LSU basketball hiring Sacramento State head coach David Patrick as associate head coach

LSU is hiring Sacramento State head coach David Patrick as the associate head coach to Matt McMahon, the team announced Wednesday. It will be the second stint for Patrick with the Tigers as he was also an assistant under Johnny Jones from 2012-16.

Patrick had been the coach at Sacramento State for the past two seasons, leading the Hornets to a combined 24-42 record. He also brings head coaching experience at UC Riverside from 2018-20. His overall record as a head coach is 51-80.

Additionally, Patrick was an assistant coach at St. Mary’s, TCU, Arkansas and Oklahoma at various points throughout his career.

Patrick was born in Bermuda but raised in Melbourne, Australia. He is the godfather of Australian-born NBA player and former LSU player Ben Simmons and also served as an assistant coach for the Australia men’s national team.

“I am incredibly excited to welcome David Patrick and his family to our LSU coaching staff,” McMahon said in a press release. “He is an outstanding basketball coach and an elite recruiter who has impacted winning at every stop on his journey. Coach Patrick brings tremendous experience and success to our program. He has been a Division I Head Coach, an assistant coach for the Australian National Team winning a bronze medal in the 2021 Olympics, and has coached in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

“I love Coach Patrick’s investment in player development and in building relationships. He has recruited and helped to develop multiple NBA Draft picks throughout his career. I look forward to the new ideas, solutions, and energy he will bring to our program. We can’t wait to get started this summer.”

Patrick moved to the United States from Australia in 1994 and attended Chapel Trafton High School in Baton Rouge. He accepted a scholarship to play for Syracuse and was a member of the Orange’s 1996 Final Four team. He later transferred to Louisiana-Lafayette for the final three seasons of his playing career.

Patrick is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country and helped LSU to land a top five class in both the 2013 and 2015 cycles. That included signing Simmons, then the No. 1 player in the 2015 class.

LSU is coming off of a 17-16 finish this past year in McMahon’s second season and lost in the first round of the NIT. The Tigers will aim to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time under McMahon in 2024-25 now with Patrick’s assistance.