Tiger Weekly - Serving Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Brady ball deserving of backlash?

By Jason Dupuy

It was a long week for the LSU men’s basketball team, and they only played one game. The Tigers were routed by Arkansas 68-52, but that wasn’t the worst news of the week. In fact, it seems like most fans expected it. And no, that’s not the worst news either.

Amid plummeting attendance figures, fans adorning paper bags over their heads, and rumors that John Brady is on the hot seat, LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman issued an e-mail to the school’s student body. He praised the university’s fans for their support of the football team in Tiger Stadium and very nearly rebuked them for their absence at the venue a mere hundred feet away.

Bertman promised that an “evaluation” is forthcoming, but not at this moment, and left many students wondering when his “appropriate time” would be. As Bertman’s contract as AD runs out in the end of June, approximately 60 days after the current basketball season concludes, one has to wonder if he’ll make this decision himself or let his successor dictate the direction of the program.

After the Arkansas loss, LSU stands at 0-5 in the SEC without a remaining game that looks easily winnable, which is both a blessing and a curse. It would obviously not bode well for Brady if his team finishes winless in SEC play.

However, if the Tigers can perform up to their lofty capabilities and win enough to approach a .500 record, those games might not be the only thing Brady would win. With a few victories, he wins back optimism both on the team and in the fans. And he possibly wins the opportunity to finish out the last couple of years of his contract.

I’m not going to pretend that I know what’s going to happen with the coaching situation because I don’t and because I’m not Kirk Herbstreit. Part of me knows that Louisiana is a hotbed of basketball talent, and LSU should be competitive every year, much like the football team.

However, in a similar vein, this is not football. Louisiana does not breathe basketball and neither does LSU. The PMAC has recently been renovated, but nothing nearly as large-scale as Tiger Stadium – and that will always be the case. Basketball will always play second fiddle (or even third, to baseball) in this area, and the university is well aware.

John Brady, while on the hot seat in the past, has just as frequently been in winner’s circle. He took over a 1997 team that was under severe punishment from the NCAA. His teams were competitive until the 1999-2000 season when he led his Tigers to a surprising Sweet 16 appearance, only to fall off the map the following year after key members of the squad graduated. The next four seasons saw two NIT and two NCAA tournament appearances. In 2006, he guided a team of homegrown recruited talent to the Final Four and followed it up with a winning record last year.

Basically, Brady’s done it before. Consistency hasn’t been his strong point at LSU, but he’s provided just enough of it to keep interest in the sport, which is great in a football town – and just when basketball’s hit the backburner in the minds of most casual fans, he turns in a memorable season.

He has remained loyal to LSU even after his most remarkable seasons when the PMAC needed repair and officials concentrated on building new facilities instead of fixing existing ones. I’m not an advocate of being loyal to a coach for loyalty’s sake, but when the decision seems so arduous for the LSU brass to make, Brady’s fidelity should definitely be remembered and considered along with his other merits.

He’s recruited well in the past and has done an admirable job this year as well. He infused new talent into this year’s squad with the additions of Marcus Thornton and Anthony Randolph. Should the key players return next year, LSU loses only one player, graduating senior reserve Dameon Mason.

Next year, LSU will have its core group of SEC starters. They will bolster that lineup with the key players returning from injury this year. Then, Brady, if given the chance, should haul in his usual batch of top-notch freshmen and transfers.

Slumps happen. Remember the 2001-2002 season.

Oh wait, this is a football town. Remember 2004. Feel better?

Originally Published: January 30, 2008

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