Ray Glier

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The NBA posse included Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars. Dick McGuire of the Knicks was there, too, he of the legendary McGuire hoops family of New York.

There were plenty of other NBA Ton-toes leaning forward in their seats to get a closer look at LSU freshman Tyrus Thomas and sophomore Glen Davis. David Pendergraft, the director of player personnel for the Seattle Sonics, was here. So was Dave Twardzik, the assistant G.M. of the Orlando Magic.

In all, 17 NBA scouts had front-row seats Saturday.

LSU coach John Brady has a message for every one of you.

Get lost. Go away. Leave my kids alone.

Walking through the cold rain on his way to the Tigers bus after a 71-62 loss to No. 7 Florida, the steam was coming off Brady’s sportcoat he was so angry.

“It is so wrong for them to do this, so wrong,” Brady said. “Remember Kedrick Brown, the junior college kid who was one of my recruits. The Celtics took him 11^th overall in the draft.”

Where is he now?

“Home,” said Brady. “Like these two guys, he wasn’t ready. I told the guy from the Celtics if you keep making dumb moves like this you won’t be in the league long.”

Thomas, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward who will be the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year, had two points Saturday.

Davis, the most nimble 310-pound person who you will ever meet, had nine offensive rebounds and converted just two of those offensive boards into field goals.

“I hope they were watching, I hope they saw Tyrus Thomas is not ready for their league,” Brady said. “Joe Dumars is a Louisiana guy. He should know better. I hope they saw that neither one of our guys is ready.

“They think because a big guy can run and dunk he is ready for the NBA. What a shame.”

Now, a lot of you may think this is nothing but Brady trying to protect his job and his W-L record. He has nine freshmen and sophomores on his team, which is 8-2 in the SEC and 16-7 overall.

LSU may not get itself together this season, but look out next season if these kids hang together.

Davis seemed to settle the issue in the hallway outside the team’s locker room. He has work to do, he said.

“We’re staying,” Davis said.

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That is what he says now. A lot of kids say one thing in February and do something different in May after the agents have their hooks into a kid.

Just think about Brandon Bass, LSU’s star forward last season, the SEC player of the year as a sophomore. On the day of the NBA draft last June, New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott asked Bass to come to New Orleans for one last workout.

The Hornets drafted Bass with the 33^rd pick overall. The people who said he was such a nice player, a terrific player, a kid who had something to offer the NBA, almost did not draft him.

Now look at Bass.