Should He Stay or Should He Go?
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There is a giant elephant in the room for JMU basketball right now. Anyone who’s been paying attention, knows that Matt Brady is on the hot seat. Yet, the administration appears to be in no rush to made a decision or even communicate its intentions to the fanbase. Most reasonable people would probably agree, it would behove JMU to act quickly. Letting Brady swing on the vine isn’t good for anyone. If we’re headed for a break-up, let’s get it done and move on. If we’re not, then extend him and get going. Another lame duck year ain’t good for anyone.
While we wait for the admin to act, we’d like to hear what you think. Should Matt Brady stay or should he go? By now, you’ve heard most of the arguments both for and against Coach. The pro-Brady crowd (of which I am a part) like to point out that he took over a moribund program and returned it to respectability, even getting the Dukes back to the Big Dance. He’s coming off his second straight 20 win season, and has a career record over .500 at JMU. And he’s done it all with what appears to be only limited support from the administration.
Of course the anti-Brady folks will (rightly) argue that 20 win seasons aren’t as impressive as they once were. They’ll also argue that Brady has matched those twenty win seasons, with a few under .500 records, and that he’s struggled to retain talented players like Charles Cooke, Darren White, Andre Nation, and others. They believe that JMU has a storied history in hoops and that Brady isn’t the guy to return the Dukes to their past glory.
These are all reasonable arguments. Well, except for the “storied program history” stuff, because that is grossly overstated. JMU’s “storied history” consists of a couple of tourney runs 30+ years ago. The Lefty years were two decades ago, and resulted in a whopping 0 NCAA tourney wins. Ancient history. NYU won a National Championship. Nobody confuses it for Duke or Kentucky. Let’s be a little more realistic. Other than that though, there are plenty of pros and cons. It’s not a slam dunk either way.
Personally, I really like Brady. I think he’s a good coach and a good guy. He’s definitely not perfect and I can point to several areas for improvement. But I also get the impression that the administration has never fully been behind him. He was reluctantly extended after taking the team to the Dance. If the administration is going to continue to be wishy-washy with its support, then they might as well let him go. I guess I’m squarely in that, “he deserves to stay, but it might be better off to let him go” camp. Clear as mud. So what would you do?
I have to agree with your analysis. And while I know this won’t go over well with this type of forum…it is important to me and this University…Brady runs a good clean program and is a stand up guy. Give me that over a Rick Pitino/John Calipari/Lefty type guy any day. Not saying I wouldn’t like their success….well Pitino and Calipari’s. I was always a little bit embarrassed with Lefty was the coach.
Brady has done a solid job. I would love to see us in the NCAAs every year, but that has not happened to this university since 1981-1983. Not sure bringing some young guy in for 2 or three years until he moves on to bigger things (if he is successful) will make any difference.
I totally agree, though, that the administration is not doing us any favors. They need to extend him and say he is our guy for years to come, or make the break now. Would definitely like the former, but would take the latter over limbo any day.
His biggest drawback is his system and the lack of a low post presence. No team will be successful if it can’t dominate the offensive boards. The best long range shooters are successful only about half the time, so the other half the time there’s a rebound that needs to be gathered and put back. The Dukes were too often out-rebounded on the offensive boards. There also doesn’t seem to be much discipline evident, especially on defense.
The trademarks of the “Lefty” teams were defense and rebounding, which helped JMU DOMINATE the CAA. During those years the Convo was PACKED, even for for the “average” games, when Dickie V wasn’t calling the game for ESPN or a recent national champion wasn’t coming to OUR place (UNLV). Both times campus was electric! That’s what’s meant by the glory years. Currently, attendance at the Convo is sparse and the vibe around campus is more “meh”.
During the Lefty years, JMU went to the NCAAs once and lost. They made it to the NIT, but don’t remember any wins (I could be wrong about that). If that is what we refer to as the “Glory Days”, that is truly sad.
Not saying that these are the glory days…
The closest thing we can point to as the glory days are the days of Lou, but remember he left as soon as that run of 3 years to the NCAAs ended. Also, I point to that because it was when I was at JMU, but that really has more to do with being nostalgic about college (which was a hell of a good time) then it has to do with any basketball dynasty.
In fairness, Chuck, JMU wasn’t nationally recognized as a party school in the 80s. The students who are there now clearly have different priorities than students from 30 years ago, and today, athletics just isn’t really too high up on the totem. That’s a crappy reality for those of us that love sports… but it’s tough to argue that isn’t a major factor at JMU over the last 10 years.
In positive coaching news, great to see Coach Tartamella get the Red Storm women back into the NCAA tournament!
Sorry, left out the part about Coach T graduating from JMU – Class of ’01.
I fully support the idea of keeping Matt Brady. Jeff Bourne has forgotten the state of the program when he took over. Sherman Dillard RUINED this basketball program. Dean Keener was the guy that took the brunt of the initial phase and limped through a couple seasons of awful basketball, but began to rid the program of the issues that dillard left. Brady took that one step further and has put the program back to being relevant. I would rather see Jeff Bourne get shown the door, not brady. Additionally, at the amount he is being paid, who are you going to get? That is a small figure in comparison to what other schools are paying. If they let him go, maybe it works…but probably it wont.
The people who knock Lefty forget that JMU actually played some really good basketball teams in those years. One reason attendance was good was because some big time programs were coming to the Convo. Brady helps rack up “20 wins” by playing who outside the conference?
No need to say the same stuff I’ve been saying about a lack of a plan, bringing in transfers when only new coaches usually count on transfers, etc. He’s not an incompetent coach. I don’t dislike him. He’s okay and his record reflects that. My beef isn’t really with Brady anyway. I’ve thought for years that the Incompetent-in-Chief is Jeff Bourne. I can’t figure out why that guy still has a job.
Bourne just comes off as arrogant and stupid. Coaching is like a fraternity. Do you think other coaches don’t notice the lack of respect that has been given to Brady in the past and now letting him hang out there again?
Suppose they do get rid of Brady…wouldn’t a coach who has any leverage have second thoughts about working for someone like Bourne? Or any of us who consider a job change….would we knowingly want to take a job where we suspect the boss is an idiot?
I align myself with the keep Brady camp. My sentiments and reasons have been posted before and are repeated by others above. I have found Brady to be approachable and engaging at booster gatherings and after games. Even though that is not wins/losses ,it is a function of representing the program and the university- which he does enthusiastically. Too bad the admin. does’t know how to handle the guy or give him any respect.
Guess I agree with the keep Brady sentiment. His teams are sort of frustrating to watch as when I think they should run a team off the court at home…they lose. And at the end of a season except for a couple of years ago, they seem to fold and just fade away. There does not seem to be a recruitment of a mix of players that lead to a team that is really competitive every game. But his overall record is ok and like someone else wrote, he seems to honestly answer questions put to him and does not make excuses for losses. Guess I would just like to see more enthusiasm arpund tge program as I am more of a basketball fan…being a JMU student when we did get good crowds at basketball games. I agree with others in that I would like to see Bourne go. When he eliminated the wrestling team he could do little right in my view. If Brady has not been fired by now, my guess is he is staying but they will just let his contract run out unless he starts winning some championships.
The funny thing about Bourne is that isn’t even he isn’t the real bad guy… My beef is higher up. I’ve never seen a school whose athletics are so aggressively held in check by the guy holding the checkbook. Remember that line from Casino Royale about how the accountants are running MI6? Well, the accountants are running JMU athletics these days. And all the stuff we collectively dislike starts over there.
Sure Bourne is a stooge, but the problem is he’s a stooge without any balls. If he knew what he was doing he’d stand up to the brass. But he’s the guy who hired Dean Keener. No leverage.
If you are down with keeping Brady, you subscribe to being mediocre as being, good enough. Brady is an ‘ok’ coach, and he will produce mediocre teams. Why is that considered acceptable in Men’s Basketball. Sure any coaching change involves risk. I don’t expect JMU to all of a sudden by UNC or Duke with a coaching change but we can and should be a lot better than mediocre in the CAA. If you agree with keeping Brady, then JMU should have just kept Spanky as baseball coach and never hired Mickey Dean for softball or Christy Morgan for FH. The goal of all athletic programs is to win…..being mediocre should never be the goal and should not be acceptable.
Why do you think they are having difficulty raising $$$$ for new arena, b/c their is no excitement around a mediocre program that loses 7/8 years in the CAA quarterfinals and loses every big home game, usually in an embarrassing fashion. Brady has a sub .500 record in the CAA.
For you Brady fans here are a few stats…..are you really satisfied with this.
Matt finished in 1st place tie in CAA 1 out of 8 years regular season.
Matt winning% .525 overall, .479 caa
Matt – 1NCAA, 1CBI, 2CIT (CBI/CIT are pay for play BS)
Matt has finished <5th place regular season 5 times in CAA
Matt Brady
2008–09 James Madison 21–15 9–9 7th CIT Semifinals
2009–10 James Madison 13–20 4–14 11th
2010–11 James Madison 21–12 10–8 6th CBI First Round
2011–12 James Madison 12–20 5–13 8th
2012–13 James Madison 21–15 11–7 4th NCAA 2nd Round
2013–14 James Madison 11–20 6–10 7th
2014–15 James Madison 19–14 12–6 T–1st CIT First Round
2015–16 James Madison 20-9 10–6
James Madison: 138–125 (.525) 67–73 (.479)
One of the frequent excuses given for Brady is injuries……every coach has to deal with injuries each season, it is part of athletics. To flip it another way that just shows how thin Brady teams tend to be with regard to talent and athleticism.
I look no further than Kenny Brooks and JMU WBB as a prime example, KB has never used injuries as an excuse.
In the recent past:
– Nikki Newman goes down for the season — key contributor, best defender but the team still has a very successful season
– This season POY Precious Hall goes down with a season ending injury in preseason —- JMU goes 17-1 in CAA and wins regular season title and another player Jazmon Gwaltmey steps up and win POY.
**Disclaimer, please don't say you can't compare MBB and WBB. Yes you can in this instance, they are at the exact same school (JMU) in the exact same timeframe, and if anything there are less good WBB players with regard to athleticism than there are MBB players with athleticism. The talent pool is smaller for WBB players.
I think for $300k/year JMU is getting a poor return on their investment.
Sure Brady is a 'nice' guy and I like him too but this a business and the results simply have not been there. You don't settle for mediocrity b/c of fear of change.
Just Monitoring University administration just wishes to delay a decision until fans no longer care what that decision is. I’m about there.
I think you may be on to something there. If Alger drags his feet long enough, there will be no big reaction one way or the other.
I’d argue that WBB and MBB are vastly different, but if you do want to compare the two, let’s dive in. Kenny has been fantastic. He’s got a .728 winning percentage. That’s clearly better than Matt’s .525. Of course Kenny took over a program who’s previous coach had a pretty respectable winning percentage of .572. So Kenny took that and ran with it, improving the winning percentage .150 in his tenure. That’s outstanding.
Of course Matt’s predecessor won a meager .267 of his games. Since he took over the program’s winning percentage increased by .258. That’s awesome.
If folks think that another coach is better suited to leverage Brady’s success (like Kenny Brooks did with his predecessor’s), that’s fine. I’d prefer to see the school commit to him and see what he can do with additional support, but I can respect others who think it’s time to move on. I just have trouble with folks who seem to dismiss his accomplishments or discount his success. Getting the program back above .500 is a big deal and he deserves some respect for doing so.
I was only comparing MBB and WBB to how the two have dealt with injuries since that is a common excuse given by Brady loyalists.
Let’s compare Brady to Dillard then shall we:
1997–98 James Madison 11–16 6–10 T–5th
1998–99 James Madison 16–11 9–7 T–4th
1999–00 James Madison 20–9 12–4 T–1st
2000–01 James Madison 12–17 6–10 T–7th
2001–02 James Madison 14–15 6–12 9th
2002–03 James Madison 13–17 8–10 7th
2003–04 James Madison 7–21 3–15 10th
James Madison: 93–106 (.467) 56–68 (.452)
I personally don’t see that big of a difference when looking at the total body of work. Both had sub .500 conference records (Brady’s is slightly better) and both had 1 regular season tie for first place. Granted Dillard really sucked there at the end.
In my opinion, you left out the most important piece of info against Brady… postseason. Aside from the season JMU made the NCAA tournament his postseason record is horrendous. Almost every time JMU was one and out. That just isn’t acceptable. It shows me that Brady is a good coach in the regular season and isn’t in the postseason. There have been far too many showings where the team just doesn’t look ready and don’t make the adjustments until it’s too late (look no further than this season). Yes, the players missed shots, but it’s up to Brady and his staff to have them properly prepared. W&M had JMU baffled at times by their zone… absolutely no inside cuts to try to break the zone… just passes along the perimeter.
Look at all of the good basketball coaches in the country… are there any that you would consider good where their team loses in the first round more often than not?
Exactly…..during that drought how do you not take a TO and tell Curry to simply put his head down the next three times down court and drive to the basket….draw contact, get fouled, at a minimum shoot some free throws. You hit the nail on the head, Brady allowed JMU to simply pass it around with no penetration for like 10 minutes and get outscored 20-zip. That is unacceptable at any level of basketball.
How is that different from folks ripping EW for the same thing with regard to being stubborn about the defensive alignment that could not stop the run time and time again.
I totally agree. Out coached is what I’ve been saying. Lefty was much more successful during the season and got run out of town because of his tournament and post season records. At least with him we got to the title game a few times as well. I never buy CAA tournament tickets because 1 and done has become the norm. I had non JMU fan friends hanging out with me to watch the game and a 15 point crapper of a first half was more embarrassing than anything I can recall in years.
I agree with the stall tactic theory mentioned above. As if people already don’t care about the men’s basketball program (demonstrated by attendance), university officials will continue to monitor the situation until no one comments anymore about basketball on this blog, the Daily News Record, or elsewhere, to make their official announcement.
It would have been fun to do a JMU Sports Blog challenge for giving day on Tuesday to say if administration gets its head out of its ass by Tuesday and makes an announcement about Brady then blog readers would each commit to give $50.
I say keep Brady.
He finished tied for 1st last year.
He finished tied for 3rd this year.
His team disappointed in the CAA tournament the last 2 years, but you don’t fire someone for those 2 losses.
The body of work suggests an extension as the program is on the rise. The team will have 6 seniors and 2 juniors playing most of the minutes next year so we can expect another strong season. Snowden has already proven he is a legit D-1 impact player with his 2 years at Niagara.
Would I rather align myself in any endeavor with Brady or with Alger/Bourne?
I would align with Brady 8 days a week.
The weinie’s in the administration don’t exude leadership.