Reeling from recruiting sanctions, dashed postseason aspirations and a legendary coach settling into retirement, new LSU basketball coach John Brady and his program faced an uphill climb when he arrived on campus in 1997.
It seemed to be a shell of the days when future College Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dean Sr. teamed with NBA legend Bob Pettit to lead the Tigers in the early 1950s.
But no matter how far LSU had fallen, Dean — the school’s athletic director at the time — stood firm to weather the storm a young protégé had inherited.
Dean, the longest-tenured athletic director in LSU history, a 2012 inductee into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and a member of LSU basketball’s All-Century Team, died Sunday morning at 83.
“He showed his loyalty to stand by a coaching staff and to help us through that,” Brady said. “We had nine scholarships taken away, couldn’t go to the postseason and had a lot of issues to deal with. He got us through that.”
Three seasons later, Dean’s tenacity paid dividends. Behind Stromile Swift, Brady’s team raised a Southeastern Conference championship trophy before advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Six years later, it was in the Final Four.
But it wasn’t the trophies and accolades Brady remembered Sunday afternoon about his longtime mentor. It was the optimism he showed as both a player, commentator, promoter and boss.
Sometimes Dean didn’t feel like a boss at all, Brady said,
“He never was the kind of AD to step in and interfere,” Brady said. “He would give suggestions, but he was tremendously supportive and positive regardless of the circumstance. You always felt a sense of loyalty with him in situations good or bad.”
Born in 1930 in New Albany, Ind., Dean was a prolific Tiger guard alongside Pettit under coach Harry Rabenhorst. Dean garnered All-SEC notoriety for LSU in both 1950 and 1951, leading the Tigers in scoring both years before departing for the NBA’s Indianapolis Olympians in 1952.
He became only the second Tiger in history to score 1,000 career points when he reached the mark in 1952. Dean now shares that honor with 38 other Tigers, with current senior guard Andre Stringer being the most recent addition.
Beginning in 1959, Dean traveled to promote the Converse brand and the game of basketball as Converse Rubber Company’s promotion and marketing executive, working alongside legendary coaches and players to grow the sport nationally, all the while becoming a sought after clinician.
To showcase those skills, Dean started the Dixie Basketball Camp in 1966 outside of Baton Rouge, a camp still attended 47 years later by boys ranging from fifth grade to high school.
It was at Dixie that Brady and Dean’s son, Joe Jr., struck a friendship, leading to Brady spending many college nights at the Dean home.
“He was a mentor of mine when I was young [and] influenced me tremendously with how he conducted himself,” Brady said. “His quotes, the things he said to people, praises that he made. I still refer to him everyday.”
Dean was also a recognizable voice for SEC basketball, serving as a color analyst for NBC, Lorimar, ESPN, Turner Sports and Jefferson Pilot/Raycom from 1969-1987, coining the infamous catchphrase “String Music!” as a jumper swished through the net.
He returned to his alma mater in 1987 to serve as LSU’s athletic director, a capacity he filled for 14 years.
Former LSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Herb Vincent, who credited Dean with giving him his “big break” in the professional world, lauded Dean’s guidance of an athletic department in a transitional phase.
“He was a great boss, but he cared so much more about you as a person than he did as an employee,” Vincent said. “You’ve got to have an AD who supports you as well as who can see the vision and growth for something like that.”
Under Dean, LSU athletics won 27 national championships, 40 SEC Titles, added more than $50 million to facility improvements and hired former football coach Nick Saban and track and field coach Pat Henry.
Vincent pointed to Henry’s hiring as Dean’s ability to recognize talent and invest in it. Like the hires of Brady and Saban, Henry paid off, guiding the track and field program to 25 NCAA and 16 SEC titles.
Dean was succeeded in 2001 by Skip Bertman.
Dean is preceeded in death by his wife of 50 years, Doris Kernan Hall. He is survived by three children: Joe Jr., Mardi and Mark, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
As he rattled off “innovator,” “pace-setter” and “icon” to describe his mentor Sunday, Brady stopped for a moment to look past Dean’s contributions as purely an athletic director, player or commentator.
“An all around fine human being that was fun to be around and lent his positive personality and shared it with everybody,” Brady said. “He gave me an opportunity to coach at LSU, which changed my life. I will never, ever be able to repay him for giving me that opportunity.”
Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at Rabenhorst Funeral Home in Baton Rouge. Funeral services will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church followed by burial at Resthaven Gardens of Memory at 11817 Jefferson Hwy.