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Coaching candidates

Looking into this Brian Wardle, I see some red flags:

First, what I see as positives:
1) He's improved every year he's been at Green Bay, barring his last year, but that was pretty even with the previous one. Both years they won over 20 games.
2) He's been to the post-season the last 3 years. The NIT the last 2.

Now the things that scare me:
1) Horizon League isn't exactly a powerhouse conference. We've already seen what can go wrong when we go with a guy that has had success in a conference that isn't as competitive as the MVC.
2) He's never won his conference tournament.
3) He's never won a post-season game.
4) The small issue with abusive language toward his players.

My gut still tells me Jerrance Howard is our best bet at future success, but my gut is wrong a lot, too, so I'll wait it out and trust in our new AD.

Curious what others think about Wardle. Honestly, if he ends up being the choice, I won't be disappointed, but just thought I'd point out some things that give me hesitation. I'll tell Reynolds all of this next time we talk basketball on the phone. :wink:


I can see where you're coming from but then how many times did you hear GF is one of the best up & coming young coaches in the country? That is one thing that gets mentioned quite often about Wardle. I can't say how excited I am about the choice but will rely on CR to decide that as I think he is getting ready to take BU big time.
 
Looking into this Brian Wardle, I see some red flags:

First, what I see as positives:
1) He's improved every year he's been at Green Bay, barring his last year, but that was pretty even with the previous one. Both years they won over 20 games.
2) He's been to the post-season the last 3 years. The NIT the last 2.

Now the things that scare me:
1) Horizon League isn't exactly a powerhouse conference. We've already seen what can go wrong when we go with a guy that has had success in a conference that isn't as competitive as the MVC.
2) He's never won his conference tournament.
3) He's never won a post-season game.
4) The small issue with abusive language toward his players.

My gut still tells me Jerrance Howard is our best bet at future success, but my gut is wrong a lot, too, so I'll wait it out and trust in our new AD.

Curious what others think about Wardle. Honestly, if he ends up being the choice, I won't be disappointed, but just thought I'd point out some things that give me hesitation. I'll tell Reynolds all of this next time we talk basketball on the phone. :wink:



I agree with your points on Wardle.......there are just no guarantees really.....just like BCS assistants...some have gone and done and some haven't......and there are reasons for both....could be a bad fit or bad timing....and just maybe there is more luck involved than we think


And my gut only let's me know when I'm hungry.....
 
Wardle targets and gets 4-year recruits that he IS able to land then develop into players that win games.

he doesn't hang his hat on bragging about being the first to offer some top recruit then not even come close to landing the kid,
he doesn't wait 'til he's desperate and then bring in a bunch of obscure juco kids,
he doesn't run out a ton of kids every spring and re-stock - most are in it for a 4-year experience..
..and he's even developed kids who nobody knew a thing about into NBA caliber talent
http://www.nba.com/2015/news/features/chris_dortch/03/12/keifer-sykes-2015-nba-draft-profile/
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/alec-brown

now - all that being said - there's still no guarantee he is gonna be successful at Bradley but I still think he's one of our top options.
My guess right now tho is that Wardle's agent is on the phone to DePaul and Arizona State...
 
I don't have a problem with Fife's reasons for leaving IPFW. The resources there were very, very limited and over time became a real source of frustration. ....
there's a report that he interviewed here last time in 2011...
he has not either pursued or been offered a DI spot since and is still with MSU - so as far as candidates, I would like to hear more....
What other head coaching experiences he have....recruiting experience....fundraising - connections to Chgo & Illinois.....etc...
..not sure we can even interview him now since his team is still active n the NCAA....
 
Looking into this Brian Wardle, I see some red flags:

First, what I see as positives:
1) He's improved every year he's been at Green Bay, barring his last year, but that was pretty even with the previous one. Both years they won over 20 games.
2) He's been to the post-season the last 3 years. The NIT the last 2.

Now the things that scare me:
1) Horizon League isn't exactly a powerhouse conference. We've already seen what can go wrong when we go with a guy that has had success in a conference that isn't as competitive as the MVC.
2) He's never won his conference tournament.
3) He's never won a post-season game.
4) The small issue with abusive language toward his players.

My gut still tells me Jerrance Howard is our best bet at future success, but my gut is wrong a lot, too, so I'll wait it out and trust in our new AD.

Curious what others think about Wardle. Honestly, if he ends up being the choice, I won't be disappointed, but just thought I'd point out some things that give me hesitation. I'll tell Reynolds all of this next time we talk basketball on the phone. :wink:

Wardle is my #2 guy (behind Fife and ahead of Nagy). Although I understand the allure of JH, I'd prefer a coach who has head coaching experience. That said, like you, I'll support whomever CR hires.
 
I am hearing the decision is coming soon, possible this week still, or early next week.

It cannot happen too soon IMO--anxious to start getting excited about who ever CR brings on board--and then see who stays and who bails. As others have said--if Cunningham/Thomas bail--I understand and it just opens up more options for our new coach to get HIS guys in place sooner--lets move forward!
 
Seems one or more of Bradley's finalists are holding things up because they are candidates for other jobs.
 
We all want the best of candidate for our head coach. I wonder if we have enough candidates, as none of them seem perfect? I also remember that I said anyone was better than GF. I still think that is right. We want the best we can get, but at least we have removed the worst we have ever had. Any of the 5, Fife, Wardle, Nagy, Davis, Paulus would have to be better than the worst we have ever had. If not, why are they the top names?
 
We are in a situation where, like it or not, our Bradley job is not the high profile job we'd like it to be. The better jobs will go to the better coaches.

I'd really like to get Mike Davis or Anthony Grant. I don't think we are high enough profile for Grant. We are certainly better than Texas Southern, where Davis is at. It all depends on what other jobs they have applied for.

I've also heard Lavall Jordan's name mentioned. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
DePaul is interviewing candidates this weekend, starting with their top target, Bobby Hurley. Their next choice seems to be Bryce Drew of Valpo. But Brian Wardle may be waiting to see if the job cold be offered to him next.




Interestingly, Northern Kentucky is also targeting Brian Wardle. On the surface, that would not seem like an upward move for him, but apparently they have a lot of money to spend.
http://hoopdirt.com/blog/24e8866b/northern-kentucky-dirt/




And another unlikely name that has gotten some mention for the Bradley job- Grey Giovanine of Augustana. I am not too sure how serious of a candidate he is, but IMO it shows that Bradley is still considering a number of people.
 
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He sure as heck has a considerably better resume than Jerrance Howard. I just don't get the love affair with Jerrance Howard!!! JH virtually has no resume!
 
He sure as heck has a considerably better resume than Jerrance Howard. I just don't get the love affair with Jerrance Howard!!! JH virtually has no resume!

He's an assistant coach at one of the top recruiting schools in the nation. He played at Illinois and is from the Peoria area. Yes, those aren't things that necessarily lead to being a good coach, but they are attributes that are attractive to a lot of BU fans, myself included.

He also showed some recruiting prowess while an assistant at Illinois under Bruce Weber.

Personally, my feeling is if we're going to be hiring a coach from a lesser conference or league, we need to get a coach that has just outright dominated it for 3-4 years. For instance, before Marshall was hired at WSU, he had 23+ wins over the previous 3 years coaching, and had gone to the NCAA in all 3 years. That's what we should be looking for, especially if we're planning on paying the candidate the way we paid Geno!
 
He sure as heck has a considerably better resume than Jerrance Howard. I just don't get the love affair with Jerrance Howard!!! JH virtually has no resume!


Even though I really think that the chances of JH are less then 10% at this time the love affair is the fact that he is considered to be one of the top 10 ass't coaches in the country-a top 5 among recruiters. Along w/ that is the fact that he was a Peoria kid just like CR and that is why so many people were excited about him.
 
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