‘Daddy’ Dale Brown, the retired LSU basketball coach who led the Tigers on a Cinderella march to the Final Four in 1986, has some advice for this year’s 11th-seed darlings, Loyola-Chicago: Lose the cell phones, stay away from social media and live in isolation.
Brown, in an interview with USA Today Sports, says the distractions at the Final Four are enormous. “It’s like a tidal wave when you get there,” he says. “Everybody’s coming at you. Down there, they’re going to be much more of a media darling than we were.”
Brown’s team, the first No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, lost in the semifinals—as did George Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011. LSU and Brown’s “Freak Defense,” after an upset victory over Kentucky in the regional finals, fell to eventual national champion Louisville in Dallas.
Though Brown will be pulling for Loyola, he says he’ll be shocked if they upset No. 3 seed Michigan in Saturday’s national semifinals.
“It’s in my DNA to cheer for the underdog,” he says. Read the full story.
