Athletic greatness comes in all shapes and all sizes.

It doesn't come naturally, but is achieved from hard work, diligence, and adversity.

Along the journey, there's opportunity and there's always struggle.

There is triumph and there is defeat.

And there is always a story behind the glory.

When the Mac on the campus of LSU is rocking, it's a magical place.

Fans will never forget the flash of superstars like Mahmoud Abdul Rauf and Shaquille O'Neal.

But in 1997, when Dale Brown retired, the Tigers men's basketball program stood at a crossroads and LSU turned to a Mississippi native, John Brady, who valued something different.

Well, there was success for Coach Brown, but it was not as successful at the end of his tenure.

And when Coach Brown retired, it was pretty much up to John Brady to try to build this program again.

His approach was clear.

Recruit Louisiana, demand discipline and hold every player accountable.

LSU basketball fans will never forget when John Brady brought LSU basketball back to the national forefront.

It's been 20 years.

It doesn't seem like that.

And I want to start with this.

I don't think many people remember that only a couple of months before you accepted the LSU job, you brought your Samford team in here and beat LSU in the mayor center.

And what a what a foretaste that was of what was to come.

Well, we had a player on our team named Jonathan Pixley that played at Catholic High.

He was a senior at Stanford.

He always wanted to go to LSU, but obviously he wasn't quite good enough.

So I told him his senior year, let's see if we can play.

You know, LSU and you can go home and play in front of your your folks and everybody.

And home hometown guy came in.

I think John had 20 something points and we won the game.

And it was a real surreal kind of moment.

You know, Dale Brown is Dale Brown.

I mean, to, to, to to play against him and to be able to beat them when we were at Stanford is just a huge accomplishment for that school at that particular time.

John, did you have any inkling whatsoever at that time that the job was going to open up and you wanted to put your hat in the ring?

Well, you know, you always hear coaching rumors about things that may happen.

You know, they were they were talking about LSU going on probation.

And Dale didn't want to deal with that.

And he may retire.

And so when he actually did, you know, I called Joe Dean senior.

I called Mr.

Dean on the phone, and I told him that I wanted to be the next basketball coach at LSU.

And and, you know, my relationship is you and I've talked about go back with the Dean family a long time.

His son, Joe, Joe Dean junior and I were graduate assistants together at Mississippi State under Kermit Davis, Junior's father.

You know, because Joe played Joe junior played at Mississippi State for Coach Davis.

And I went up there to graduate school, and he and I got to be dear friends.

And and that's why I tell people all the time, you never know relationships and where they show up later on in your life.

That may change your life forever.

And my friendship with Joe Dean junior, allowing me to meet Mr.

Dean and being involved with that family like I was of help me get this job here and changed my life.

Actually a proven winner at Sanford with ties to the Bayou State as a high school coach in Crowley, Brady inherited and LSU program burdened by NCAA sanctions and scholarship limits.

And it took a couple of years.

The recruitment of players like Jabari Smith, strobe Mile Swift from Shreveport certainly turned the tide for Coach Brady, getting to the sweet 16 in 2000 zero with stromal, Swift and company was a big, huge deal for him and for LSU.

He coached at a direct fashion, but he had great relationships with his players off the floor and those two things he called success.

You know, he had a phrase, you know, the responsibility plus accountability, equal success.

And I watched it firsthand.

He pushed hard and coached harder.

And the results followed.

I think the first year that we were here, the fans knew we weren't very good.

We had limited talent.

We had limited scholarships.

But I do think fans that sit in the stands and watch them play, they can tell that if this this team gets some talent, what we're doing in the foundation we're laying is going to win games.

We just had to recruit to the system that we wanted to play.

We always tried to recruit the best players in Louisiana, so they played together.

They played hard.

They played for each other.

John was a strong leader, and a winner.

We always play our best ball at the end of the season.

It's because the level of consistency, the the consistent message, the intensity and the level of accountability you had to have to play for him.

Brady led LSU to two SEC championships, highlighted by an unforgettable run in 2006, all the way to the Final Four.

Number one, I mean, it really, truly was in 2006, a Baton Rouge team.

Still just months after Hurricane Katrina.

He knew the power of this team for Louisiana.

It.

Four players from Baton Rouge, one from Saint Martin Ville and one from Denham Springs.

And and you know, you have that kind of camaraderie and that kind of family.

In actuality, that team was close anyway.

But I think it brought them even closer together was something that they wanted to do because they knew if we were good in the spring, we could give Louisiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans something to hang their hat on, something positive.

And we were able to do that and get ready.

Indianapolis and Brady's bunch are coming to the Final Four.

But Brady Ball was never just about wins.

It was about culture, team and foundation.

You could feel the love from the fans to them and them to the fans as this journey through the SEC and then the NCAA tournament took place and it was extraordinarily strong, the feeling of people about this team, something you did, which is a little personal for me because of my relationship with Kent Lo, the long time and very distinguished sports information director for basketball at LSU.

And you pushed him basically to climb that ladder after the victory, which put LSU in the final four to cut a piece of the net like so many players and coaches have done for decades.

And it's a very touching, moving moment.

And it's not something that that coaches do with non players and non coaches.

And yet you did that for Kent Lo.

And those pictures and the gratitude on his face and the cheering literally from all the people that had been associated with him was was really heartwarming.

Well if there's one guy who really deserves his place in LSU basketball, along with some coaches and great players, it's Kent Little because he's been through all of them.

Her Vincent came over to me and said, coach, would you mind if Kent Loke climbed the ladder?

And I said, of course not.

He should.

And so we Kent got up and cut it down, and then I told her to get me a picture of it.

So he got me a picture.

I kind of blew it up and have it framed, and I signed it, and I think it's in his office.

No doubt it is.

It is still a centerpiece.

And let me tell you.

And to show you the respect Kent Lowe has around the country, I got phone calls and letters from other sides around the country about him being able to do that and how much they appreciated me allowing him to do that.

It was a big surprise, me, and well-deserved.

I don't know that people realize that your two very talented daughters, Brooke and Brittany.

Brooke was an associate of Katy Perry, the rock star, and went all over the world with her as a dancer in her entourage and her show.

And then Brittany, a former golden girl at LSU, two beautiful people and so personable and and so real and so successful.

Yeah, you know my daughters, I appreciate them still.

We we we made it through the valleys that all families have.

And we, we come back to the mountaintop a little bit.

And they still love their dad and I'm appreciative of that.

Brooke Brooke went to Arizona, majored in, danced and went out to LA and became a Laker Girl for a couple of years and then, auditioned for Katy Perry and and Katy Perry chose her.

Out of over 400 girls, she traveled around the world for 14 months with Katy Perry.

I called them in Portugal.

I called them in Barcelona, Spain.

I went with them a couple of trips, and then that was interesting.

And then Brittany, you know, you know, she was a golden girl here for a couple of years and finished it.

LSU and and, you know, I'm proud of both of them and what they become as young ladies.

Today.

Brady still gives back to the game, sharing his knowledge as an analyst on the LSU Sports Radio Network.

Giving up three off rebounds only showed one point.

Nice shot.

He has this ability to talk high level basketball and then relay that to an audience that everybody can consume.

He's done a tremendous job, and it's a big deal for our radio network to have a Final Four coach doing our broadcast.

He is a teacher, a competitor, a builder and a coach who didn't just set standards, he raised them and still is to this day.

Joining the staff of LSU New Orleans as a senior advisor for athletic advancement.

I feel confident I have something to give here that I can make this thing better, and I'm excited about it.

John's a guy who cared, passionate, said.

High standards.

He just has that that redeeming, warm quality that, you know, he just kind of brings people towards himself.

Can you describe briefly but powerfully the ride that you've had from high school coach at Crowley?

You know, on to Sanford, on to LSU, on to Arkansas State, where you had plenty of success as well as as you look back.

Do any words come to your mind that that, that you know are or the most descriptive or the most emotional?

Well, it's like what it says in the Bible is stay the course.

You know, you, you, you try to do what's right.

I always try to make the right decisions.

And whether I coach at the high school level of the high major level here, and just try to stay the course and do the right thing and, and and be honest and and hold yourself accountable.

But also, you know, there was a man upstairs looking after John Brady when he didn't acknowledge it and didn't even know it.

But as we all get older, you know, I see back in my life now, every person I met along the way.

Helped me advance in some way, shape or form.

And I go back to the Dean family.

My relationship with Joe Dean junior and his father changed my whole life, and I will always be grateful for that and thankful for the man upstairs for that as well.