LSU Portal Party Reaches Double Digits With Addition of Forward Alex Fudge

And then there was one. With forward Alex Fudge entering the portal Friday according to On3sports, it leaves only sophomore Mwani Wilkinson as the last man standing from the Will Wade era. 

Fudge appeared in 29 games as a freshman during the 2021-22 season, averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds a game while shooting 42% from the field as a rotation piece for the Tigers. An athletic wing who was a feisty, aggressive threat on defense because of his athleticism, Fudge was a key piece for a good portion of the season, but did start to tail off towards the end of the year.

It was a numbers game in the front court, one that Fudge wasn't always on the right side of as Efton Reid, Darius Days, Tari Eason and Shareef O'Neal earned the majority of the minutes down the stretch a season ago.

Days, Eason, O'Neal, Jerrell Colbert and Bradley Ezewiro are all moving on from the program via the draft or the portal, making the job on new coach Matt McMahon to completely rebuild this front court, which he's already started doing. Earlier this week, McMahon and LSU landed a commitment from Northwestern State big Kendal Coleman, who averaged 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds last season. 

"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 said. "My favorite part of the job is not only seeing the best player they can be but the best man they can be. It's my responsibility to grow leaders here at LSU and that's what we're gonna work to do."