re: After Will Wade to McNeese

quote:

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I'm sure Woodward is already looking ahead to hire the next equivalent of Kelly, Mulkey, or Johnson for his next MBB coach.

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LSU basketball is not LSU football or baseball. And there isn't a Louisiana native HOF coach in MBB that would possibly consider a return home. So the "Kelly, Mulkey or Johnson" hire is not there unless an unexpected opportunity presents itself. LSU MBB doesn't have the cache to go out an poach a highly successful major conf. coach from a major conf. team. Brian Kelly is not at LSU because Notre Dame is cheap. He's here because LSU has proven it can win championships and he wants one. Jay Johnson is not here because Arizona sucks. He's here because LSU is one of the handful of teams in the US that are fully committed to college baseball.

To get a "big name" coach, LSU has to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities if/when they arise. Chris Beard this year is one such opportunity. Another may be if Kentucky decides to move on from Calipari. Or, perhaps the Bulls would want to move on from Billy Donovan and he would consider returning to college. THOSE are the only shots for LSU to get a "Kelly or Johnson" hire (and they would be longshots even then). So the notion that Woodward is just stockpiling money to throw at a big name later is ridiculous. Mick Cronin, Scott Drew, Tony Bennett, etc are not leaving their powerhouse programs to come "rebuild" LSU basketball. They can and will be paid well by their current employer and not have to waste time with a "rebuild" to maybe one day compete for championships again.

The path for great success by LSU is via one of three ways:

1. You hire a mid-major HC ready to break out in a major conference (similar to Nate Oats)

2. You hire a longtime assistant from a major conf. powerhouse (see Lloyd at Arizona and Tang at Kansas St.)

3. You catch a "fallen star" at just the right time in history (see Chris Beard this season, and Pearl and Calipari in prior seasons)

Thinking that Scott Woodward is some sort of AD savant is ridiculous. He's good at raising money to take advantages his individual athletic teams have. LSU mens basketball doesn't have the advantages of football and baseball. So he has to be more bold or more analytical in finding a championship caliber coach than just hiring the "hot name"