I would need to see film of the kid because right now it sounds like they are dropping the name of the premier white NBA point guard for no good reason other than the kid is white.
I kind of agree. I had the same reaction when I saw that quote. Of course it comes from his AAU coach... Seriously though, Brady's seemed to have a soft spot in his heart for the 6' ish white point guards. I'm not trying to make this a race issue, but should a schollie be reserved for the likes of Charlie Thompson, David Fleshman (saw that he may not count against the schollie list anymore), Ben Voogd and now Bell? Now, I'll be the first to say, I've not seen Bell or read a lot on him, but I heard he played well in summer tournaments. So, did Ben Voogd last summer. So, just a little bit, I'm worried that we're not seriously being considered by Jai Lucas anymore, and so we're high on Bell. The kid's got good LA ties, and he's tight with Randolph, so it's a smart recruiting move. Let's just not get carried away with the Steve Nash comparisons... before we get stuff like "flashy and run and gun future Steve Nash" give me the kid's assist-2-TO ratio and his 3 point shooting %. Then show me film of the kid's quickness. In any case, if it's down to Ole Miss, Vandy and us, it's a no brainer if the kid ever wants to go to the NCAAs much less advance a few rounds. :geauxtige :bball: :champs: LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. PACK THE PMAC.
I never thought Lucas would come to LSU, so I'm not very surprised. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Brady and Pierre cannot recruit star players from outside Louisiana other than obscure foreign prep school athletes such as Lloreda, Rolle, and DJ Wright. Add Alex Farrer to that list. If we are going to offer marginal players scholarships, we need to offer kids like Gomez from Episcopal in BR instead of kids from Oregon and Arizona. Also, I worry that guys like Elgin Bailey are being overlooked in order to go after national recruits that we dont' have a chance in hell of signing.
rolle was one of the top recruits coming out of high school, I am pretty sure hes gonna turn out just alright.
he was indeed the #6 PF, but he's from a foreign prep school, so 2 of the 3 were correct. he didn't get a chance to hear all of the negative recruiting about brady and LSU that other recruits heard
if only we could keep brady's negative stories quiet maybe lsu would have some real players and maybe make the title game instead of the wretched final four.
I have to say, part of me agrees with you, and part of me thinks you're a little off base. We can always second guess recruiting in hoops. Sometimes they work out as expected, Bass, Davis, Tas', some surprise, ala GTemple and T-Train, and others disappoint. I'm not about to be as negative as you Deeks, although, I do agree that Brady and Butch have probably let some good LA players go elsewhere in the past few years. But, unlike in football, we can't keep every good LA player in the state, and we CERTAINLY can't be expected to convince every out of state kid, who is being recruited by all the major programs, to take a flyer on coming to LSU. When you really consider Brady's record recruiting (and for sake of argument, throw out the probation years), and to correct your statement above, I think you should give him credit for Tack Minor (Houston), Ross Neltner (Kentucky), Dupree (Mississippi), Koundjia & Johnson (DC), etc.--there are far more kids coming from places than "obscure" foreign schools. Now, some of these kids may have been stretches--Farrer from Arizona and Voogd from Oregon are kids who probably didn't get a ton of other offers, but every team has some kids they sign to get 4 years out of them hopefully making your team better by playing your starters hard. It's true, things do appear as though Jai Lucas is starting to drift elsewhere, but that's the way it goes for more schools than LSU (he'll make all but one of Kentucky, Maryland, Indiana, Oklahoma St or LSU sad... no hoops lightweights there). We may yet get a nice class in '06, so I'm not about to give up on the month of September. I'm also not complaining as loudly as you when Brady's brought in top 10 classes in 2 out of the last 4 years, I believe... BTW, we just got a commitment out of one of the best PGs in HOUSTON for the class of 2009.... Tommy Mason-Griffin. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=107&p=8&cfg=bb&c=1&yr=2007&nid=2431518 :geauxtige :bball: :champs: LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. PACK THE PMAC.
some would argue that our final four trip was solely due to the in-city recruits and the fact that Butch Pierre is Tasmin Mitchell's godfather... dunno. I don't think Brady is the answer and a final four trip will not change my mind.
edit: Tack Minor's been a problem since he's been here between known altercations with the coach, discipline and academic issues. He was a top recruit out of Houston even though only schools such as Cincinnati were interested. He's the only true contributor that I can give him credit for. Why should I give him credit for marginal players such as Neltner and Koundjia that aren't even here any longer? They were "national recruits", but they weren't "big time". Let's think about why Kentucky didn't want their own state's Mr Basketball......... What has Chris Johnson done in a LSU uniform? There's no reason to complain other than to point out that when the Baton Rouge 5 star talent pool dries up (Bass, Davis, Mitchell, and a lottery pick 3 star in Tyrus Thomas who almost didn't even come to LSU) LSU is in deep doo doo. That's a long way out... we'll see if he ever dons a LSU uni. I don't know how much Brady and his staff is to be commended for bringing in local kids with deep, deep ties to the program both alumni wise and family wise. I don't know how much credit he should be given for the successes of the past year considering the fact that 4 out of the 5 starters grew up with eachother and played AAU basketball together... Considering his track record I have to lean towards NOT. It sounds negative to a lot of people considering a Final Four run, and I don't necessarily blame them for thinking lowly of my opinions on the matter.
