John Emmett Brady (born September 17, 1954) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach and the former head men's basketball coach at

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

. Brady was previously the head men's basketball coach at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. On February 8, 2008, LSU dismissed Brady, and named his assistant coach, Butch Pierre, the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On March 21, 2008 John Brady was named the 15th head basketball coach at Arkansas State University. Brady had coached the Tigers to an unlikely

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

run in the 2006 NCAA tournament, the fourth men's Final Four in LSU history.

Early life and education

Brady was born in

McComb, Mississippi McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statis ...

, about south of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

. He earned his BS from Belhaven College in 1976, where he played varsity basketball. He then received his master's in Education from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

in 1977.

Coaching career

Early career

After a year as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, Brady began coaching in the high school ranks of Louisiana. In 1981 Brady was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class AAA "Coach of the Year." After returning to MSU to serve eight years as an assistant under Bob Boyd and Richard Williams, Brady was named head coach at

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

in 1992. At the time of his departure, Brady was the winningest coach in Samford history, garnering an 89–77 record in six seasons.

LSU

In 1997, Brady replaced the legendary

Dale Brown Dale Brown (born November 2, 1956) is an American writer and aviator known for aviation techno-thriller novels. At least thirteen of his novels have been ''New York Times'' Best Sellers. Early life Brown was born in Buffalo, New York, and wa ...

as head coach at LSU. When Brady arrived, the program was under probation and stinging from a recruiting scandal. Brady's first two years were rough. In 2000 the Tigers broke through, posting a 28–6 record and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. However, due to the loss of Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith to the

2000 NBA draft The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madis ...

, the Tigers could not carry their momentum to the next year, going 13–16 in 2001. Brady's team entered the 2005–06 season unranked, but were coming off a solid season in which they went 20–10 and made the NCAA tournament. Led by Glen "Big Baby" Davis and

Tyrus Thomas Tyrus Wayne Thomas (born August 17, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Louisiana State University (LSU) before being drafted fourth overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2006 NBA d ...

, the Tigers won their first outright SEC regular season championship since 1985, and earned a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament. After wins over

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, LSU defeated the #1 seed

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and #2 seed

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to make it to their first Final Four since 1986. Set at the

RCA Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons (1984–2007). It was completed at a cost of $77.5 million, as part of the Indiana Convention ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, the 2006 Final Four was the first since 1980 to feature no #1 seeds (LSU, #2

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, #3

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and #11

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

). Facing the #2 seed Bruins in the national semifinals, the Tigers were unable to solve UCLA's defense, losing 59–45, dropping LSU to 0–6 all-time in the men's Final Four (and 0–10 in all Final Four games, including an 0–4 mark in the women's Final Four). Despite the loss, the 2005–06 season will be remembered as one of the most successful in LSU men's basketball history. John Brady was fired in the middle of his 11th season as LSU's head basketball coach and just two seasons after the Tigers' latest Final Four appearance. In 10 seasons at LSU, Brady compiled a 184–126 record, including two SEC Regular Season Titles and four NCAA tournament appearances. On February 8, 2008, Brady was fired from LSU. Earlier news reports stated that he would coach the Tennessee game on February 9, but LSU officials stated that his termination was immediate. Brady's assistant coach, Butch Pierre, took over as the interim head coach. Brady is now the color commentator for radio broadcasts of LSU games.

Arkansas State

On March 18, 2008, Brady was hired by Arkansas State as head basketball coach. Brady won two division titles in the Sun Belt while the Red Wolves' coach, but was unable to ever get his team to the postseason and he announced at the beginning of the 2015–16 season that he would resign as coach, effective at the end of the season.

Head coaching record

Broadcasting career

Brady became the LSU Tigers basketball color analyst starting in the 2017–2018 season.

References

External links

Arkansas State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, John 1954 births Living people American men's basketball players Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Mississippi Basketball players from Mississippi Belhaven Blazers men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Louisiana LSU Tigers men's basketball announcers LSU Tigers men's basketball coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches New Orleans Privateers men's basketball coaches People from McComb, Mississippi Samford Bulldogs men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen