Kudos to John Brady

I'll admit it, the reason I thought LSU would not defeat Duke Thursday night had nothing to do with talent or players - it had everything to do with coaching.

Not that John Brady is a bad coach, mind you. It's just that Mike Krzyzewski is just a kinder, gentler version of his mentor, Bob Knight, and we all know how that turned out for LSU.

So my response when asked about the LSU-Duke game was always this: Play it at the YMCA without refs and coaches and LSU wins. The Tigers simply have better, more athletic players.

But Duke is Duke for a reason.

So kudos to John Brady. He managed his short bench to where it was an asset and not a liability. He managed early foul trouble with Big Baby and Tyrus Thomas. And, best of all, he had the good sense to keep Garrett Temple hounding J.J. Redick.

By doing all of that, it didn't matter what Coach K did on his side.

So let Coach K have the commercials and the XM Radio gig. He'll be watching from home the rest of the way.