Dedan Thomas tilted his head up as he dribbled during a half-court drill.

The 6-foot-1 point guard for the LSU men's basketball team was eyeing an alley-oop to his sophomore teammate, Robert Miller. The 6-foot-10 forward, with every bit of a 7-5 wingspan, caught the delivery and swiftly threw down a dunk in the 2-on-1 phase of Wednesday's practice.

That was one of a couple of alley-oops the duo connected on during the team's first official practice ahead of the 2025-26 season. The Tigers' first game is Nov. 5 against Tarleton State at home.

Fourth-year coach Matt McMahon answered questions for about 20 minutes before the practice, and he also gave an update on redshirt junior Jalen Reed’s status after he tore his right ACL on Dec. 3 against Florida State.

Reed, one of only two return

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