Report: LSU Forward Josh Leblanc Enters NCAA Transfer Portal
LSU has done as good a job as any program in the SEC in utilizing the transfer portal to upgrade its team. A part of that naturally comes with players departing the program as Aundre Hyatt, Josh Gray and Jalen Cook have both moved on to other schools.
On Tuesday, forward Josh Leblanc entered the NCAA transfer portal according to a report from On3sports' Matt Zenitz.
With the loss of Leblanc, LSU now returns just three pieces from its rotation a season ago, guard Eric Gaines and forwards Shareef O'Neal and Mwani Wilkinson. In his lone season on the court for the Tigers, Leblanc proved to be an important piece off the bench for defense and rebounding purposes.
He averaged just 3.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes per game on 25 appearances for the Tigers en route to a Round of 32 exit. A versatile defender, Leblanc immediately earned the respect of the coaching staff upon transferring from Georgetown at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
Leblanc was likely going to carve out another role on the LSU bench as a key contributor as he continued to work on his offensive game but now becomes the fourth player to enter the transfer portal.
LSU has done a nice job of replenishing its frontcourt talent as Wilkinson, O'Neal, Tari Eason, Efton Reid, Jerrell Colbert and Bradley Ezewiro will make for a strong lineup. The Tigers are still awaiting a decision from junior Darius Days, who is currently in the G League Elite Camp and has until July 7 to pull out of the NBA Draft.
With another open scholarship for next season, it'll be interesting to see if Wade adds another player from the transfer portal as well. He's previously talked about wanting to only add guys he thinks will contribute right away so that's another factor to take into account.
