John Brady costing himself the stretch run, and he can't explain it on live radio... | Page 10 | TigerFan.com

TigerWins · Jan 29, 2005

Re: John Brady costing himself the stretch run, and he can't explain it on live radio

There is no reason why LSU can't be a consistent NCAA tourney team. Hell, you don't have to be a great team to make the field of 64. More often than not, the top 5 or 6 SEC teams make the tourney. This means that all LSU has to do is finish in the top half of the SEC and they'll be in the tourney in most years. Dale Brown got to 14 NCAA tourneys in 26 years.

I don't expect us to be a basketball power, but I do think we can do much better. IMO, getting to the NCAA tourney is not all that difficult, as Dale Brown proved. And if you get to the tourney enough times, you'll eventually make a nice run in the tourney.

I think LSU has given Brady more than enough time to prove what he can do. It's time for him to produce results or move on.

tigerjeffrey · Jan 29, 2005

All I'm saying is, wait til the end of the freakin' season to evaluate. Criticism is more effective when it is targeted, focused and timely. Criticizing Brady after his team just beat an SEC opponent, b/c of what he says in the post-game interview, and b/c of the manner in which he won (not by enough points, bad form, didn't use his bench, dressed poorly, whatever) comes across as petty and as knee-jerk bashing. Also posters say, "What's the big deal, we only beat Old Miss!" Hey Brady doesn't control the schedule, you play whomever the schedule-makers put on the calendar that day. I don't get that argument. Is he supposed to cancel the Old Miss game and schedule a game against Illinois to prove his mettle?

My biggest concerns are fan apathy, lack of attendance at home games, and a pattern of player defections. These unfortunately seem to be consistent trends. I want to see how the season turns out; however, I would hope that Skip takes a long hard look at the state of the basketball program, and if he doesn't like what he sees, that he seriously considers spending some bucks to bring in a coach who will revitalize the program -- get the fans back, get the recruits, get them to stay once they're here, and coach them up.

MarineTiger · Jan 29, 2005

I give Credit to TE....he sure does cause the longest threads

bigbully · Jan 29, 2005

Re: John Brady costing himself the stretch run, and he can't explain it on live radio

SabanFan said:

You hit the nail on the head there Jeff. That is the biggest issue I have with all of the bashers here. Granted, Brady has not shown that he will be the coach to take LSU to the promised land, but, LSU's basketball history is average at best and, more accurately, mediocre. Aside from the 81 team (Macklin, Cook, Martin, et al, we were always unranked. The 86 final four team was an absolute fluke. It was a hell of a ride and I enjoyed it immensely, but that group overachieved at tournament time. Once they got to the semis, it was clear they were out of their league. If people want to shoot for the stars wish for a top tier team, fine. I'm all for it. But don't act like we should "return" to an elite status. We were never there.
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I don't want to settle for average or mediocre. SF...I've got an extra ticket if you'd like to be my guest today at the game.

SabanFan · Jan 29, 2005

Re: John Brady costing himself the stretch run, and he can't explain it on live radio

bigbully said:

I don't want to settle for average or mediocre. SF...I've got an extra ticket if you'd like to be my guest today at the game.
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Where in my post do I suggest we settle for mediocre? My point is that we cannot get back to where we've never been. If LSU basketball rises to the status of elite program, it will be for the first time.

Thanks for the offer of a ticket, but I got back from Atlanta yesterday and I leave for NYC tomorrow. My wife has dibs on my 24 hours at home.

tigerjeffrey · Jan 29, 2005

Re: John Brady costing himself the stretch run, and he can't explain it on live radio

SabanFan said:

Where in my post do I suggest we settle for mediocre? My point is that we cannot get back to where we've never been. If LSU basketball rises to the status of elite program, it will be for the first time.

Well ... I'd put it this way. I don't think LSU was ever an "elite" basketball program, if by "elite" you mean Duke, Ky, Ind, UCLA, NC, Kansas. (Have I missed one ... that's about the only "elite" programs I can think of). But yes, there was a stretch of time, a pretty good stretch of time, when LSU was competitive for SEC and NCs, and was comparable to, I'd say, programs such as G'town, Houston, NC State. Okla, Tx. Ten straight tourney bids, 2 Final 4s', several nice runs in the tourney, made for great fan enjoyment. Dale was never able to beat coaches like Knight, Crum, Smith or Coach K. Never. So, while his program had national status and was a lot of fun to follow and watch (until the last few years), while they stuck it to Ky more than a few times, which was always a hoot, it's accurate to say LSU never rose to elite status. Brady was hampered by probation, true. He had a nice yr the year they won the SEC and made it to the Sweet 16. The concern now though is that the program is stagnant, fan interest and attendance are on the wane, and kids are leaving the program. Whether Brady "ran them off" or they ran off themselves is really immaterial, isn't it? If he had to run them off, why were they on the team in the first place? The team has a lack of depth, which I'd probably have to reluctantly agree is simply not acceptable at this point in Brady's tenure. The attendance figures are, frankly, embarrassing. At some point that has to be laid at the feet of the head coach, fair or not. If I were Skip Bertman, I'd be leaning toward replacing Brady at the end of the year, but I'd give him a fair shake the rest of the season, and, if I did decide to replace him, it would be with the clear understanding I was going to spend big bucks a la football and not scour the Samford's of the world looking for a coach.
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-T- · Jan 30, 2005

when criticizing dale brown, its worthless to bring up how he couldn't get to the final four with chris jackson, shaq, and stanley roberts. they played one year together. in the ncaa tourney they lost to a great georgia tech team that went to the final four.

Jeffinbama · Jan 30, 2005

That "great" Tech team went 8-6 in their conference and made an improbable run to the final four. They were unranked when they played us and we were #16. We were ranked #2 in the country until we lost in the pre-season NIT.

To think that team had more talent that SHAQ, CJ and Stanley Roberts is a joke. This is straight from the Georgia Tech and LSU media guide if you want to check up on it by the way.

-T- · Jan 30, 2005

shaq= freshman, jackson=sophmore, roberts=sophmore but first year playing.

we were ranked #2 in the country because of hype, nothing else. what was it, our 2nd game and we lost to kansas. its not like this was an experienced team who deserved to be #2. ithat team formed a year too late. put ricky blanton on that team and they dominate. there was just no leader.

i'm still looking for the place where i said georgia tech had more talent.

gumborue · Jan 30, 2005

to me, what was worse was that we were up by like 25 in the second half. thats a sad part of dale's history--not holding leads. also lost a big lead to indiana in ncaa tourney (with shaq and against knight no less) and of course the meltdown against uk