LSU basketball took a major step in attempting to break its three-year dry spell from March Madness. By landing one of the top college basketball transfer portal talents available from UNLV.
Point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. is off to Baton Rouge, with Joe Tipton of On3 confirming Thomas' transfer intentions. The now ex-Rebels star even turned down other blue blood programs for the Tigers — including one of the Final Four representatives.
“The 6-foot-1 sophomore chose the Tigers over Kentucky, Florida, and Syracuse,” Tipton added on X.
Of the trio, UK tried to court Thomas back on March 22 according to On3. Thomas rose to one of the top PGs left after Donovan Dent went from New Mexico to UCLA. The star UNLV guard even got called an Illinois fit among multiple power conference teams.
Thomas garnered hefty praise the moment he entered his name into the portal. Director of scouting for 247Sports Adam Finkelstein raved about his game in his prospect evaluation of the Rebels star.
Related LSU Basketball NewsArticle continues below
“Thomas is extremely gifted with the ball and has a deep bag of individual offense,” Finkelstein began. “He’s smooth, yet shifty changing direction. He’s ultra-crafty with floaters, tough pull-ups, and wrong-footed finishes. He sees the floor and is an especially good lob thrower.”
The national outlet plugged Thomas as the nation's No. 3 ranked portal PG. He also ranked as the fourth-best overall portal prospect.
Thomas heads to the Tigers after averaging 15.6 points per game. Although Thomas lit up five teams by surpassing 20 points. NCAA Tournament qualifier Memphis was one that saw Thomas' scoring prowess — dropping 22 on the Tigers back on Nov. 9. Memphis still held off UNLV 80-74. He also scored 22 on another March Madness team: Mountain West Conference rival Utah State in the Jan. 29 loss.
The Las Vegas native entered the portal following the firing of Kevin Kruger. UNLV since hired former Memphis and Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner on March 24.
LSU, meanwhile, hasn't won more than 17 games in a season under Matt McMahon. The Tigers finished 14-18 this past season.
