Max Mackinnon's switch to SEC's bright lights

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From the shock of seeing fried alligator on a restaurant menu to being in a crowd of 100,000 crazed fans at an SEC college football game - Max Mackinnon's shift to LSU has been unforgettable and the season hasn't even started.

Mackinnon transferred to the SEC powerhouse for his fourth year of college basketball following two years at ELON and spending last season at the Portland Pilots.

There's one thing that's certain about the 6'6" guard from Brisbane and son of Australian basketball legend, Sam Mackinnon, and it's that the brighter lights of a bigger school and a better conference don't scare him.

Mackinnon had his best season in college basketball with Portland, averaging 14.5 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting the three-ball at almost 41%.

But that was against the modest competition of the West Coast Conference. This season Mackinnon and the LSU Tigers will take on some of the heavyweights of college basketball, including Kentucky, Texas and defending national champions in fellow Aussie Alex Condon and the Florida Gators in the SEC.

It's a major reason why the 22-year-old made the move to Baton Rouge.

"Where I was previously, everyone was leaving, it was going to be a new team and just having the year I had there was more opportunity out there for me," Mackinnon told basketball.com.au.

"I also have DP (David Patrick) here as an assistant coach, which was another huge factor for me, especially with him being with the (Australian) Boomers as an assistant coach. My ultimate goal is to be a Boomer, so this opportunity to come to LSU came up and I thought why not.

"Also being on the big stage of the SEC was big for me for sure. Playing against the likes of Auburn and Kentucky as well as Alex Condon and Florida, it's a huge opportunity to test myself, especially after playing three seasons at a mid-major school.

"The athleticism here is just on another level, I feel like that's the biggest jump when playing against the opposition I'll see in the SEC."

The former Brisbane Bullets NBL development player was a star of the junior basketball scene, not only in Queensland but in Australia, at the Brisbane Capitals along with his high school in St Joseph's College Gregory Terrace before moving on to Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence.

But his success on the elite junior stage was mainly done through his versatility as a lengthy guard and his ability to create off the dribble, creating havoc for opposing defences by getting two feet in the paint and scoring himself or finding wide open teammates.

Mackinnon's perimeter shooting was something that needed to be improved to fully reach his potential.

And he's done that, improving from beyond the arc each season in his college career, from just 28% in his freshman season at ELON to 36.4% in his sophomore year and finally 40.7% last season with the Pilots.

It's a trajectory he looks like continuing with the Tigers after going 3-from-4 from long range for nine points in an exhibition against Central Florida University. A game he started at the shooting guard position.

Mackinnon revealed how Olympian and Boomers star Jack McVeigh helped unlock his shooting ability.

"Consistent shooting is a key for me, I need to knock down shots, it's something I've definitely been shaky with in the past but I just wanted to try and become a better shooter," he said.

"I still have ups and downs shooting wise... but I've improved heaps because of a lot of reps but also talking to Jack McVeigh.

"I just asked him for some advice after the jump he made with his shot, I wouldn't say we're similar players really but we have a similar kind of body, not jumping out of the gym but have a good IQ and feel for the game.

"He just gave me an insight into what works for with his routine but also his mindset and that was huge for my confidence, the mindset stuff he's really elite at so that has been a big help."

Along with McVeigh, who is a fellow Queenslander and is now at the Cairns Taipans, Mackinnon has a litany of role models he can look to for advice.

His dad is one of the greatest NBL players ever and a two-time Olympian, who is now an assistant coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. His mum, Rebecca, had a successful career in the WNBL and also played college basketball in the SEC at Alabama.

It's a family connection that hasn't always been easy for Max.

"It's obviously great when you're going through the ups and downs of elite basketball to have someone like dad that I can lean on who's been there and done it and knows what it's like," Mackinnon said.

"Coming through as a junior, I always compared myself to my dad. So, a big part of it now is just me running my own race and that's a big reason why I came to college to get away from it to be honest.

"But ultimately, I do want to kind of build onto what he did in his career, come back to the NBL and go from there.

"Another exciting thing with coming to LSU is we get to go against Alabama, where my mum went to school. LSU and Alabama are rivals, which makes it cool. She went to college over here in the deep south for two years so it's been great just to get that insight into the college experience you get in this area from mum.

"It's a big of a culture shock here in Baton Rouge. I mean, the food is crazy good, they have like fried alligator which I got told tasted like kangaroo from (David Patrick). But just going to an LSU football game is insane, with 100,000 people being there, it's crazy but really cool to experience."

Mackinnon also wanted to shoutout former college basketballer and his former skipper at the Capitals in the NBL1 North in Ben Wilson.

"He's always been a positive influence in my ear, he's a big reason why I came to college, his younger brother knew the coach at ELON, he's just always been in my corner after I met him when I was 15, I lean on him for everything," he said.

As he prepares for his biggest test yet in college basketball yet, Mackinnon said he definitely had LSU's clash with Condon and Florida on January 21 circled on his calendar.

"Most definitely... Florida also now has some guards that I went up against at the mid-major level, so I can't wait for that," he said.

"Also for Australia, having Oscar Cluff at Purdue now is huge so it's going to be a big year."

Having addressed some key parts of his games in recent seasons, Mackinnon still has some areas he wants to improve on the court.

"I think being able to operate in that mid-range and getting in two feet in the paint and past the defender," he said.

"The past three years, I've been getting better at that as well as being a more consistent defender. I think that's the key, especially when I want to go into a league like the NBL, you kind of need to be able to be that 'three and d' guy.

"Watching the NBL games, it's extremely rare you see a guy from college come in and be the main guy, so you need to be elite in a role. I look at a player like Nick Marshall from the JackJumpers and seeing what he's doing."

All this extra work Mackinnon is putting in is with one goal in mind - representing the Boomers at the 2032 Olympic Games in his hometown of Brisbane.

"The ultimate goal is the 2032 Olympics, no doubt, I know it's ages away but that's the goal, " he said.

"It's something every Australian kid dreams of, it's what dad did and it's what I want to do."

Mackinnon and LSU tip-off their season against Tarleton State on November 6.