A former LSU standout and NBA player is returning to Baton Rouge as the newest hire to join coach Matt McMahon's LSU men’s basketball program .

Marcus Thornton, who was the 2009 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, will join the team’s support staff for the 2025-26 season, the program announced Friday.

The former eight-year NBA player will have an off-court role mentoring players. He will also play a role in helping with player development. He is the second former NBA player and LSU star to be hired this offseason after Ronald Dupree became the team’s first general manager in April.

Thornton, 38, was born in Baton Rouge and played two years at Kilgore College before playing his junior and senior seasons at LSU. As a junior in the 2007-08 season, he averaged 19.6 points per ga

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