| | LSU coach John Brady will beef up security with undercover campus cops shadowing potential NBA first-round picks sophomore forward Stromile Swift and senior center Jabari Smith at the SEC and NCAA Tournament.
Brady said he has had the undercover campus cops following Swift and Smith at home games and on the road during the SEC to prevent agents from contacting his top two players. But he's even more concerned about the attention shifting toward his players over the next few weeks.
Brady said the undercover cops will be on the hallways at the team's Atlanta hotel this weekend at the SEC tournament. He said the players' phones have already been requested to be turned off, even for local phone calls. Brady said he has been in constant contact with his compliance officer to ensure that the use of security is within the NCAA rules.
"The only time we're not watching Stro and Jabari is when they go to their rooms on campus," Brady said. "We can't watch them 24 hours a day but we're trying to keep them safe from agents."
Brady said he decided to increase the security around the players after Auburn's Chris Porter was suspended Feb. 27 and later admitted to accepting $2,500 from an agent or a representative of an agent. Who actually gave Porter the money is still being determined and will have an affect on the length of his suspension by the NCAA.
Brady said the SEC dispatched an investigator to meet with Swift and Smith after the Porter admission but both players signed an affidavit that they haven't received any money from an agent or a representative of an agent. Brady said SEC commissioner Roy Kramer cleared the players and also endorsed his security measures.
"We're going to be as proactive as possible," Brady said. "We know they are players who could be at the next level and we want to protect them."
Smith is projected as a first-round pick and Swift a lottery selection, if he decides to declare for the draft. But Brady said Swift told him he will return for his junior season.
"He keeps saying he's planning on coming back but I'll still be nervous until that May (14) deadline passes," Brady said of the early-entry draft deadline. "He's getting angry with all the questions still being asked about it. He's not ready. He's not as dominant as some other players."
The Tigers leave for Atlanta on Thursday in advance of Friday's quarterfinal game against the winner of Thursday's first-round Vanderbilt-Mississippi State game. LSU finished 25-4 overall, 12-4 atop the SEC West.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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