Alt26

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Reece showed up

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For roughly 17 minutes in the second half. But those 3 TOs in the final 3:00 were crucial at a tipping point in the game.

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Miller, wake up!

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He wasn’t bad yesterday. 8 points and 3 blocks (LSU only had 4 total) in 14 minutes. LSU’s defense gave them a chance to win yesterday. Miller was a part of that

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Yeah, he played much better than I expected, but costly mistakes at the end.

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He was a negative in the 1st half but played a lot better in the second…until the last 2:30 where he had 3 TOs in a tie game. That was a killer when LSU could have had opportunities to create some space

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Ugh, that says it all. Typically, you would want to see, "Tigers expect him back next week" or something like that.

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Yeah, that’s oddly worded. As if there was a least initial consideration the injury was season ending. Could just be bad journalism though…which would be on brand for the local media. But even missing 5–6 games could essentially be “season ending” in terms of LSU’s NCAAT hopes given (a) the need to win at least 8 games to be in the discussion (b) the front half of the schedule is the “easier” half and (c) just how reliant LSU is on Thomas

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I don’t think we know a lot about this team with the OOC schedule. They’ve barely been tested talent wise.

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Oh I think we know. Thomas IS LSU’s offense. He sets up everything. There are no other guys who can consistently create their own shot. Even Nwoko’s great play can be tied largely to Thomas who is the guy who sets him up for good shots. There is a reason this is McMahon’s most efficient offense BY FAR at LSU. The reason is Thomas because otherwise there is no real offensive structure. The dropoff from him both in terms of ability and experience is massive.

The line has moved from -3.5 (A&M) to -6.5. I think it’s safe to assume he’s not playing.

This game will test McMahon’s coaching ability. LSU is a poor defensive team so they don’t have that to fall back on. A&M will give up points because of their fast pace of play, but it would be foolish for LSU to try to run with A&M. Especially with only one, inexperienced, ball handler. If LSU tries to play their usual style of play without Thomas this one likely won’t be close

LSU should try to make this game “ugly”. Slow the pace. Try to get to the FT line a ton and hope it is enough to outlast a decent, but not great A&M team. McKinnon picking today to be one of his “hot” games would also help.

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What makes anyone think Wade wants to come back?

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1. The people who fired him are no longer at LSU. In part because they refused to consider rehiring him at the end of last season.

2. He’s lived in LA 7 of the last 8 years. He will have been in NC for one year.

3. He’s well connected with the LSU donor base. They didn’t want him fired in the first place. A return means he steps right back into a ready made fundraising apparatus.

4. The SEC (and Big 10) are furthering the divide financially with the ACC. There is a reason schools are trying to leave the ACC.

5. Basketball is now a year to year sport. Regardless of how well he does at NC State this year he will have to build a nearly entirely new team next season. It’s not like he would be leaving a roster he built and developed over the course of multiple years to jump into a 2-3 years rebuild.

EDT:

6. He’s already worked for the current LSU president.

7. Maybe the timing is right for a return to the SEC. Bruce Pearl is out. Barnes is 71. Pope is struggling to make UK the dominant force their fans demand it be. Cal hasn’t been a dominant coach in nearly a decade. There may be a power vacuum developing soon with just Oats and Golden in the space.

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What a bizarre, sad and short sighted view. Basically you are selling the program way short. This is conservative*!to the point being counter productive.

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I don’t know. I think many sports fans would say it would be more bizarre to pass on a guy who has a .700 career winning %, over a career a 5 different schools including the highest winning at YOUR school of any HC over the last 100 years and who recently engineered the biggest single season turnaround in NCAA history in favor of HOPING the next hire “works out”.

LSU just hired a new football coach. However, they could have hired the JMU coach. A guy who has as many CFP appearances as Kiffin’s teams. A guy who MIGHT be the next Curt Cignetti, or hell, Nick Saban. Yet, I think most logical fans would have found it bizarre to pass on a guy who has proven he can win in the SEC for a guy who MIGHT be great.

Somehow that same logic doesn’t extend to basketball. You’re advocating passing on a guy who has already shown he can win in the SEC and at LSU in favor of hope. In reality it further proves that the LSU fans who are adamantly opposed to even considering rehiring Wade are so not because of any logical basis. But because of a strange desire to have their contrarian position proved right.

Wade has never coached at LSU in the full blown NIL/transfer era. Yet given the fact he was “only good at paying players” it may be worth a shot to give him a chance in an environment where coaches HAVE to pay the players.

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This just completely false i guarantee you Coach K, Roy Williams, John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo Mark Few, Billy Donovan Dan Hurley Bill Self, Jay Wright Bruce Pearl, Mate Oates just off the top of my head could win consistently at LSU.

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None of those guys have coached at LSU. So while there is every reason to believe they could have if given the opportunity, that's not a 100% certainty because they never actually coached at LSU. Wade did, which means there is actual evidence of him winning AT LSU.

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Now Wade was the only one that coached at LSU and that’s why you and others are so infatuated with him

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I don't think it is an infatuation as much as it is a reliance on the known vs. the unknown. You have a guy that consistently won whereas the other guys since Brown didn't. Wade is the ONLY coach in at least 50 years, maybe ever, that was fired despite the majority of the fanbase not wanting that result.

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LSU could definitely find another coach to do that,

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They certainly COULD. But there is no guarantee the next coach WOULD. And there is even less of a likelihood LSU would be able to hire a "premiere" proven power conf. winner. Look at Alabama for example. After Sanderson resigned they went through a string of 4 HCs over the course of nearly 30 years before they hit on a guy who has led them to tremendous success. At LSU it took 20 year and 3 coaches after Brown retired just to find a guy who could consistently take the program to the NCAA Tournament. The bottom line is (if the opportunity is there) do you take the guy you already know can win AT LSU? Or do you roll the dice for 3-4 years on a different guy who might be great....or could be another multi-year waste of time?



If the LSU job becomes available I'm not saying Wade should be the only coach considered. But if the decision comes down between Wade and the current flavor of the week "up and comer", I'll take Wade because I already know he can win at LSU.

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Take Joe Burrow off of the 2019 team andddddddd there's your answer folks

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Mendoza isn't Burrow, and this isn't the first season Cignetti has won at IU. He was 11-2 last year with a different QB...which a pretty remarkable accomplishment at a program that had ONE winning season (not counting 2020) in the nearly 30 years before Cignetti arrived. IU didn't win yesterday because their QB had a generational performance. They won because in every aspect they dominated Alabama. Including just physically kicking their arse on both sides of the ball...something a QB would have little to do with

This isn't a result of one great player. It's a total overhaul of one of the historically worst programs in college football.

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Once he sees our facilities, it's a wrap.

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What year is it?

"Facilities" was the WMD in the pre-NIL/transfer era arms race. Now, much like in pro sports, no one really cares much about the facilities. The question is what is the number on the offer sheet?

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Get off this crap. Lsu don't need that lying cheater no where near lsu

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Good thing Auburn didn't have that mindset...or Houston....or St. John's....or Kentucky....or McNeese....or any of the litany of schools over the course of history who hired "tainted" coaches and went on to have great success.

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I love Wade, but this is getting ridiculous. Get over it, at least until something concrete ever comes up about him being hired here again.

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It would have happened at the end of last season but for Tate and Woodward. They refused to consider the opportunity. That's not conjecture. It happened. Tate was NEVER going to sign off on rehiring Wade because Tate did not trust Wade (which was understandable). The people who made the push to get Wade back to LSU last season then "fixed the glitch"...unless you think Tate just really wanted to go to Rutgers and Landy's comments about Woodward were SOLELY related to football. Again, there is no guarantee Wade would even consider coming back after a year at NC State. But the impediments to a reunion are gone and the desire of the people who could potentially make the reunion happen is still there.

As for those who "can't understand" the adulation, here's why:

In the 80's under Brown LSU basketball was hugely popular. Then the Lester Earl saga happened and the program tanked. Combining that with Joe Dean's cheap nature and LSU was left with Brady as almost their only option who would (a) take the job and (b) at the low low price Dean would pay. The Brady era was a roller coaster. Some great highs with some really low lows. Hell, Brady went to the Final Four then finished last in the SEC West the very next season. That, combine with his acerbic personality, finally got him run in 2008. Then came Johnson. He had a great season with the remnants of Brady's roster. But Johnson (like the current HC) didn't love interacting with the donors and he did not want to get in the mud of AAU recruiting. That led to the first real decline in interest in the program.

Alleva then gave into the pollical pressure of Brown and his supporters by hiring Jones. NO OTHER major program would have even considered hiring Jones except LSU. However, Jone has genuine passion for LSU and he was willing to play in the dirty recruiting slop (unless you think guys like Martin, Mickey, Quarterman, Blakeney, etc just really liked LSU). The problem is Jones couldn't coach. That's why LSU got 4 years of (slightly) above average basketball...culminating in the wasted Simmons season. Alleva then gave Jones an extra year when everyone in the program had basically checked out.

Then Wade was hired. From literally day 1 there was a different energy in the LSU program than anything the program had in the 20+ years since Brown retired. He was able to quickly take LSU from a dumpster fire to competitive in year 1...at a time when there was no transfer portal. In year two LSU had its best regular season in 40 years. Wade brought energy and excitement. But for the 2020 tournament being cancelled, he would have brought LSU to 4 straight NCAA Tournaments...something that had not happen since the Shaq era. Wade's only "sin" was paying players...which is ironic in an era where that is MADATORY. Nonetheless, Wade was fired. Whether you agree or disagree with that, there WAS a justifiable basis for doing so. Then LSU hired McMahon who has somehow managed to combine the low energy of Johnson with the poor coaching ability of Jones. The apathy towards the program is probably at a 50 year high now. NO ONE in town cares. Go to the PMAC. It's empty. Go out in BR on a game night. The game isn't even on TV at the bar/restaurant. I was out in a crowded bar/restaurant the night of the SMU game. There were 50 TVs in the place. NONE had the LSU game on until our party asked the staff to change the channel.

Is Wade the best HC in college basketball? No (though he does have a career .700 winning %). COULD LSU hire a better HC? Maybe. No one saw the great success of Oats or even Golden coming. But what fans do know is Wade can consistently win at LSU...because we've actually seen it happen. Hiring Wade is a "known". Hiring anyone else is an "unknown" and even the best resume isn't a certainty (see Brian Kelly). So in a world where there are no certainties, Wade represents as close to a certainty for LSU as it gets. And given the last nearly 40 years of average to bad basketball, many rational people would happily take the ONE guy who was able to consistently win during that time period.