re: Let's revisit the Shaq/Stanley Roberts duo

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Georgia tech was also loaded with NBA talent as well.... everyone overlooks that part for some reason

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They also went on to reach the Final Four after beating LSU.

If you go back and look at the box score you see that Shaq and Roberts had monster nights:

Shaq: 19pts 14rbs
Roberts: 21pts 15rbs

Chris Jackson had a bad night (for his standards) with only 13pts.

Tech's big 3 guards (who could all fill it up) had big nights. LSU's strength was inside; Tech's was outside. When it was all said an done, Tech's strength prevailed.

That LSU team played and beat some damn good teams that year: UNLV (the eventual National Champs) and Loyola Marymount just to name a few. If they would have gotten past Ga. Tech, I think they reach the Final Four. The just caught the wrong team and the wrong time.

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couldn't win the conference with a roster that included Chris Jackson, Shaq, Stanley Roberts, Vernel Singleton, Wayne Sims, and other good role players. Lost in 1st round of the SEC tourney and lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. Come to whatever conclusion you want about the coaching of that team.
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This is a typical uninformed complaint from people who didn't follow basketball at the time. The fact is that Shaquille was an athletic, promising young player, but was often in foul trouble and still developing his offensive game. Stanley was a redshirt freshman with more offensive skills than Shaquille that year, but it was both players first year playing college basketball. During this era, the dominant teams were loaded with seasoned talent who had played together for several years. Super stars didn't jump to the NBA after just one year. This team lost early in the Tournament because they were young and inexperienced compared to many other top teams. Had this team stuck together and still lost, the criticism would be valid. But for that team, it just shows you didn't follow college basketball.
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You're partially right. Look there is no doubt Dale did a lousy job with that team. I'll never forget after the first game of the year in the preseason NIT when they played horrible and barely beat an average USM team, and Dale says that's OK we're good enough to win with just talent alone. Not what that team needed to hear. He also ran a lot of hi/low post with Shaq and Stanley, except he would put Shaq (who had no shot whatsoever) in the high post, and put Stanley (who had a really nice touch from 15 feet) in the low post. Never could figure that out. Dale just never got it right with that team. But if you're going to criticize Dale for that team, you sure as hell better recognize some of the amazing jobs he did with other teams. In 1987 he took a team that started Darryl Joe, Anthony Wilson, Nikita Wilson, Bernard Woodside, and Oliver Brown, to a heartbeat away from the Final 4 in the Superdome. Anthony and Nikita were nice players, but not one guy on that team ever played in the NBA.

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They also went on to reach the Final Four after beating LSU.

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They were a good team, we were up by 19 in the first half but lost the lead pretty quickly.

The issue for me with this team is that they had to play Tech in the second round because they were a 5 seed due to an underachieving season.

Sure Shaq and Stanley were frosh/redshirt soph but they impacted the game plenty and were more effective than most frosh, redshirt/soph's.

We also had Junior Wayne Sims and Sophomore's with a lot of experience returning in Jackson, Boudreaux and Williamson.

Underachievent in the regular season led us to having to play that really good GT team, who was also a bit of an underachieving team in the regular season, in the second round.

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What really jumps out to me is that LSU fans couldn't wait to fire the most successful basketball coach in LSU history, in part because he should have won more with that much talent.

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Dale Brown used to say he could win the championship if he could only get a true center.

The OP is talking about the two 7-footers LSU had, when in fact, LSU had THREE 7-footers in 1989 and 1990 who would go on to play in the NBA:

Shaq, Roberts and Geert Hammink.

Shaq had a better percentage from the floor than the free-throw line.

All a team had to do was collapse on Shaq when he got the ball, and foul him. It's part of what turned me off of college basketball, it's a shitty way to play a sport.

Dale was right to tell Shaq to go pro, the refs weren't going to do anything about teams intentionally fouling Shaq, but only getting called for personal fouls. It was indeed 'Hack-a-Shaq' and he would've eventually gotten hurt.

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The Twin Towers from Kentucky say "Hello."

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Can we retire this phrase along with "Bye Felicia"?

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ot only could Daddy Dale not win the conference with those players, it was a time when UK was on probation & was nowhere near what they used to or are now. Ga. & Vandy, WillfrickingPerdue won the conference 2 of those yrs as I recall.

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'86 - UK
'87 - Bama
'88 - UK
'89 - Florida
'90 - Georgia
'91 - LSU/State

Will Perdue never sniffed a c'ship until he got to the Bulls. Vandy had a better team without him (89) and Kornette was the center.

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you talking about Shaq who went to LSU and had a hall of fame career in the NBA? Probably the most physically dominating center of all times? Surely you jest.

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Yes. Shaq was notoriously lazy after he got to LA

Money doesn't keep you young and help you straighten up !