RE: Bob Msrlin goes after LSU Coach
Glenn Guilbeau, the LSU sports writer I referenced earlier, must have taken a some heat as the article I referenced earlier had the title changed from "LSU holds off Cajuns for NIT win in intense game, which is why they should play annually" to "Wow! What a game, but it may not happen again for decades because of both coaches' conduct". Seems like they are trying to put more of the "blame" on Marlin than the original article.
The article itself was also changed to the following. The body itself is mostly the same with small changes or additions, but the final line "went down to Marlin's level" seems to be an effort to excuse the action Wade took.
It took a second line tournament and an opponent that LSU does not want to play —because it thinks UL is beneath it not because it is scared — to bring as much excitement as there has been in Southeastern Conference games this season in the Assembly Center.
"A lot of emotion," said UL coach Bob Marlin, whose team chopped a 72-61 deficit with under five minutes to play to 73-72 with 1:39 to go. "We weren't able to close it out, but it was an intense game, and that's the way it should be."
It really got intense after LSU coach Will Wade, age 35 going on 17 again, called a timeout with an 84-75 lead and 12 seconds to go to obviously rub it in. That's not the way it should be.
Wade showed his youth with that timeout, which was akin to throwing deep in a football game with a nine-point lead with 12 seconds to go. Not a good example for your players.
This got Marlin, 59, mad, and he did not show a good example to his players either. Both benches started mixing it up, including some assistant coaches not acting their ages either.
It could have been a lot worse. Both coaches are lucky it wasn't and that no one got hurt.
Wade, who kept walking down the coaching box and staring down Marlin during the game as if he was playing Kentucky instead of a smaller in-state school, was not done after the game.
"We are about action, not talk here," Wade said in reference to some of Marlin's comments in the days leading up to the game.
"They haven't been very good for a couple of years," Marlin said. "So the NIT is a big step for them."
A wise crack, yes, but also true. Considering how bad LSU was last year (10-21, 2-16 in the SEC), and the fact it was picked to finish last in the SEC this year, the NIT is a nice step for this team. In fact, Wade said that very thing on Monday.
"It is a good next step for our program to be in the NIT," Wade said, whereas UL really was on the NCAA Tournament bubble just a couple of weeks ago.
Marlin also criticized LSU for not wanting to play the Cajuns. He said he has tried multiple times and asked Wade to play shortly after Wade got the LSU job a year ago.
"They haven't been interested," Marlin said.
Marlin never said LSU was "scared" to play UL. If he was intimating anything, maybe he was saying LSU thought it was too big to play UL, which is how many major conference schools like LSU look at lesser conference schools from the same state. Major schools see such games as nothing to gain and everything to lose, which incidentally is what UL says when it avoids playing McNeese in football.
Marlin never used the word "scared."
But Wade, like many coaches who complain of being misquoted, misquoted Marlin.
"We aren't scared of anybody," Wade cried. "We are not scared of anybody. Point blank. Period."
But no one said LSU was before NIT win over UL /Courtesy of LSU
No one said you were, Will.
Marlin was justifiably upset about not getting a higher seed and a host site. His RPI at No. 63 was 31 points better than Wade's and LSU's at 94. So he obviously had a point. Regardless of how easy UL's schedule was or how many top 50 RPI wins LSU had (7), LSU's final RPI was still 94. And that's bad. And UL's was 63, and that's much better.
Wade also seemed confused about the RPI process in his crazy press conference.
"Their RPI is better than ours," he said. "They also played the 213th strength of schedule. We had the 54th ranked strength of schedule."
True, Will, but strength of schedule is included in the RPI. Everyone knows that, and still yours was 94 because you didn't have a RPI impressive win after Feb. 17 and had three bad RPI losses to end the season.
"I said we should have been seeded higher, and I believe that," Marlin said. "We won 27 games this year. It took them two years to win 27."
That got a laugh in the press room.
Wade also took offense to UL people criticizing the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Wrong again Will.
"They take shots at our gym," Wade said. "By the way, we have an arena, not a gym."
Uh, Will, you called your arena a gym in the previous sentence.
"They take shots at our arena," Wade continued.
Funny, it was Wade who just a week ago criticized his own arena at a speaking engagement at the L'Auberge Casino. He made fun of the cracking ceiling and the arena in general after he was asked about it. And that's what Marlin was talking about - the stories in the area media about possible improvements coming to the Assembly Center.
Marlin is no innocent here, though. His comments before the game were not a big deal. One usually gets from the smaller school. Wade needs to realize that and remember he is at the big school now. He's not at Chattanooga or VCU.
But when Marlin at first avoided shaking hands with Wade before the game, that was a bit bush. That's not a good example for your players. But again, you see that from the smaller schools that get a chip on their shoulders because of bigger school arrogance, which LSU definitely has, and UL has toward McNeese. The comments and the shake situation obviously got under Wade's skin, who needs to grow some thicker epidermis very soon anyway.
If only the adults could have gotten along as well as the players for the most part in this game. There were no significant incidents among players during the game until the very end, and that one was instigated by Wade calling that timeout.
There were no significant incidents among the people in the stands either. In fact, the Cajun fans congregated behind the UL bench and the Tiger fans did same behind LSU's bench. No problem. Because most of the seating was general admission as opposed to mostly reserved during the rest of the season, everyone bunched up together. This made the crowd seem like and sound like much more than the 6,846 announced attendance, which was tickets sold. There was clearly more noise and atmosphere than in most LSU home games this season.
Maybe Wade didn't know how to act amid such a frenzy. He was still off kilter toward the end of the press conference when he was asked about his showboating timeout that really overcooked everything.
"Well, since they don't get to play us very often, I thought they should sit there and enjoy the opportunity to play us," Wade said.
Cute. LSU fans loved that, but it was still immature.
In the end, one conclusion was clear. This was a very good game, and there is no good reason why these two programs — located less than an hour apart on Interstate 10 — should not play once a season. Do it in November and December before the students go home for the holidays.
Neither program exactly fills either of its arenas up consistently. College basketball is the third sport in Louisiana behind football and baseball. Each school could use a more interesting non-conference game even if LSU really becomes an elite program next year, which it probably will. LSU hosted Alcorn State, Samford and Tennessee-Martin this season, and it will keep hosting those type teams no matter how good it gets. So, why pay for such school's travel and lodging expenses when you can bring the Cajuns in for much cheaper and sell many more tickets and have a great atmosphere even if the coaches do act their age - especially after this past game?
The two schools have not scheduled a game since 2009. There were five games between 2001 and '09. Nothing bad happened. LSU won all five, but most were competitive, and again they were better than other games in those seasons against the likes of Campbell, Towson and Grambling.
But that's not going to happen now. Wade is too upset. Maybe when he grows up a little bit, it will happen. Former LSU basketball coach John Brady - on advice of wise athletic director Skip Bertman - scheduled UL. LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri, who is also wise and mature, re-started the series with UL after his predecessor decided not to play the Cajuns after some bad incidents on both sides.
"It can be a good thing for our state," Marlin said. "It makes too much sense, and sometimes those things never materialize."
Not after this especially.
It's too bad. Games like this would be excellent appetizers for both LSU and UL's conference seasons.
LSU and UL should open the 2018-19 season right here and then play again a few weeks later in Lafayette.
But that would be too much fun, and makes way too much sense.
"We did play a game tonight," Wade said when questions finally turned to the game. "Let's talk about the game."
Funny, Will, that's about all anyone would have been discussing had you not called that timeout and whined in the press conference.
In the end, Wade went down to Marlin's level and acted like he was the coach at the smaller school, and then he went even lower.
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