Worked during camp one summer. Lets just say he is rough in his wording and it may catch some people off guard. I can see how some people may find him abrasive...that is my experience. He was fair to me, and I got who he was....but some youth today may have a hard time with it when he is on you. Keep in mind, it was his 1st year at LSU. Can not say if he is this way today...but I can understand how some of the players get rubbed the wrong way and decide to go elsewhere.:thumb:
It is all about playing time... Period... Tubby Smith isn't exactly Pollyanna with his players either.. Ever seen Coach K chew a new butthole with one of his guys... It comes with the program.... If we start having players do like Marco Killingsworth (ex aub now at Indiana) put up 21 in a game, then we should be worried that we are losing quality individuals and players.
Does anyone else follow this line of logic? OK, so maybe the guy isn't all that right now, but, in Brady's mind, he will never be anything worthwhile. It sounds like a player and a coach both gave up. Apparently, Brady only has room on his roster for seven guys to play in any one season.
Kentrell lead all juco players in rebounds so I think it's safe to say he would at least been a good role player. If you read the post my beef is not that Kentrell left but Mildon Ambres, Tim Bush, Tony Gipson, Shawnson Johnson, Courtney Trask, Rejis Koundjia, Ross Neltner and Kentrell Gransberry. Eight people since 2002 and I know at least three of them would have been good role players and that my friend is an assumption.
I will say that I think as a general premise, everyone on the board would prefer that players stay and be a Tiger, rather than have them leave. I don't think anyone is necessarily HAPPY that Kentrell wants to leave. And, if you look at it emotionally, it maybe looks like someone is unhappy with the program and wants to get out. But, I think what people who are complaining are missing is HOW MUCH defections really have impacted our program (not a lot) and HOW relevant someone's leaving is really a testament to the program (IMO, not a lot). My earlier point is that the shelf life of a GOOD player in today's college game is 2 years, this is significantly different than a decade ago (I mean do you think Shaq would have even been at LSU for 3 years now?). And so, you've got an environment where no loyalties to a school exist for players that really want to play in the League. It's about who can expose me, play me, so I have a chance to improve and get into the league. As a result, EVERY MAJOR college program is going to have players leave. Whether or not you feel Tubby is the same situation as Brady we can debate, but the reality is you can look at every major program and it looks like people leave too soon, or they transfer to get more PT (whether it's really for making the league or just to play). If you choose to recruit player that are GUARANTEED to be around for 4 years, I'd argue that you're probably not going to go very far. The recipe for success is to recruit some impact players and have a mix of good players who are willing to accept role player roles on a winning team. Someone like Ben Voogd is a great role player pick up, someone like Tasmin Mitchell is probably not going to stay around. Where did Kentrell fit? He's a big body who is a rebounder. He plays behind Glen Davis, and from early games, Darnell and Magnum Rolle are playing well. Would he have been a good role player, who knows if he would have seen any meaningful minutes? As for your list of defections, I agree it looks long. BUT, tell me what we've lost? I think you could argue that only Bush, Koundjia and Nelter were real losses. Bush is a "loss" b/c he seemingly is doing well at Baylor, but then again, if he had stayed he would have been buried behind Bass, Lloreda, Nelter, Lazare, etc. Besides, Baylor is in the bottom half of the Big 12, of course he's going to get PT. Koundjia and Nelter, jury's still out on whether their losses will be felt. In Regis' case, he would have had to split time with Tasmin Mitchell (remember when he decided to leave, we were recruiting Tasmin hard)--I think I'd take Tasmin. And Ross would be splitting time with Lazare, Magnum Rolle. This one may have hurt more. But, overall, the long list is a lot of players who left and didn't even play well elsewhere. Your "3 would have been good role players" is definitely an assumption.
you are so wrong. its not just that those players are gone and how good those players were, but that its a roster spot that is gone. especially during the sanction years--left LSU with 5 or 6 schol. players total. a better coach would be able to recruit players that wont leave for whatever reason. where you are most wrong is in thinking that the loss of those players (or other players that could have filled those spots) dont significantly effect the team. this team with koundjia and neltner would be an easy 3-5 wins better.
