OT: Last Chance U S3 Discussion (Spoilers)
The third season was released a few weeks ago so let's take a break from speculating about that scumbag in Ohio and talk about the show.
This season shifted from EMS to Independence Kansas, featuring former UofM player Kingston Davis.
At first, I thought the new coach was a more abrasive version of Buddy from seasons 1 and 2, but as the show went on I came to respect and actually like the guy. Beyond the obvious similarities in the two as far as their language amd explosive temper, it seemed Brown actually did care about his players where Buddy was just a petty asshole who cared about no one but himself. The practice where he ran wind sprints with the rest of the guys that got personal fouls seemed to really win the team over. He wasn't a great coach by any means, and had his own issues, but did seem genuinely interested in seeing his kids succeed.
Of the players, Kingston Davis came off really badly. Hopefully he grows up quick at UAB, but it seems pretty obvious why he left here. He never seemed engaged or wanted to take responsibility for his mistakes and instead just blamed everyone else.
Malik Henry was a complete train wreck and tram cancer to me. He's a good example of how talent and recruiting stars aren't the whole story. Even though I did feel bad for him being under so much pressure from his asshole dad, I still don't think it excuses his atrocious behavior towards coaches and refs.
Rakeem Boyd was an absolute stud. If he can stay in track he'll be in the NFL. Jamal Scott was pretty damn impressive as a big back with some slick cutting ability.
Carlos Thompson was hilarious throughout the show and pretty electric on the field as well. Probably my favorite person of this season.
Overall, I thought the show was great again. They do a great job scripting a compelling story into something they can only basically sit back and observe. I did think not having Brittney Wagner was a big of a let down, she stole the show the first two seasons. Ms Pinkard seemed kinda like they were forcing her into a replacement role a bit.
It'll be interesting as always to see how these guys do this year on their new teams.
I hate the coach. Almost made me stop watching entirely.
I'll agree with OP. The guy has some obvious flaws, but he seems to genuinely care about these kids who are trying to break out of "college football jail" and believes in what he's doing. I was impressed that he's never had a player who went to a 4 year school drop out (at least he claims as much).
Also pretty easy to see why Kingston Davis didn't last at UM
Yeah, after watching that I was struggling to figure out how he was even a high level recruit. Even UAB may be having some buyer's remorse after watching the show.
I was wondering about that. There must have been some good during the season that UAB would pick him up. I don't remember any positive scenes with him in it. It was him complaining, fumbling, or failing school. Seems like he as made out to be a villain of sorts.
I've got to think it was based entirely on his high school career at Alabama powerhouse Prattville, and that still carries weight in-state.
Here's his season at ICC: 20 carries, 37 yards, no TDs, 2 fumbles lost.
His dad was pissed, seemed like the driving force. Made me wonder if it's what Kingston really wanted.
Coach Brown wasn’t anything special as an actual football coach (the punter had to tell him the benefits of taking a safety for example), but he seemed like an okay guy who did have the kids best interest at heart.
I am really pulling for Bobby Bruce. Hopefully he capitalized on his second chance.
Malik Henry like you said is a headcase. I cannot see a power 5 coach taking a chance on him.
Rakeem Boyd has the best chance to play on Sundays out of all 3 seasons so far (except for maybe Dakota Allen from season 2)
The part where they go back to Scooba and check in on former players was he most emotional episode of the series. Ronald Ollie reminds me a lot of players I coach and their lives, and I’m pullin for him big time. He seems to finally “get it.”
The whole Isaiah Wright situation is heartbreaking.
Bobby Bruce got arrested for robbery after the season...
It was actually recently reported that he will in fact be returning to Independence and rejoining the team.
He’s already back in Independence getting ready for this season, seems like no charges were pressed after whatever led to the arrest.
There is conflicting information about this. The show did indeed have a note at the end saying Bruce was arrested for robbery, but other websites more recently (along with Bruce's Twitter account) say he's heading back to ICC this fall. Example: LINK
I went back and forth on the coach. He is over the top but I also think at that point in a lot of player's careers, they may need that. If another approach worked, they probably wouldn't be there.
I hope Rakeem Boyd gets some carries this year, he will be fun to watch.
Glad to see that Carlos and the kid from Nevada got scholarships. Hope they can get their degree.
The most talented guy on the team was the DT who signed with Tennessee. Can’t think of the name, but he had at least 1 personal foul in every game. Lol.
Emmit Gooden.
Only think I’ll add is Big Emmitt on the D-line could wreck shit for Tennessee this season. Unbelievable talent.
I thought Coach Brown was insufferable all the way to the end. He's thinks he's being "street tough" and you'd get drunk fast if you took a drink every time the guy repeated he's from Compton. That doesn't make him a football genius. Just an ass.
What he is, fundamentally, is a bully and an abuser. Right through to the end, when after that loss to Ft. Scott (I think?) he told the team it was no one person's fault and then in the same breath said it's Emmit Gooden's fault (for getting the personal foul after they had stopped them on 3rd down).
You could even live with the abuse if he was a solid football coach (e.g. Bob Knight until he couldn't keep his hands off players and students at the end) but he doesn't seem to be. The practices looked disorganized and the game management was awful. He's just a good recruiter who out-athletes his opponents.
If I were the school president, regardless of the football turnaround, I couldn't have a man like that represent the school with the national platform Netflix is presenting them with.
As far as other dudes...
Rakeem Boyd-- obviously, man among boys and the most likely guy to get to the NFL, though it wasn't clear to me why Jamal Scott wasn't the starter all the way through given that he ripped it up every time he had the ball. I might have zoned out when he had an injury?
Malik Henry-- a classic coach killer. All kinds of talent but doesn't seem to like the game all that much (the show said as much... he's a baseball lover but his dad pushed him into football), and as one of the posters above said, he's a cancer in the locker room and sideline. No leadership ability whatsoever.
Carlos Thompson-- totally turned his attitude around from week 1 and was the most likable character, but never got to that level of endearment that Ronald Ollie achieved.
That other receiver, #1 (Jackson?)-- holy hell, that guy had some hands. His ability to extend over and behind his head to snag deep balls out of the air was high D1-level.
Overall... I binged the whole thing, but I didn't find it as compelling as the previous two seasons, especially season 1. The personal stories didn't draw me in as much, and Coach Brown made Buddy Whatshisname look like a tenured English professor at Harvard. I still found myself rooting for the team, but it was as much just to reward them for putting up with Brown's constant abuse than anything else.
/rant
He kept saying coaching is overrated. That’s the reason he will never coach at a higher level than juco.
August 5th, 2018 at 10:25 PM ^
He claims he doesn’t want to coach at a D1 school , though, and that he’s already been called from them . So he claims at least .
Great season again btw . Netflix really never seems to disappoint with its documentaries .
Really wanted to see Bobby Bruce make that turnaround. Rooting for him would be the only reason I watch a 4th season. Also, I think I read somewhere that Malik Henry would also e back at Independence because he didn't receive any D1 offers.
To those out there who actually played football at a high level... Buddy and Coach Brown both seemed like the worst stereotypes of a football coach, but I'm wondering how that stacks up to football coaches in general?? Accurate?
Players kept saying that is just how coaches are. It seems sad that is the case. I didn't pursue D3 football because I thought they would be like that and it wasn't a style of coaching I responded to at all.
I agree that when Coach Brown ran sprints with the team it was a pivotal point in the season. He really won the team over with that. If he didn't do that the rest of the season would have went much worse.
Davis is very unlikable. Not a team guy at all. Surprised to see UAB signed him.
Boyd is a stud. Arkansas got a really good RB.
Henry has issues. Still unsigned by another school.
Emmit Gooden was my favorite of the feature players. Hopefully he has a good career at Tenn.
Coach Brown almost made me want to stop watching. He treats players horribly.
I did like Ms. P. She really seems to care.
I feel for Malik Henry. He’s dealing with things that extend behind football. Two things are obvious when watching him through the season, he’s dealing with depression and football isn’t his love.
His dads one of those helicopter parents, who came back into Malik’s life when there was something for him to gain.
By the end, I pulled for Malik and Bobby Bruce more than anyone else.
Good landing spot for Urban Meyer after UF and OSU. 3rd times a charm for the scumbag.
I've generally enjoyed it, but I think the missing ingredient is there's no equivalent to Miss Brittany. ICC does have Ms. Pinkard, and I really liked her, but she only works with some of the students who took her class, whereas Brittany was responsible for shepherding the entire team through the system. She was the glue that held everything together.
Brown really grated on me, and I was trying to understand why he was buying a Cadillac when he had coaches getting paid little or nothing. And his play calling was pretty bad at crucial times during the games. However, the one thing he had Buddy doesn't was some self-awareness to acknowledge his own mistakes and to apologize, whereas Buddy seemed happy to throw his players under the bus and never acknowledge his own mistakes.
I thought it was the worst season yet. The entire coaching staff seemed completely incompetent. Never once do you seem them watching film, and the players are openly questioning their play calls. The scene where Malik is supposed to be doing lunges but actually just walking across the field was insane. How was the QB coach not livid about him slacking off so blatantly? For all the hype Malik had, he has no chance of making it to the NFL with his attitude.
Also, the replacement girl for Ms. Wagner sucked. She honestly seemed like she was dragging the players down instead of helping them. Was there a single scene in the whole season where she wasn't complaining about being black?
Also, a few of their players ended up getting offers from pretty good schools, but the show barely ever had them on screen. This show is supposed to be about hitting rock bottom and then picking yourself back up. How do they just ignore half of all the success stories?
Even the intro got worse somehow. The drum sounds didn't even appear to be coming from the drums on screen. The episode with the nerd trying to get his rap song played on the video board was cringe-worthy. Overall, it was a pretty disappointing third season.
This comment reads as white as milk
You sound like a lot of fun.
August 5th, 2018 at 10:29 PM ^
I think the coaches were incompetent at times out there as a lot of them weren’t getting paid (I think ?) and so they weren’t as polished as say Buddy’s staff were.
as for the rest of your comments , they are ass.
I think the change of scenery was definitely needed, though the update episode on EMCC was much appreciated, if you haven't clicked over to "Season 4" on your menu.
Jason Brown is looney tunes. An absolute monster, in fact. To admit that you didn't care enough to watch enough tape before your team gets pantsed, to come to blows with your own coaching staff, to alienate your players to such a degree that they're undermining him at every turn, to let players tell you what to do and when to do it and then do it only to blame them when it fails, and quite simply, to act the way he does... And yet he keeps his job AND wins coach of the year? Yikes. I understand this is a different kind of job with different kinds of personnel, but it seems to me coaching these guys in a way that lifts them up has to be the better option. The college president admits as much, then caves when they start to win.
In total, a weird season. Watched the whole thing and enjoyed it, but it seems to me everything with this series will be chasing Season 1 in terms of quality and material. Independence just isn't as interesting as Scooba, and Brown's act isn't as interesting to watch unravel as Buddy's.
The QB seemed to be his happiest when he was hurt on the sideline trying to undermine the coaches.
Last Chance U is why I dismissed the Project Veritas video of former Florida players. Everything discussed in that video could have happened as entertainment on Netflix and it would have seemed status quo.
That, and because everything O'Keefe and Project Veritas does is utter horseshit.