Building a program

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by cajdav1, Feb 9, 2004.

  1. cajdav1

    cajdav1 Soldiers are real hero's

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    Many here won't agree but Brady is in charge of building a basketball program and attendance will not get better just because of wins and losses. While you may disagree with me it's just a fact.

    Remember, LSU fans had their hearts torn out by Dale Brown and the NCAA with their ridiculous penalties and they need to be re-sold on the product. If he doesn't get the fans interested by doing a tremendous amount of publicity, playing at least good, recognizable programs and exciting ball they are just not going to come. You think Arkansas just rolled a ball out on the court and the fans filled up the arena? Nolan Richardson went there and built a program from nothing, working on many things and he was a bigger ass than Brady that didn't like the media, but he did whatever it took to build excitement in the program. When Coach K. first went to Duke there wasn't the Cameron Crazies, they had a decent Basketball following but Coach K. built it to a fever pitch.

    The baseball team didn't lead the SEC in attendance, for that matter didn't even lead UNO in attendance, before Skip came and built the program. If you want a good example of what needs to be done, read everything you can about what Skip did. Winning basaball games was only a small part of it. He built traditions, went all around the state talking about LSU basaball, made local kids ballboys for a day at all games, had family days where entire families were honored, raised money to better the facilites by going out and working corporations hard. Dale did many of those same thinbgs when he got here, he actually went around LA and hung nets on all of the unused basketball goals around the state. If you don't think the coach has anything to do with building the program and fan interest than I am afraid you are totally wrong. there's a big difference in building a program and maintaining one. Also, Bertman always stayed great with the press and the fans, always had great promotions even after the program was the bes tin the nation and Brady does none of that. Nick isn't great with the press but he is great with the fans and he always goes out of his way to talk about the fans over and over again in all of his statements. He runs to the end zones at away games after we win to thank all of the Tigah fans, he salutes the fans in Death Valley after games, Brady does none of this.

    I would even hazard a guess that some men a long time ago did some very creative things to stimulate interest in LSU football and kept doing those things, just like we still do many of them by allowing on campus tailgating, beer, the tiger Walk, which was started only a few years ago, the great songs played by our band, Mike the tiger, etc.

    This isn't to disparage Brady as a coach as I've decided that i will give him the benefit of the doubt and a couple of seasons off of probation to see how the team does. But don't complain about the fans when the program isn't trying to build itself.
     
  2. Jetstorm

    Jetstorm Founding Member

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    I agree completely, and that's an area where John Brady needs to work. He is not a good salesman for the program and he needs to be. This is not like LSU football, which will ALWAYS get 100% fan support. You have to sell the fans on the program. The university needs to work with him and get creative on that too. Since Brady's been here, all I've seen are a few commercials on TV and then, once the season starts, they basically just roll out a basketball and say "Come watch." That's it.

    And that's just not gonna cut it anymore.
     
  3. DarkHornet

    DarkHornet Louisiana Sports Fan

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    Well, when Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith were here and we made the NCAA tournament, the PMAC was crazy. I never made it to games when Dale Brown was coach, but I can't imagine the PMAC being too much louder or more rowdy than when we beat Kentucky and Arizona that year.

    My point is just that Brady has already gotten the program to that level of excitement once, I see no reason why it can't happen again.
     
  4. TigerWins

    TigerWins Founding Member

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    Trust me, what you heard during the 99-00 season was the norm back in the 80s. The only game that season to be ranked in the Top 20 attendance list was the Auburn game.

    And the attendance for the 99-00 season ranks 17th out of 32 seasons in the PMAC.
     
  5. Sourdoughman

    Sourdoughman TigerFan of LSU and the Tigerman

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    With the non-conference schedule we have what is there to be excited about?

    I agree with Cajdav1 about the non-conference schedule.

    If we would've played someone like Arizona or at least 2 teams
    in the top 25 people would show up and watch the games.

    IMHP..... If LSU beats one of these teams like Arizona last year
    people have something to be excited about and would support
    thier team better.......

    It might even happen if they lost the game if it was a good one.

    I honestly thought we were playing Arizona again since they showed up at our place last year.

    I honestly couldn't believe and didn't realize how soft our non-conference schedule was this year.

    That was rediculous!
     
  6. Jetstorm

    Jetstorm Founding Member

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    In my suggestions for building up fan excitement for basketball, I cite our pathetic OOC schedules as something that must be changed for attendance and enthusiasm to pick up.

    You aren't gonna get 13K in the PMAC for an early December game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or Oral Roberts. It's just not gonna happen.

    In-state opponents do generate more fan interest, so I favor keeping in-state opponents on the schedule. But schedule the decent, close-by ones most of all. Why are Centenary, ULM, and Nicholls State on the schedule every year, but SLU and UL-Lafayette aren't? That makes no sense. There are 12 D-1 basketball programs in this state besides LSU. Let's play six a year, with home-n-home series against Tulane, constant with Southern, UNO, and SLU every year with a game at their places every third or fourth year, and the other eight rotating.

    Then let's get some heavy hitters on the schedule, like Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, etc. Play at least two every year, one home, one away. Preferably three or four.

    Yes, there would be less home games, but more people would come to the games. And they would be more exciting and meaningful.
     
  7. cajdav1

    cajdav1 Soldiers are real hero's

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    I think we should play Toolame and the Rajun Cajuns and maybe Southern every year and then rotate one other team at most. SLU would be kind of ridiculous IMO, we should not have D-2 teams if any of them are D-2 in basketball, I don't feel like looking it up right now. Then schedule the big boys as listed on your post on home and homes and then fill in with mid majors like the teams that make runs in the NCAA's every year such as a Gonzaga. I would love to see the SEC do a conference thing like the ACC/Big 10 challenge with the Big 12, that would stimulate interest.
     
  8. Purple Jungle

    Purple Jungle Founding Member

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    Due to the popularity of LSU football and baseball, the basketball team HAS to go out of its way to draw in fans.

    It's just like how the Patriots had to go out of their way to carve out an audience despite the popularity of the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins.

    Until this year, people in Colorado didn't pay much attention to the Nuggets because they had the Broncos and the Avs.

    I'll agree that the OOC schedules need to change. Brady just seems completely SPINELESS when it comes to these schedules.

    Don't try and sell your OOC slate on the merits of a game against Utah.

    In basketball, the big boys play each other ALL THE TIME. UConn played North Carolina and Oklahoma. Texas played Wake Forest and Arizona. Michigan State played Kansas...and Oklahoma...and Duke...and Kentucky...and Syracuse.

    Just look inside the SEC...

    Alabama played at Pitt, at Oregon, at Providence and at home against Wisconsin.

    Florida played Maryland, at Arizona and at Louisville.

    Kentucky played North Carolina, at UCLA and at Michigan State (in addition to rivalry games against Indiana and Louisville)

    Brady keeps justifying his OOC slates with ONE game against a name opponent. Some years he played nobody worth a crap.

    He just seems chickens*** to me.
     
  9. DarkHornet

    DarkHornet Louisiana Sports Fan

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    It just doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to get the ball rolling for support of Men's Basketball.

    For one thing, second to football, it's the most nationally televised of the sports at LSU. That's great exposure to get people excited.

    Secondly, There's the dead time between football and baseball where it's the only big thing going. I was getting excited for basketball toward the end of the football season.

    If we can get interest sparked, I see it becoming huge.
     

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