First of all, let me state my position. For the first 4 years of Brady's tenure, I was a huge supporter - went to the open practices, all the games, etc. After watching his teams overachieve on heart and hustle for the first two years, I was bigtime on board, but once the talent started trickling in, his weaknesses started to become more and more glaring. Now, while I will never waver as an LSU basketball fan, I think Brady is a lousy coach. We can talk about recruiting, attrition, and attitude all day, but in the end these are still somewhat subjective. So, I'd like to get a conversation going about the heart of what makes a good basketball coach - the Xs and Os. Like I said, I've watched Brady's teams from the beginning, and while you can't judge him on some of the years, the thing I've noticed about all of the years is that the primary offense and defense hasn't changed. And I'm not talking about up tempo or slow-paced. I'm talking about when we get into a half-court set. The fact of the matter is, we stand around, rely on one or two people to create, and don't have an effective offense. Well-coached teams have exposed this over and over. We don't have but maybe one or two plays, and those are run once or twice a game out of timeouts or an occassional out of bounds situation. And, the thing that I really don't understand is that when we have a lead, any size lead at all, with under 5 minutes to go, we go into this spread offense that relies on a bailout play. This is no way to win games. In fact, it's a surefire way to lose over the long-haul. Now, before you go attacking me, let me also say this. I live in Big 12 country now and watch a ton of games in general. I'm not sure who created the idea that Rick Barnes is such a great coach, but with the talent he has had (not neccessarily this year), he should have won a ton more games. Last night I was watching UT get throttled by OU, and I started seeing the same deficiencies that have plagued Brady's teams. No movement, no plays, just a poor offense that when the shooting is not there, really struggles. So I'm not saying that there are better coaches everywhere, I'm not that stupid. But, what we have now, will continue to fail in the long-run, or in a tourney run. Also, I don't think this is entirely an offensive problem. Brady preaches "tough, be tough" - just ask any players that have gone through his system. He thinks that being tough is all there is to defense, well it's not. Good positioning and team defense is what wins ballgames. Go watch some film and you will see more and more examples of this. So Brady supporters and bashers, please, no dancing around the other issues, let's talk Xs and Os.
you may have had a valid point til LSU went on an 11 of 14 wins run against all SEC teams and Ohio State. Its a good thing they all have crappy coaches and our players win on sheer talent in spite of our coaching staff. go piss on someone else's parade. preferably a big 12 one, namely texas. Id rather win the conference with our shi*#y coach than lose with a great one anyday. Age: 6 and Up 1 Player
I think you missed the point tirk. In general, I respect your point of view, but you twisted words on this one. And that's a great attitude to have. If winning the West is all we want to strive for, and all we hope for, then I guess Brady's our guy.
And by the way, you didn't touch the "Xs and Os" part of the post, which is what I was hoping someone would.
Not having set plays in an offense is not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of the players knowing it's going to be pass, pass, pass, shoot, the offense uses basic principles to get open shots. I'm not an expert but making a defense switch ball screens, dribble handoffs and ball reversals will often lead to an open shot. Sometimes the offense gets stangnant when the players get gassed but it often works well. I mean, the team is 11-3 over last 14 so something must be working.
sure, brady is not a great xs and os coach. you're right. but, significantly better xs and os coaches arent easy to come by. much of "standing around" is because players dont do what they are supposed to do---senior teams do much better. plus brady recruits well. you're right that there are a lot of deficient coaches out there. many good/great teams have crappy plays at end of games like we do.
never said thats all i wanted to strive for...you're mixing my words. I said Id rather win the conference with so-called crappy coach than a great coach such as, say, Billy Donovan and lose. my point stands. I was ready to write brady off a mere 4 weeks ago as this team showed little signs of life but to bring up the program currently in a negative light is asinine. You must give credit where its due and anyone who does the exact opposite deserves what they get. you can have any opinion you wish but you need to recognize the coaches and teams accomplishments currently. to try and spin it otherwise is simply wrong. your post is out of touch and out of line and hints of anti-brady regardless his successes. in other words, you come across as a brady basher who will never be pleased. people like you piss me off. support the team and the program. both deserve it. if not, go pull for auburn. I can only imagine what you'd say if they were losing.
I wouldn't be saying much of anything if Brady were losing. To me it'd be like losing a football game, I wouldn't want to talk about it for days, that's the way I am. I don't get pleasure in bashing him or hoping he leaves. If we had been losing, I would have been as miserable as any of the years I've sat through LSU losing seasons, be it basketball, baseball, or football. I asked for an Xs and Os evaluation b/c it seems that nobody really ever touches that issue and it's the one thing that usually can not be spun. Having said that, I'm as ecstatic as I've ever been about getting to watch this team play in mid-late March. And, I have given the team credit, maybe not on some public message board (which apparently is the only measuring stick), but I have indeed given them their due. This post would have never been posted today had I not witnessed what I did last night in the UT game. So, I was really trying to get some perspective, from both sides, because I do think that the Xs and Os, not the talent, will be our ultimate downfall. Call me negative or whatever you want, I'm just trying to be rational for once. Believe me, I hope I'm wrong. So group me how you want, or get pissed off at fans like me. I asked a thought-provoking question, one that's not the same old Brady argument, and instead got a quick-judged response.
TD Tiger: You're a fan. Nothing more. You are not qualified to speak to the abilities of a div 1 coach who has proven, yes, I said proven, that he can coach. Your dissatisfaction is based upon the fact that he gets beat on occasion. You are a typical bad fan who doesn't understand that you are going to get beat once in a while. I think your premise is ridiculous and is not based on fact. You are a whiner trying to sound smart. Dismissed.
Although you may assume its a quick judgment, it is not. you along with many others have posed this question numerous times long before their winning ways this year and even last before jaime left the team. The fact of the matter is John Brady, in one layperson's opinion, is a much better x's and o's coach than dale brown could ever dream but what does it matter? it doesn't....only winning truly matters. you can pretend you know more than any coaching staff and try to point out what they do wrong. its your right as a fan. Yet, it doesnt mean you really know a damned thing. 60 teams will say they were outcoached when its down to the final 4 and everyone will have a case. If they want their coach fired, they will each make your exact point and that can be said for any coach on any level who doesnt win it all. winning is winning and our team is currently doing so beyond anyone's expectations after the early part of the season. Why would anyone try to criticize the coaching staff and dwell on a negative point when the team has been kicking ass. Id prefer people wait to hide their agenda before showing their hand. If you simply wanted to talk x's and o's, why not start a thread asking how john brady is outcoaching everyone else in the conference and kicking ass? I agree there are teams who are more aesthetically pleasing, similar to the way Indiana always played under Knight. Passing the ball a minimal 3 times per set, setting screens with reckless abandon and having pure 3 point shooters is simply awesome to watch. Yet, it doesnt equal success. knight's record in the trny over the last decade or so is horrible and he's one of the best x's and o's coach of all time. although its fun to think we know everything as a fan, we don't.
