So Goodlifetiger, if you were a coach what would you do to win enough to keep your job? Play it strictly by the NCAA rules or play it the way every other major college program plays it? And don't try to tell me that so called "squeeky clean" programs like Duke aren't just as guilty of offering illegal "inducements" to players as anybody else. If it had been Duke or Michigan that got caught for exactly the same thing as LSU the probation would have been a slap on the wrist and you know that as well as I do.
That story is pretty old. I had my rifle stolen awhile back. I quess I should just steal someone else's. Other football programs are cheating. Are you saying LSU is cheating in order to have a winning program.
Just because someone cheated whether they got caught or not. That gives you the right to make a statement like you did at the top. He is an individual who gave 25 years of his life to LSU. He ia an individual who is not an enemy. He is an individual. I can understand someone not being happy about what happened to the program in the end but get over it. Those days are gone...... I don't give a crap about those 4 or 5 years of probation. Its over! You can not like someone and express it in a classy manner instead of showing you have no class. What did you expect, NO Opposition on an LSU Board? Geez
The statement was in response to some other idoit beside myself that stated Dale brown detractors could eatshitttnnndie. I really did expect some opposition, but I will not tell you to die because of it. Now get over it yourself.
The bottom line is that any coach who dosen't do what it takes to get the players is going to be out of a job in a year of two. If you want LSU to be able to compete in the SEC in basketball under the current hypocritical NCAA regime you have to condone the coach's recruiting tactics. Otherwise just drop to Division III. Dale Brown didn't do anything that John Wooden, Coach K, Bobby Knight, Dean Smith and every other successful coach didn't do. I don't like it that it has to be that way but the reality of it is that it is what it is. If you enjoyed watching LSU play during Dale Brown's winning days then don't be a hypocrite and criticize him now. Chris Jackson's mother had a job in Baton Rouge that she was in no way qualified for but there wasn't any publicity about it. Chris Duhon's Mom has a job in Durham, NC that she is in no way qualified for and everybody knows it but there has been no word of an NCAA investigation of Duke. The Michigan Fab Five freshmen received hundreds of thousands of dollars and that has been proven as fact but there has been no probation for Michigan. Instead of screaming that Dale dosen't deserve a tribute for his 25 years as LSU coach and being the second all time winningest coach in SEC history you ought to be screaming about the NCAA Gestapo.
Coach Dale Brown FOUGHT the NCAA. It takes a great MAN with COURAGE. You are just a little man, my friend.
Re: .. What I'm saying is that if LSU dosen't play by the unwritten rules of what actually takes place you will see LSU getting beat by 40 points every game and going 0-16 in the SEC. I believe that Nick Saban runs a clean program but basketball is a lot different from football. One player isn't going to turn around a football probram the way a Shaq, a Michael Jordan or a Carmelo Anthony can turn around a basketball program. Competition for these franchise type players is intense and a lot of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are looking for a break in life to help themselves and their families out of poverty. If Dale had done exactly the same things that he did and you had known about them but he hadn't got the team put on probation or if they had just gotten a slap on the wrist if Dale hadn't been such an outspoken critic of the NCAA you would be singing his praises as much as anybody. Your bitch is that he got caught at something a lot less serious than a lot of others have gotten caught at and gotten far less serious penalties. Brown paid for surgery for Lester Earl's mother that the family couldn't afford to pay for themselves. Against the rules? Yes. But it was a humanitarian thing to do.
While I admit that what happened at the end of Dale's tenure aggravated me, I also have to admit that in the late 80's-early 90's, the basketball team gave me more to cheer about than the football team. The Final Four run in 86 and the near miss in 87 were great. The regional in BR in 86 was one of the better sporting events that I have attended in my life. Of course, I might have missed a class or two to sneak over to the Assembly Center! I remember the Purdue game not starting until 9:30 or something like that and not ending until after midnight, but it was so exciting no one cared. I also remember the Chris Jackson days and the Shaq days when it seemed like we were on JP, ESPN, or CBS every game. Bottom line, the reason for this reflection is that Dale obviously made mistakes, but the good things he did outweighed the bad. Look at Jim Valvano. He got caught cheating...now he is revered for his courage. Muhammad Ali ducked the draft...30 years later, he's lighting the Olympic flame. I think Brown's accomplishments overshadowed his indiscretions.
