I'm sorry if this is long.
I mean getting a new coach made us happy, but to get Kim here was the icing on the cake that no fan could have asked more for. Kim has her work cut out for her. She has to rebuild the image of this program and sell recruits on LSU and the state of Louisiana. That itself is going to take time. LSU has not been relevant since 2008 after the Pokey resignation and Fowles graduated.
In terms of the roster, Kim did as much as anyone could have done. She was honest with the incoming freshmen and how they would fit into what they were trying to build here. That 6 person freshmen class was cut to 3. Three players who went to other schools all did not hold a single P5 offer (this illustrates the type of recruiting going on here under Nikki).
She brought in Gusters, Ursin, Morris, and perhaps got a steal getting Bartlett last minute due to the Syracuse fall out. Two four stars and two five stars added in a period of 4 months. Nikki would take like 5 years to sign a few four star prospects and Kim did more than that pretty quickly.
In terms of this season, I believe they will be a NCAAT team. I feel there will be major bumps in the road transitioning to a new style or system but its needed for the long run. If they can finish top 6 in the SEC and win a first round game, its more than anything Nikki accomplished in the last 7 years. Hopefully they can have a solid season, sign a few recruits this fall and use the portal next spring to build upon moving forward. I will be interested to see how everything comes together.