MBB - "Exhausting Shroud of Negativity"

quote:

---

So glad Fat Scott got us away from all that negativity

---

He did a pretty good job with women’s basketball, baseball, and football so tired of seeing crybabies shite on Scott Woodward of all people considering how awesome he’s been as an AD across the board. You’re making a fool of yourself

quote:

---

were you not alive for the end of Dale Brown?

---

Yes and clearly you weren't. Everyone knew it was the end for Dale and that there was a new beginning on the horizon. Even through the NCAA Probation years with Brady, you could see that his teams always played hard and had an identity.

With McMahon right now there is almost zero glimmer of hope.

quote:

---

Yes and clearly you weren't. Everyone knew it was the end for Dale and that there was a new beginning on the horizon. Even through the NCAA Probation years with Brady, you could see that his teams always played hard and had an identity.

---

revisionist horseshite

quote:

---

revisionist horseshite

---

Again, I was there.

quote:

---

He did a pretty good job with women’s basketball, baseball, and football

---

Womens basketball: Mulkey wanted the job. Even Alleva could have pulled that off

Baseball: fair

Football: Woolworth’s made a good hire in Kelly…but only after he TRIED TO HIRE JIMBO

quote:

---

I was too. Dont remember seeing you

---

Hey pops, Tigerdroppings wasn't around back then. Got my first username in 2006 but the admins here are...

quote:

---

He did a pretty good job with women’s basketball, baseball, and football so tired of seeing crybabies shite on Scott Woodward of all people considering how awesome he’s been as an AD across the board. You’re making a fool of yourself

---

Yeah. A valid criticism of Scott is that he is pretty good at getting football coaches by giving them $100 million contracts. But I can't see how you can say he is doing a bad job overall, including by firing Wade and hiring McMahon. The basketball team was in a bad way as Wade needed to be fired and as a result you were going to lose players and recruits starting off at dead bottom.

The only criticism could be for firing Wade without giving him the opportunity to talk to players and recruits on the way out. May have been able to keep a few more of the better ones. When Orgeron was fired he was able to talk to recruits which kept a nice recruiting class together.

quote:

---

said the statement signed by President William F. Tate and athletic director Scott Woodward. “Throughout that time, the University and its men’s basketball program have operated under an exhausting shroud of negativity.”

---

Maybe these two cowards are watching Alabama give a master class on how to deal with the “exhausting shroud of negativity”. I don’t see them firing their basketball coach anytime soon.

quote:

---

Womens basketball: Mulkey wanted the job. Even Alleva could have pulled that off

---

I'll give Woodward credit because even if Alleva could have pull the hire off he wouldn't have. Alleva was probably the laziest AD possible when he came to coaching hires.

quote:

---

Baseball: fair

---

True. But I think it is reasonable to acknowledge baseball is a very "easy" hire given LSU is one of probably 5 or so schools nationwide that are fully invested in the sport. If you are a college baseball coach LSU doesn't have to come looking for you. You go looking for them because it is one of the handful of places that will pay handsomely for a coach and invest tremendous resources into the program.

quote:

---

Football: Woolworth’s made a good hire in Kelly…but only after he TRIED TO HIRE JIMBO

---

No one knows who contacted who first, but assuming it was Woodward who reached out to Kelly, then he deserves credit for seeing a potential opportunity there and taking advantage. The opportunity being selling a successful and accomplished HC on winning a championship that he likely couldn't win at his current job.

Everyone talks about how Woodward "just throws a ton of other people's money at big names". That's true. And frankly it is not a bad strategy because the reason they are "big names" is because they are successful. Would people prefer he try to save pennies by targeting less accomplished HC's?

That said, it is necessary to acknowledge the men's basketball program does not have the same cache at football and baseball in their respective sports. Even without the "cloud of NCAA sanctions", it was unlikely LSU would have been able to poach a "big name" like they did in baseball and football. Thus, making a good hire requires a deeper dive than just surface level name recognition. I think that is where Woodward went wrong here.

In March of 2022 Matt McMahon was a "big name" amongst mid-major coaches. Given LSU wasn't going to get a "big name" from a major conference school, Woodward just hired a "big name" from the next level without much regard as to if he could hack it at this level. My big concern with hiring a Murray St coach was that Murray St has consistently churned out D-1 coaches...with minimal success rate. Cronin has been great. Kennedy was inconsistent. Prohm was awful. The question HAD to be asked if McMahon was simply a product of a great MSU program...or was MSU great because of him? I have my doubts Woodward went beyond a surface level analysis on McMahon. The analysis was simply: Had a great season at MSU; Was solid overall at MSU; Has not been in NCAA trouble. I doubt it ever factored into the analysis that even though McMahon had a great year last season, he also was the only MSU coach to have a non-winning season there in 34 years. In fact, he had two! I have my doubts there was a deep dive into whether or not McMahon could/would consistently win bloody recruiting battles with other top SEC (and beyond) coaches. The ONLY thing that separated Wade and the other HCs in the SEC is Wade had the incredible misfortune of speaking to the wrong runner at a time college basketball recruiting was being investigated by the FBI for the first time in history unbeknownst to everyone. That's not to excuse Wade. But simply to say the other HCs were "dirty" recruiting then...and they are continuing to do so now. McMahon has to be able to win his share of those battles if he wants to compete. Given he had never recruited at the major-conf. level there had to be concern as to if he could do it, right? But I don't know if that factored in. I think the hire was simply "biggest name" at the next available level.