Just wanted to say keep up the good work on basketball recruiting. I know it seems like you are having a conversation with yourself in some of these threads but I know I really enjoy reading about it. There just aren't that many peolple that keep up with it who can speak about it properly.
Speaking of James Tyler, has anybody come across any news on him since he was kicked out of The Patterson School? He sounded like a good pickup but that has to be considered very provisional now. (Both as to whether he'll still end up here, and whether he's a good pickup.) Hopefully whatever it was, was an isolated incident kind of thing, but with the echoes of Tac Minor (and Lloreda and a few other misfits Brady brought in) still ringing, it's hard not to wonder.
Yeah, for 2009 I want TommyMG, along with Noel Johnson (high-flyer) and Kenny Boynton (3pt bomber). That would be one helluva class.
Ok, it's time to pick up the '08 thread again... I know I couldn't stay away for long. But, what's prompting this post is unfortunately, the departure of Nikita Johnson, who's leaving to become the associate head coach and lead recruiter at LA Tech. http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/7130246.html I'm not too concerned about this move affecting the Xs and Os of this staff, but this affects recruiting, b/c it appears DJ Wright's signing hangs in the balance, as I underestimated Nikita's relationship to DJ's summer coach. This also trickles down, as I projected, to Ray Shipman and Olu Ashaolu in '08. If we lose DJ it'll be an unfortunate loss, but obviously it happens--coaches leave for better deals--hopefully DJ realizes this and honors his commitment b/c he has a future at LSU if he works at it. Long-term it may not affect recruiting all that much, b/c of my post earlier about the spots available in '08 and the fact that it seems that LSU is taking a very strong LA recruiting focus in the coming year. What's interesting however for Nikita, is yes, he's getting a better coaching gig, but the platform to which he's recruiting is smaller. It's a little harder sell to convince a kid from Canada, or Florida or Texas to move to LA Tech over LSU. But, Nikita seems to have good connections, so we'll see how it goes. It also appears then that Nikita and his staff will put a little more pressure on Brady and Butch to recruit LA harder--LA Tech will focus in on LA kids that seem to get ignored at times by LSU, and there are some good kids in there. It also means that Brady and Butch have to recruit another assistant. AND, this is an opportune time to upgrade the staff. Johnson was only getting paid $80k, but I think that LSU needs to consider a younger guy with a fresher recruiting appeal, and who might be able to recruit LA (preferably N.O. ties), and have some street cred... (I'll keep putting in the shameless plug for Randy Livingston, here--who we'll have to see if he gets his NBA day to day contract renewed by Seattle). Or, you go the otherway, and get a good up and coming cerebral kid who can maybe mix it up coaching offense. In any case, it's something to watch in the coming months... :geauxtige :bball: :champs: LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. BE A FAN.
Ok, I'm officially more in love with Randy than ever... question is, will he accept being just the assistant coach? This is quite a remarkable story, and he would be invaluable to the LSU community as a whole. Skip find a way to make this happen! (of course, what does that mean for some of our current coaches? :lol: ). Randy was voted the D-League MVP, led the Idaho Stampede to the No.1 seed in the West, and led the D-league in assists. Watch the videos... may not be available too much longer, folks. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/randy_livingston/index.html :geauxtige :bball: :champs: LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. BE A FAN.
He is but on a 10 day contract only. The Stampede expects him back for their playoff run. Randy will probably make a decision after the D-League playoffs whether he will continue to play trying to make a NBA team.
Im really not worried about dj....hes a tiger and i look forward to seeing him in purple and gold next year.
I know J'Covan Brown has LSU on his list of school but just saw this on rivals, " According to Brown's high school coach Kentucky, Florida and Texas are the top three schools in the hunt for brown". Link to the article http://lsu.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=666555 talks about him getting kicked out of a game
