(Photo by UC-Davis)
By Hunt Palmer
It appeared LSU transfer portal efforts had slowed after a blistering March and early April. While they may have slowed, they didn’t stop. Wednesday the Tigers secured a commitment from UC-Davis wing Pablo Tamba. The native Spainard becomes the sixth transfer portal addition for Matt McMahon’s club and ninth newcomer to the 2025-26 team.
Like four of the five that preceded him, Tamba comes from the lower level of college basketball, and LSU hopes his game translates to the sport’s best conference. We’ll take a look at Tamba’s game in this edition of Portal Profile.
WHAT WE KNOW
Tamba is a native of Spain, and he played high level basketball in Europe as a teenager. He was a member of Spain’s U20 FIBA team in 2023.
He decided to come to the United States for college and signed with Idaho State where played sparingly in his only season. From there, he moved on to Indian River State College in Florida.
Tamba then landed at UC-Davis for a pair of seasons. In 2024-25 he averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds as a full-time starter.
6’7 Wing Pablo Tamba STEPPED UP vs #16 NWF
23 points (7-12FG) (9-12FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists & 3 steals! @pablo_tamba_ @JUCOadvocate @JucoRecruiting @TheNielsenFile pic.twitter.com/XhAlqTHQl6
— Indian River Hoops (@IRSC_Hoops) March 12, 2023
Tamba is a 6-foot-7 wing with long arms and really good athleticism. Those are his strengths. He’s not a polished shooter or creator. He only made 10 threes in two years at UC-Davis and shot them at a 26 percent clip. He was just 66 percent from the free throw line, as well.
He got those 11 points per game by attacking the rim and using his length and leaping ability to finish at the basket.
Have to dive into some full UC Davis games of Pablo Tamba, but this YouTube highlight for Spain is crazy pic.twitter.com/OB5ZcVslcb
— Toyloy Brown III (@TJ3rd_) May 1, 2025
The rebounding is a strength, and his defensive potential is immense because he has three things you can’t teach—length, athleticism and age.
One statistical red flag is the turnovers. He averaged more than two per game playing Big West Competition. Certainly, slashing wings will turn the ball over more often than spot shooters, but over twice per game is a little concerning.
THE FIT
Most of the backcourt portal additions thus far skew toward offense. Dedan Thomas is a creating point guard. Rashad King and Max Mackinnon are scoring guards. Tamba’s best chance at a real impact is playing the wing stopper role. Good teams need that.
Pablo Tamba never fails to impress. 🍿🎥#FIBAU20Europe x @BaloncestoESP pic.twitter.com/4yfrAKTAnm
— NextGen Hoops (@NextGenHoops) July 12, 2023
Marlon Taylor did that on a team with Skylar Mays and Tremont Waters handling the ball. Dji Bailey was that guy on the last team, but Tamba is longer and far, far more athletic than Bailey.
Considering King and Mackinnon are both 6-foot-6, length will be no problem for LSU. Tamba becomes the highest upside defender.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
This one is tough. It’s hard to imagine Tamba having a ton of success offensively in the SEC. He cannot shoot the three, and the guys contesting his drives in the Big West are nowhere near the athletes he’s going to see in January and February.
But LSU has scoring on the roster. That isn’t what McMahon is asking of Tamba. He wants better perimeter defense. Tamba has not been a big steals guy, just 37 in 32 games last year. He doesn’t block a lot of shots, 24.
He feels like a depth piece with some quality measurables. LSU got light on wing depth this past season. Tyrell Ward left the team, and Vyctorius Miller got hurt.
Depth shouldn’t be tough to come by in this era, and LSU is trying to make sure the roster is adequately stocked with older players.
