Brady kicks player off of team . . . .

[Choudawg86]

AT HALFTIME!!!! What in the heck do ya have to do to have that happen to ya ? I know one thing, the rest of the players know the score, and he should have complete control of them.

[Choudawg86]

Brady says Johnson 'off the team'

By GLENN GUILBEAU
gguilbeau@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter

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LSU junior college transfer Shawnson Johnson, expected to be a force at center this season, was dismissed from the men's basketball team at halftime of the Tigers' 65-44 victory over Delaware State on Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Johnson was dressed out and on the bench but did not play in the first half and apparently was upset about that.

"Well, Shawnson's not sure he wants to play," LSU coach John Brady said after the game. "He kind of, you know, he got his feelings hurt because old coach didn't play him in the first half. I'm not very understanding about those kinds of things.

"Maybe he's got a choice. He thinks his playing time is more important than what I think is best for the team. And let me tell you, I know who's going to lose that one. That ain't even close."

Asked directly if Johnson was off the team, Brady said, "The fact of the matter is his name is off his locker. Now how it happened is nobody's business really. He's not going to be there, no. Yeah, he's off the team out of a choice he made."

The 6-foot-9 Johnson averaged 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in the 2000-01 season for Lee College in Baytown, Texas. He practiced with the LSU team after the fall semester last season but had to sit out because all of his class work from Lee was not turned in at the proper time.

Johnson averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds his senior season at Green Oaks High in Shreveport in the 1999-2000 season.

Brady complained at times last season of not having Johnson as a force inside and often spoke as this season opened about how Johnson would help with rebounding and blocking shots.

In LSU's season-opening, 68-24 victory over Nicholls State on Nov. 22, Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds, scored 10 points, blocked six shots and made three steals. He was the first LSU player to block five or more shots in a game since Stromile Swift in 2000-01 season.

Johnson played 13 minutes in LSU's 79-77 loss to Texas A&M in Houston on Saturday, grabbing three rebounds, scoring two points and blocking a shot. He entered Tuesday's game averaging 5.3 points and 7.0 rebounds a game. Only fellow junior college transfer Jaime Lloreda had more rebounds with 7.7 a game. Johnson also sat out LSU's first exhibition game because he broke a team rule regarding personal appearance.

[Jetstorm]

You know what they say when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Two people with VERY large egos (Coach Brady and Johnson) collided and Brady won because he's the coach.

Johnson has been a problem since he first signed with LSU. He was academically ineligible last year coming out of Lee College, then reported for practice overweight and out of shape. I think Johnson was just used to being the biggest, strongest player on the team (from Lee and from his high school days at Woodlawn) and couldn't handle being thrust into a situation where he had to give 110% just to get into the lineup. But hey, some guys just can't handle not being "the MAN."

Anyway, there is dissension in the ranks on www.tigerforums.com. A lot of our basketball fans are now calling for Brady's head and are blaming him for everything. A lot of folks are going to be unhappy with anything less than an NCAA Tourney berth this year. We'll see. Personally, I'm still behind Brady. But I'm also getting to the point where he needs to show me something to have my continued support.

[Choudawg86]

Well, I've always thought he looked like a drunk that stumbles out of the bars on bourbon street at 6 a.m., the lsu folks have told us he is a "Basketball God". Well, right now, they ain't see'n a halo are they???

Ya know, for years I've heard them (lsu folks) make the comments that the ONLY thing holding them back from having a top program is that they are still under "restrictions" (they wouldn't know a restiction if it hit them in the beer bottle). You might say its Brady's "out". Has it occured to anyone that maybe, just maybeeeeeeeeee, Brady was getting a little nervous, he had a full load of players, but saw the team wasn't gonna be what everyone expected, therefore . . . (follow me now) . . . Brady remembered how the folks loved him because of the way his teams fought through adversity and the, yes, the "r" word, "restrictions. So, he saw this as a chance to help his cause, he got rid of a player, now, if his team doesn't do what it was expected to do, it is because he has one less scholy player than he should. Its not HIS fault they suck. Now, all is "right" in tigerland.

[weunice]

Interesting but I think Brady did the right thing ... You do not put up with the childish antics of a player just because he is great or whatnot. There are rules and guidelines that a team has to follow. They are there for REASONS. Unity, discipline etc. From the press that I read, the player had a choice and he chose to leave the team.

Jetstorm, are there fans who are upset that Brady got rid of a "good player?" If so, good for Brady. You cannot let fans, who know very little, dictate what happens. The majority of those fans do not donate a dime to the program and the ones that do, need to let folks who know what they are doing, do what they do. Yes, you need to expect results and hold coaches accountable, but this season is about 5 games old. I remember attending LSU games as a youth and knowing more about football than 50 year old men who supposedly "played" back in the day. They didn't pay much attention on the field or they got some sense knocked out of them. You know the ones. Go for it on every 4th down. Fake all field goals. Stand up and screams every time a run gets stuffed up the middle saying "C'MON even *I* saw that coming .. I would have thrown the ball ... IDIOTS." This is the general mentality you have to understand that you are dealing with in fans ... few, myself included, know jack about whatever game they are criticizing.

From my outside perspective, it seems to me that Brady has control of his team. If this guy was a bad apple, then his bunch just got a whole lot better. If I were an LSU fan, I would be pleased as punch with this move no matter the talent level of the guy who is now gone.

[Choudawg86]

All kidding aside, I totally agree with ya. Kinda wish there were more coaches that would take a stand like that. The team and the school are more important than the individual.