Ex-LSU coach linked to ASU
Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008
Former LSU basketball coach John Brady has spoken with Arkansas State about taking the Indians’ vacant head coaching job.
Brady’s name is one of several to surface since Dickey Nutt resigned Feb. 19, and rumors of Brady’s candidacy picked up steam after negotiations between Arkansas State and former Arkansas Razorbacks Coach Nolan Richardson fell through last week.
LSU fired Brady with the Tigers sitting at 8-13 this season, and he has three years left on a contract paying him a base salary of $ 300, 000.
Brady posted a 192-139 record in 11 seasons to become LSU’s third-most successful coach. He took over for Dale Brown, who left in the wake of four losing seasons and under the cloud of an NCAA investigation that cost the Tigers probation in 1998, three scholarships and further scholarship restrictions.
Brady’s teams finished first in the SEC twice and in 2006 the Tigers reached the NCAA Final Four, but LSU dropped to 17-15, 5-11 last year and won just one SEC game this year before Brady was fired.
A source close to the Arkansas State program confirmed Brady had spoken with university officials but could not quantify how serious the negotiations were.
Sources say former Texas Tech head coach and current Oklahoma State assistant James Dickey continues to be one of the strongest candidates mentioned and has expressed his interest in being a head coach again, though he has not commented specifically on the Arkansas State job.
Dickey is a 1976 graduate of Central Arkansas with strong ties to the state and Arkansas State Athletic Director Dean Lee, who was an associate athletic director at Oklahoma State before coming to Jonesboro in the summer of 2002.
Dickey was 166-124 in 10 seasons at Texas Tech and twice led the Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament, including their first appearance in the Sweet 16 in 1996. Oklahoma State, coached by Sean Sutton, was eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament on Friday.
Last week, Kentucky assistant Jeremy Cox was linked to the Arkansas State job. Cox is 197-62 in head coaching stops at North Dakota State College of Science, Garden City (Kan. ) College and Arkansas-Fort Smith, which he led to the 2006 NJCAA Region II national championship.
Cox came to Kentucky with Coach Billy Gillispie after working last season under Gillispie at Texas A&M. Kentucky was eliminated from the SEC Tournament on Saturday.
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