BU 48 - MSU 51 Final

[Bravesfan]

The first half I thought we ran our offense fairly well and had some open shots that didn't go in. I thought we even did a better job of it in the 2nd half but again just didn't hit some open shots. We couldn't hit the broad side of the barn tonight even if we were spotted the broad side. Just ugly. We will not get back into the upper half of the Valley if we don't start getting some shooters. I thought JP played his best game of the year but for him to have an impact it's got to be on a more consistent basis. Certainly some questionable calls down the stretch but it seems good teams get those calls. Our defensive effort was outstanding all night. We keep that part of our game going and start making some shots the wins will come.

Yes, good points. The problem is that we have mediocre shooters who sometimes have good nights. And when the stars align, you get games like we had against Northeastern and UNI, just based on the law of averages that even bad teams will win once in awhile (heck, even Chicago St. has won two in a row after an 0-17 start!). I'm sure everyone has heard the saying that even a broken clock is right twice a day. I'm not saying that our team's wins were flukes, and that they are that bad. I'm just using that to illustrate that even poor shooting teams will have a few games a year where every player happens to have a hot shooting night at the same time.

The point here though is that we need more pure shooters to increase the number of those games where everyone is in sync with their shooting to much more than half a dozen times a year. This is where Geno's recruiting will be put to the test. But if you go by his recent resume at Kent St., I think Bradley will eventually become a player in the Valley race again, and here's hoping the wait won't be too long.

 

[Da Coach]

PJ Star story-
http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x1771270115/Live-blog-Bradley-vs-Missouri-State

 

[Big Mike]

Nice game by JP...very good to see, hope it stays! The D' looked good tonight with less open looks and bunnies, 13 TO's is also good enough to win but the shots just didn't fall...this kind of effort should get the Braves a couple of W's! :wink:

 

[lefty]

Nice game by JP...very good to see, hope it stays! The D' looked good tonight with less open looks and bunnies, 13 TO's is also good enough to win but the shots just didn't fall...this kind of effort should get the Braves a couple of W's! :wink:

The sad part of those turnovers was half were pretty much unforced...it seemed like there 20 travel calls alone....the poor shooting and turnovers is what made our offense look ugly in stretches ....

'It was kind of like when we did things right we looked really good.....when we didn't we looked equally bad...if that makes sense.

certainly some questionable calls...we did get the benefit on JP's 3 point play in the paint....I didn't think he was in the act of shooting at all.

 

[Beninator]

'It was kind of like when we did things right we looked really good.....when we didn't we looked equally bad...if that makes sense.

I think that a lot of that has to do with shot selection. We put ourselves in situations where we have multiple players who force a shot rather than try to pass to an open player.

 

[tornado]

And if we needed any more proof that the local media are now wearing the ROSE COLORED GLASSES...
note the two stories this morning by DR & KW..
You would have thought we'd played the best game all year! -- glowing with compliments....hardly anything realistic or on target for most who watched this game...
Comments like...
"Braves proving they’re capable"
"If you didn’t know Bradley was the last-place team in the Missouri Valley, you would not have guessed by watching this game."
"Boy, he was good tonight..More good stuff about the Braves.."
"Doing those things well in the future might allow Bradley to climb out of the MVC cellar."
"..excellent for most of the game.."

Seriously - did they not see all the totally unforced turnovers?
And all the hurried, ill-advised and forced shots...
..and despite good shooting by JP - our team still shot 37% from the floor and 19% from 3-pt...
This was actually one of our worst games -- we can't even beat a team on our own court that was way off and scoring only 50 pts...
I am still optimistic we can put it together - I believe we have the talent -- and now pretty much the opnly games that matter are in St. Louis.



And in the final 3 possessions in the game's last minute or two -- all we came away with were TWO LONG and hurried 3-pointers that came early in the shot-clock then one forced drive that resulted in the charge!
I sure was hoping that we could have gotten something better --
I watched the game again later and Frank Bussone - who sat right next to the Bradly bench said that the fall-away long 3-pointer by Jake was a set and designed play -- reallY?
If so why in crunch time when we HAVE TO SCORE is a guy who is scoreless, 0-2 already from 3-pt and hitting only 25% on the season from 3-pt - taking a LONG one on the fly and falling off away from the hoop?
The odds of that shot going in must be in the 10% range - we really needed something better and also on the next play when TB took one - we have the entire shot clock available on those two possessions!


I guess I wasn't the only one who saw it that way...

What was Jake thinking jacking up that three so early

The sad part of those turnovers was half were pretty much unforced...

we need a PG

.. he is STILL listed as a junior ...

it really isn't an error but it's confusing - because he is in his 3rd year and a junior academically


Lastly - KW seems to be hinting we can soon move out of 10th place in the MVC--
"...Bradley proved itself capable of competing with a good Valley team.

..Doing those things well in the future might allow Bradley to climb out of the MVC cellar."

really - is this the same guy who wrote last spring that we had hit ROCK BOTTOM and couldn't get any worse??
Remember "Plenty about BU is unacceptable" and all the rips blaming JL for every bad play?
Multiple comments about how crowds are dwindling and the empty seats...

 

[spoon]

And if we needed any more proof that the local media are now wearing the ROSE COLORED GLASSES...

Yeah! Screw the PJStar and their positivity! Why can't they be more negative!

 

[Braveman]

Lastly - KW seems to be hinting we can soon move out of 10th place in the MVC--
"...Bradley proved itself capable of competing with a good Valley team.

..Doing those things well in the future might allow Bradley to climb out of the MVC cellar."

really - is this the same guy who wrote last spring that we had hit ROCK BOTTOM and couldn't get any worse??

Had BU won, they would have been tied for 9th.... and despite all your protests, the PJStar is not going to go back and rewrite last year's stories...
JL is gone- and regardless of how the media treated him- the PJS seems to be doing what you asked for- they aren't as negative...
Now they are wearing rose colored glasses?

 

[BradleyJD]

BU played hard the entire game last night, and had a chance to win at the end. Hard to do much more than that.

You get no FT's at home? You get called for charges repeatedly? A tough one all the way around.

I think Wessler made some very good points...

BU did defend very well. They did not let the problems on O hurt their effort on D. We rebounded extremely well, too.

We also limited ourselves to only 13 turnovers.

Obviously we still struggled knocking down shots.

All in all, a good sign of this team's fight.

 

[BradleyJD]

really - is this the same guy who wrote last spring that we had hit ROCK BOTTOM and couldn't get any worse??

BTW -- I also remember his comment...about how Dr. Cross always sat intensely at courtside taking "copious notes" and scrutinizing JL's every move...
So has something changed??

Things are looking up. This team is fighting hard. We have a new coach and hope for good things to come.

What has changed? The coach has. I think BU has many great days ahead.

 

[Toyota12]

passing

passing

In the first half last night WL received a screen from JP a couple of times and did not pass back to him on the roll to the basket and dribbled to the middle and passed back out to the wing.Then we took a 3 and missed the shot.. We have seen a little improvement on offense but these guys seem to revert back to the pretty shot or the cool move instead of doing the fundamental thing that makes things easier...JMO.. Maybe i am wrong..We got to get these guys to all play together with some consistency night in night out.. Why do we seem to have only one guy have a good night?

 

[Chico]

In the first half last night WL received a screen from JP a couple of times and did not pass back to him on the roll to the basket and dribbled to the middle and passed back out to the wing.Then we took a 3 and missed the shot.. We have seen a little improvement on offense but these guys seem to revert back to the pretty shot or the cool move instead of doing the fundamental thing that makes things easier...JMO.. Maybe i am wrong..We got to get these guys to all play together with some consistency night in night out.. Why do we seem to have only one guy have a good night?

Looks like the Braves need a true point guard. Can't wait for Geno to get his players in here and hopefully things will change for the better.

 

[Beninator]

And if we needed any more proof that the local media are now wearing the ROSE COLORED GLASSES...
note the two stories this morning by DR & KW..
You would have thought we'd played the best game all year! -- glowing with compliments....hardly anything realistic or on target for most who watched this game...
Comments like...
"Braves proving they??™re capable"
"If you didn??™t know Bradley was the last-place team in the Missouri Valley, you would not have guessed by watching this game."
"Boy, he was good tonight..More good stuff about the Braves.."
"Doing those things well in the future might allow Bradley to climb out of the MVC cellar."
"..excellent for most of the game.."

Seriously - did they not see all the totally unforced turnovers?
And all the hurried, ill-advised and forced shots...
..and despite good shooting by JP - our team still shot 37% from the floor and 19% from 3-pt...
This was actually one of our worst games -- we can't even beat a team on our own court that was way off and scoring only 50 pts...
I am still optimistic we can put it together - I believe we have the talent -- and now pretty much the opnly games that matter are in St. Louis.

I haven't read today's PJS. I quit paying for that rag a long time ago so I will only glance at the PJS when I see it for free.:twisted:

That being said, I thought from an execution standpoint on offense, last night was one of our best efforts of the year. I posted as much last night. If this was in today's PJS, then I would have to agree with them. This is an incomplete team so it is IMHO possible to execute offensive sets and not get a winning result. That is IMHO what we saw last night. Geno doesn't like it, but we play better when we slow things down. Yes shot selection is an issue, but our shot selection is much better than the beginning of the year. As for Jake's three at the end of the game, I would like to hear the response from Geno rather than hearing it from Bussone. IMHO, as an announcer, Bussone was good in the 1980's no so much now.

 

[Bravesfan]

And if we needed any more proof that the local media are now wearing the ROSE COLORED GLASSES...
note the two stories this morning by DR & KW..
You would have thought we'd played the best game all year! -- glowing with compliments....hardly anything realistic or on target for most who watched this game...
Lastly - KW seems to be hinting we can soon move out of 10th place in the MVC--
"...Bradley proved itself capable of competing with a good Valley team.

..Doing those things well in the future might allow Bradley to climb out of the MVC cellar."

really - is this the same guy who wrote last spring that we had hit ROCK BOTTOM and couldn't get any worse??
Remember "Plenty about BU is unacceptable" and all the rips blaming JL for every bad play?
Multiple comments about how crowds are dwindling and the empty seats...

BTW -- I also remember his comment...about how Dr. Cross always sat intensely at courtside taking "copious notes" and scrutinizing JL's every move...
So has something changed??

I don't mind these two with the "Rose Colored Glasses" type of articles for a first year coach. The problem is they need to be consistent anytime a new coach comes on board. They most certainly didn't do this for Les during his first year here, and probably not for Coach Mo either. So yes, the hypocracy is on full display with these two, especially KW.

I do happen to agree with them though that this team can compete with some of the better teams (though probably not the best teams yet) in the Valley as we did yesterday, and can eventually move out of the cellar. But they can't be serious when they say this was their best game of the year! Though I don't think they were quite as bad as you say they were either tornado. I think MSU plays a tough zone defense, and 50 points in this type of game probably is a good accomplishment for whomever won. I do agree that those forced shots at the end were not very smart, and probably not the best designed plays for that situation. However, had our three's been falling like they did in the second half against UNI, everyone would have praised Geno for that play. I think maybe they should have had DSE or someone else other than Eastman take that three.

 

[Da Coach]

BU played hard the entire game last night, and had a chance to win at the end. Hard to do much more than that.

Huh? Is that what your expectations for this team have fallen to? How about winning on our home floor? Weren't you among those who expected Bradley to win every home game prior to this season? If playing hard is all we should expect, we didn't need to pour out millions of dollars on a new coaching staff, since we already had that.

 

[Bravesfan]

In the first half last night WL received a screen from JP a couple of times and did not pass back to him on the roll to the basket and dribbled to the middle and passed back out to the wing.Then we took a 3 and missed the shot.. We have seen a little improvement on offense but these guys seem to revert back to the pretty shot or the cool move instead of doing the fundamental thing that makes things easier...JMO.. Maybe i am wrong..We got to get these guys to all play together with some consistency night in night out.. Why do we seem to have only one guy have a good night?

And again, like I have said in the past, I don't know how many times Geno, Les, Mo or any other coach can stress this to these players. Sooner or later you have to wonder if it's a lost cause for certain players that either refuse to listen, or they get so nervous that they force up bad shots.

Like I said above, I don't think we are as bad a team as we were earlier this season, and the team put forth a great effort last night in nearly pulling off an upset of a team that still maybe pretty good when all is said and done. But until these players learn that there is no "i" in team, we will continue to see "NBA" type moves out of players that have no chance going to the NBA in the first place! I hope Geno keeps showing the tape of the second half against UNI, because that's how we need to play EVERY night.

 

[Bravesfan]

I haven't read today's PJS. I quit paying for that rag a long time ago so I will only glance at the PJS when I see it for free.:twisted:

That being said, I thought from an execution standpoint on offense, last night was one of our best efforts of the year. I posted as much last night. If this was in today's PJS, then I would have to agree with them. This is an incomplete team so it is IMHO possible to execute offensive sets and not get a winning result. That is IMHO what we saw last night. Geno doesn't like it, but we play better when we slow things down. Yes shot selection is an issue, but our shot selection is much better than the beginning of the year. As for Jake's three at the end of the game, I would like to hear the response from Geno rather than hearing it from Bussone. IMHO, as an announcer, Bussone was good in the 1980's no so much now.

That's a good point about Bussone. Was he actually close enough to the bench to hear that this was a set play? I wouldn't know for sure, but I'm sure questions regarding the last minute or two of the game will be asked on his weekly radio show.

As for the set offense not always producing wins, I agree there too. It really hurts not to get that win last night, but when we have a short bench and very few good shooters, even the best coached games will not always result in wins. I'm just hoping we get more than the one Valley win we've got, which I still believe we will. I still see 3 or 4 Valley wins total, and maybe we can sneak up on someone in St. Louis. That and more consistent play is about all we can hope for for this first rebuilding year.

 

[Da Coach]

...I think MSU plays a tough zone defense, and 50 points in this type of game probably is a good accomplishment for whomever won...

I think some have become conditioned because of how bad our offense has been, that last night actually looked good.

Here is the reality- we shot 37% overall, 18% from three, and scored only 48 points against a mediocre team (11-9, 4-4 in the conference, and on a 3-game losing streak- this qualifies as mediore to all those that labelled the past 9 years at Bradley as mediocre). And it was on our home floor to bring our home record to 5-6. As bad a some try to make the last 4 or 5 years, it would be hard to find many games even this bad.

By the way, we now have a losing record at home (5-6) for the season (something you won't find mentioned in the PJS). Bradley has not had a losing record at home since 2001-2002, which was ironically Jim Molinari's last season. And, that year (2001-2002) was the only losing record Bradley has had at home in the past 20+ years.

 

[Bravesfan]

I think some have become conditioned because of how bad our offense has been, that last night actually looked good.

Here is the reality- we shot 37% overall, 18% from three, and scored only 48 points against a mediocre team (11-9, 4-4 in the conference, and on a 3-game losing streak- this qualifies as mediore to all those that labelled the past 9 years at Bradley as mediocre). And it was on our home floor to bring our home record to 5-6. As bad a some try to make the last 4 or 5 years, it would be hard to find many games even this bad.

By the way, we now have a losing record at home (5-6) for the season (something you won't find mentioned in the PJS). Bradley has not had a losing record at home since 2001-2002, which was ironically Jim Molinari's last season. And, that year (2001-2002) was the only losing record Bradley has had at home in the past 20+ years.

Yeah, I admit I'm probably grasping for straws a bit for any sign that this team will turn things around for good this year. I think considering that this was a close game that went down to the last possession or two, many found it at least entertaining to watch as it was very competitive, considering how much worse we looked earlier in the season at times. Even the Bears announcers last night were giving kudos to how "scrappy" Bradley looked for a last place team. Anyway, being a diehard Cubs fan myself, "wait till next year"!

In regards to being content that we are staying close against "good" teams at home, I couldn't disagree with that sentiment more! That was a game I felt we could win going into the game, as I felt before the UNI game. MSU is another one of those teams that while capable of beating ranked teams on the road (which they did against Creighton earlier this season), while also capable of losing to last place teams at home. That's why I thought, and expected we would beat MSU last night. So while entertaining to watch (in a "good bad" way), I was pretty bummed afterward that we could not secure the win. And frankly anyone who calls themselves a Bradley fan should not tolerate losing, EVEN in a "throwaway" rebuilding year like this. And as I have stated many times before, I don't think any team should EVER have to drop this far down in the standings during the rebuilding process (see Butler this year, a team that could still win the Horizon League this year). But what's done is done, and hopefully we are back to NCAA/NIT talk within a few years, even if there are no guarantees that will happen.

 

[BradleyJD]

Huh? Is that what your expectations for this team have fallen to? How about winning on our home floor? Weren't you among those who expected Bradley to win every home game prior to this season? If playing hard is all we should expect, we didn't need to pour out millions of dollars on a new coaching staff, since we already had that.

I was among those who expected a coach in year 9 to be competitive and challenge for the top 3, yes.

For a first year coach, with less talent than last year's team (which finished last)....I certainly want the team playing hard, with a chance to win at the end.

Don't you want them to play hard and have a chance to win?