See, this is what scares me about the direction the coach's search is going. By that I mean it doesn't appear that Butch is getting serious consideration. Randolph is leaving, Tas may follow, and since the other assistants will probably get shown the door by the new guy, we'll probably lose at least 2 of our signees. Whoever gets the gig is going to be starting out in practically a worse position than Brady was handed.
unless if virtually the whole team quits and the LSU jet breaks, not allowing Ford to recruit anyone at all, the team will be better off than when Brady took 'em over. He didn't have talent or the schollies to go get talent.
Come on guys, Taz played as a true freshman, he didn't redshirt. So even if they don't give him a medical redshirt he'd still be able to transfer, sit out a year and play as a senior. But I think he'd be making a mistake doing that, but if he wants to follow Butch somewhere I guess he will. Also, the NCAA has seen so many kids opt out early that it seems like they'd give a guy like Tasmin a redshirt for last season pretty easily, heck it would be nice to have a kid wanting to come back. Randolph won't be making a mistake if he is a high first round draft choice, the money is so good it can't be. If he falls to the second round then I think it would be a mistake for him to go pro.
Ok, it's a slow day at work, and I'm just fascinated by this search... :hihi: So, first off, WHY DO YOU THINK THE MEDIA FLAT OUT BLASTED LSU FOR FIRING BRADY?! If you're going to can a coach, mid-season, no less, have a plan. LSU not only didn't have a plan (hire a search firm, don't hire a search firm, oh... uh hire a search firm), it decided to let Butch be interim coach, get the hope up for his players, and now sort of string him a long. South Carolina did it right. Let Odom play out the season in dignity, resign, and then sign the guy they wanted... Darrin Horn. South Carolina is a WORSE hoops destination than us, folks! :dis: This weekend is going to be crucial for the new AD in thinking through these issues. There are plenty of threads on the boards here about hire the "best coach", but in today's game being a coach is like being the CEO of company. You hire a CEO for different reasons at different times... to build things up, to keep things floating, to drive the stock up. In LSU's case, it's a little bit of both. The new coach has a pretty decent team stockpiled with a few NBA potential draft picks and some loyal assistants--he's got to be able to play with that hand, yet build excitement in the program by bringing something new to the table. Who is going to maintain momentum but instill new life? The first recruiting job of the new coach will be to retain Butch Pierre if possible (much like Van did with B.Starkey). Is A. Grant going to be able to do that? Is Ford? I personally think that Grant (or a bigger name like Floyd) might have had the best chance of keeping on Butch--even then I think it's a less than 30% chance that Butch stays--he's going to be in the market to pick up a small college HC job OR lateral as an assistant to a more established name coach. Ford or even Bennett? Not sure that mid-40s ish Pierre is going to listen to 37/38 ish old white guys not from LA (although for what it's worth, again, I like Bennett more than Ford in this regard--Bennett's proven in a big conference/wife from LSU). That's not to say it's impossible (afterall Rod Barnes is an assistant under Pelphrey right?), but unlikely. (All that said, Butch does love LSU, and with the right "package", say Ford taking less HC money and giving some of that money to Butch--maybe that 30% goes up.) So, if you think Butch is probably gone, that means AR goes pro, Tas' is one pissed off dude who might transfer (that's just conjecture, of course--he'd have to be real pissed off to leave his buddy GT and sit out another year, which really hurts his draft chances), and we likely lose Bobo Morgan too. That brings us to Chad Dollar, who is willing to talk, willing to go where there's a good job. I think probably, Chad stays, if he's welcome. He's a guy who would learn a lot from any of Grant, Ford or Bennett--and he's the key to a new recent recruiting market for us--Atlanta/GA. We probably keep Graham and Harris, and they make up somewhat for the loss of Randolph and Morgan. Good news is that Storm Warren can also take some of the spot light as the young LA kid, getting more playing time with whomever. John Treloar, as much as I like him, probably gets replaced by the new guy's #2. He's an X and O's guy, perhaps expendable, which is a shame, given the guy's a good coach, wants to be in the south. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets snatched up by a rival SEC school, maybe even an Ole Miss or MSU. So, this startin' to sound scary to you all? Truth of the matter is anytime you switch head coaches, expect 2 or so years of transition on average. I think if Butch had been given the vote of confidence after the season ended, you would have had your "status quo" choice, but not as much turmoil this off-season. You do have to pay a price for a long-term chance for improvement. The good news is I don't think we're anywhere near being in a "worse place" than Brady inherited. The new coach will have a line up of GTemple, Bo Spencer, Marcus Thornton, Chris Johnson, Terry Martin, (hopefully) Tas' (who stays loyal to himself and LSU) and a combination of young, frontcourt characters to build around. I think we probably keep Tommy Mason-Griffin as a signee in '09, as the new coach's point guard to build around, and the new guy gets to bring in a ton of recruits of his own in '09. That's what we have to look forward to folks. But... no more Brady. :wink: :geauxtige LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. BE A FAN.
rob evans the 5 players you listed (especially without Tas) are nothing special. there had better be good immediately useable new blood next year or the team could be worse.-----2 of 5 can score. 2 of 5 are O liabilities and martin is undependable. little rebounding and post D. = disaster. this is worse case scenario. without tas and new blood they could be better, but it would require some of these--- GT to get more aggressive on O. GT to hit shots more. Martin to be consistent from outside. QThornton to be able to handle D rebounds and post.
I could not agree with you more! It seems like LSU had no plan! At first it appeared we fired Brady in mid season to let the up and comers know the spot is open and hopefully generate some interest. Now there are other programs who now have openings that would be a nice step up for some of the up and comers, some openings have been filled and the latest we have is the search has not officially started! I would love to have Grant or Butch and Bennett is starting to grow on me, Ford not sold on him at all! I'm also starting to feel bad for Butch cause im starting to feel he may get the job, but only after the other available coaches are gone. I don't think Butch deserves to be a backup plan! It would be nice to see some interviews, interesting phone calls. emails or something!!
