the second Murray State guard to announce his decision to follow the coach, joining Justice Hill in the backcourt.
Northwestern State center Kendal Coleman and Moravian Prep (N.C.) big man Corneilus Williams now plan to join the frontcourt.