So, it's clear, after losing DJ Augustin, seeing teams focus on shutting down our talented big men, and watching our guards be tentative to a fault, I'm watching the USC trojans play UNC on national TV. USC surprisingly leads UNC by 10 with less than 5 to go. So, the pivotal point guard for USC is none other than freshman Ryan Francis, from Glen Oaks in Baton Rouge, a 5'11" point guard. We pick up Ben Voogd from Oregon, and Tim Floyd (granted, he's got LA connections) picks up Francis from our backyard, when I saw him getting pub as an all-stater in Baton Rouge, but not getting any love from the Tigers. My question is, are Butch and Brady losing a grip on recruiting in our backyard? It seems as though they just miss the boat on some local talent... especially guards. With DJ's and Kentrell's spot now open, I think Brady and Butch need to take a closer look at some of LA's available guards this season.
When you consider that he picked up Tasmin Mitchell, Glen Davis, Ty Thomas, Garret Temple, Darnell Lazarre and Brandon Bass in the last 3 years, all within a 10 mile radius of campus, I'd have to say no. Losing Augustin was disappointing, but getting blown out of his home by Katrina and moving practically into Texas' lap was a big factor; he said as much himself when he committed. As for letting Francis get away, I'd say Brady's record for keeping the home region prospects at home is still much better than Dale's was in his last few years. I've got several problems with Brady's job performance, but in-state recruiting isn't one of them.
You are judging him off one game? He's having a nice freshman season, averaging (including tonight) 8.1 points per game to go along with 4.1 assists per game and shooting 42%. Of course he is getting the bulk of the playing time there because he is their only real option. On the other hand, we have been stuck with Darrel Mitchell running the point. He's only averaging 19.1 per game and 5.8 assists per game. In addition, he's been held to 53% shooting. Sure, it's only temporary that we have to endure his time at point guard. Tack is back, tack is back, tack is back (oops, having fun rhyming) and will eventually assume control of the point again. In the meantime, Ben Voogd wanted to come to LSU and is here getting experience early on. He will be relied on in the future and this experience will mean a lot in the long run. As for Francis, I'd bet it was a matter of getting to play immediately. The cupboard here at LSU is not exactly bare so that's gotta factor into a young man's decision, such as his. :geauxtige LSU! :bball:
i just hope we can get some better pure shooters in here.....we have no threat from the outside but dmitch.
I agree with you there. Temple was one of our only hopefuls for an additional good shooting guard, and still is for that matter. He's shown some signs of coming around as of late. Of course we have Tack Minor now too. As we all know with him though, it is a crapshoot at best to predict what he will contribute to the team. Next year we get an experienced veteran in Dameon Mason. He's the transfer from Marquette and is sitting out the mandatory one year. We'll have him eligible for two seasons starting next year. While at Marquette, he averaged just over 11 points a game and sometimes shot lights out having exceptional games.
Very valid points. I haven't watched Francis all season so I don't know how he's doing in every game. What I noticed in the game was he was very quick player, as a freshman, who stepped it up against UNC, got love from the commentators, and if you look at his line for the season, he's putting up good numbers...better than Voogd as a whole. If you want to do a quantitative test, break out their stats per minute and show me what they look like. If you want a qualitative test watch USC the next time they play and see how good a ball handler Ryan is, how quick he is and how good a passer he is. Look, I don't have anything against Ben. I'm glad we signed him and he showed in last night's game that he can be a game changer for us. My only comment was are Brady and Butch missing out on some good local talent here? I remember not too long ago, Butch was quoted as saying, if there were any good talent in LA, they'd be after them, but there weren't so they were having to look elsewhere (like Oregon). I'm just not that sure that was the case. We lose out consistently on good LA 2Gs that are now lighting it up at other schools. If it weren't for a Marquette transfer in Mason, we'd be in serious trouble next year in the backcourt. Bottomline, I like most of the talent we've got, I like D.Mitch (a ton) and Ben, and it seems overall it's improved over the years (other than our ability to land a top flight guard). I'm only asking whether it could've been better with folks that we didn't really uncover. I think with two potential spots for another signee in the spring, I'd like to personally see what Brady and Butch can do when there isn't a sure fire target in their sights. :bball: :geauxtige
Oh don't get me wrong, I am not hyping up Voogd at all. I think he's been a bit disappointing in fact, but yet at the same time he's not exactly getting the chance to lead the team. He comes into the game right now mainly to give starters a break. All the while though, he is getting that key experience. As you said, last night he proved some things. I'd even argue that it is easier for Francis to thrive at USC because he knows he is "the man" at point and it's his team to lead. One thing you are dead on about though is we need more quality guards. It seems Brady has very little problems getting inside players, but his recruiting is often not balanced with quality outside shooters. Here's to hoping that Voogd, Mason, Temple, & Minor are all lighting it up from the outside next year.
all coaches miss out on home talent. some kids dont want to stay at home. if i were from br i wouldve gone elsewhere just to get away. coaches often have some # of high school coaches that they dont get along with too. also realize that many top notch players wont come to a program like lsu, although i can only really think of duhon as a player that went to a perennial top 5-10 program. this being said, i am disappointed in the guards that cjb has gotten over the years. much rather have great guards than great post players. lsu has not had a great guard since randy and ronnie i guess.
Amen, bro. I've been saying this for years, and scratching my head as to why this is. I suppose the last true "big time" guard Brady signed was Lamont Roland, who was a pretty highly regarded Juco off guard. D.Mitch was LA's Mr. Basketball, who didn't get much pub, and probably has been one of the best unheralded guards to play for the tigers in a while--but, he's a 5'11" shooting guard for us. I would only gather that this is due to Brady's inside out attack on offense, which up until recently was pretty rigid. He and John Treloar really have to start showing what they can do to expand the offense to make it more appealing for guards. My hope is that D.Mitch and in the years to come, D.Mason, can help solidify our guard recruiting, by showing a guard can thrive in Brady's system.
I probably would agree with you here, although, Brady has made his career on good forwards and having a good low post presence won't hurt the Tigers this year in SEC play. For example, we always matched up great against Billy D's teams, b/c they were soft in the middle. Speaking of R&R, I'll keep throwing this out every year ... if the Tiger staff could get a young up and comer bright basketball guy, we should see if Randy Livingston wants to join as an assistant. I've always thought LSU guy, from N.O., smart guard, NBA player. I had read that he might have been interested in joining the staff but couldn't for some technicality. Love to see some more help on our bench...
