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How surprised?

Gary the Gargoyle said:
That's an interesting debate. I'd argue that there are 2 good teams and plenty of good players. There's probably only one great player in the league, but then again, there are only so many first team all-Americans in the country.
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Ok....two good teams and one great player. Out of ten teams and MANY players.....to me that's a crappy conference, or at least a VERY average conference.
 
Da Coach said:
I have heard a number of Bradley fans say they were disappointed that we decided to use both of the 2 open scholarships last spring on transfers instead of players who could help us this season.
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On paper, I'm fine with the two transfers we have coming in along with the other two recruits at this point. This season was not going to be easy anyways, so I'm ok with the way things are heading right now. Hopefully, the new players will be as good as advertised.
 
Braves4Life said:
Preach it SFP! You and I are on the same team on this one brotha man! :-D
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Count me in as well. This year is about improvement and I think we're seeing that. Next year, I'm expecting to see even more improvement on the court and in the win/loss column. I don't think I'll be disappointed.
 
Geno is definitely going all in for years 3 and 4 and not this year. That's fine. Whatever happens this year, OK. But if he's building up for next year and the next, I expect results then.
 
I think we're all together on that....
we who follow Bradley basketball all like winning more than losing and we want to see "results" - meaning, I am sure, more wins, better end results, and post-season play...
I think that's what unites all Bradley basketball fans -
 
Da Coach said:
OK, so should we expect a conference or tournament championship and an NCAA bid by year 3 or 4?
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well if you are asking me...I'd say no...I would hold every coach to the same standards...so I wouldn't demand Geno get an NCAA bid by his 3rd year when we've only seen that once a decade or so...
If we did then it would be enough to make me happy, but as long as I see a continuous trend towards the following I am very happy...(in no certain order of significance...)

--getting key recruits & good players to fill our needs..
--getting better and moving up so we're one of the better teams in the Valley
(maybe there's room for subjectivity here but at least we're talking 20 wins or close, post-season play considerations, kids that for the large part are not thugs and bad guys, respectable RPI, and clobbering ISU all the time - ;))
--and the prospect that we are learning as we go and not making the same mistakes that cause us to lose horribly by 20-30..
--and not only winning more, but at the end of each season - being satisfied that our guys gave us all we asked and performed well, and looking at what we have and ALWAYS being quite optimistic about the next year -


it won't take a genius to know when we're there - the attendance will swell back up to 10-11,000, fans will go wild and show up by the thousands in places as far away as Auburn Hills, Michigan, and even Oakland, CA, we'll be the team they're picking for 1st or 2nd each year instead of 9th or 10th, and of course we'll start winning regularly on road and against good teams! And quite possibly and hopefully - the people who are still bashing each other will let up and all enjoy the ride..
 
tornado said:
If we did then it would be enough to make me happy, but as long as I see a continuous trend towards the following I am very happy...(in no certain order of significance...)

--getting key recruits & good players to fill our needs..
--getting better and moving up so we're one of the better teams in the Valley
(maybe there's room for subjectivity here but at least we're talking 20 wins or close, post-season play considerations, kids that for the large part are not thugs and bad guys, respectable RPI, and clobbering ISU all the time - ;))
--and the prospect that we are learning as we go and not making the same mistakes that cause us to lose horribly by 20-30..
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I really like your points of expectation. I think they're all reasonable, and what most fans would also expect.

To your last point, even the #1 team in country suffers that fate on occasion. (Sorry Duke fans.) ;)
 
Da Coach said:
OK, so should we expect a conference or tournament championship and an NCAA bid by year 3 or 4?
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Very unpredictable. How many honestly thought that at this point of BU's Sweet 16 season a few years back they would be a NCAA tournament team. I think by Geno's 4th year the Braves will be a tournament team, hopefully the NCAA but at least the NIT.
 
Da Coach said:
OK, so should we expect a conference or tournament championship and an NCAA bid by year 3 or 4?
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I think at the least, we should be in contention. I expect to be playing very meaningful conference games in late Februrary that give us the chance to win the conference. I expect a peak at the top of the conference and in the NCAAs.

Year 3 may be early to contend for titles but we shouldn't be anywhere near Thursday night.
 
tornado said:
--getting key recruits & good players to fill our needs..
--getting better and moving up so we're one of the better teams in the Valley
(maybe there's room for subjectivity here but at least we're talking 20 wins or close, post-season play considerations, kids that for the large part are not thugs and bad guys, respectable RPI, and clobbering ISU all the time - ;))
--and the prospect that we are learning as we go and not making the same mistakes that cause us to lose horribly by 20-30..
--and not only winning more, but at the end of each season - being satisfied that our guys gave us all we asked and performed well, and looking at what we have and ALWAYS being quite optimistic about the next year -
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I have very similar expectations. I would add that I would be more than happy to have a CBI type tournament this year or next year. The year after that is unacceptable.
 
tornado said:
well if you are asking me...I'd say no...I would hold every coach to the same standards...so I wouldn't demand Geno get an NCAA bid by his 3rd year when we've only seen that once a decade or so...
If we did then it would be enough to make me happy, but as long as I see a continuous trend towards the following I am very happy...(in no certain order of significance...)

--getting key recruits & good players to fill our needs..
--getting better and moving up so we're one of the better teams in the Valley
(maybe there's room for subjectivity here but at least we're talking 20 wins or close, post-season play considerations, kids that for the large part are not thugs and bad guys, respectable RPI, and clobbering ISU all the time - ;))
--and the prospect that we are learning as we go and not making the same mistakes that cause us to lose horribly by 20-30..
--and not only winning more, but at the end of each season - being satisfied that our guys gave us all we asked and performed well, and looking at what we have and ALWAYS being quite optimistic about the next year -


it won't take a genius to know when we're there - the attendance will swell back up to 10-11,000, fans will go wild and show up by the thousands in places as far away as Auburn Hills, Michigan, and even Oakland, CA, we'll be the team they're picking for 1st or 2nd each year instead of 9th or 10th, and of course we'll start winning regularly on road and against good teams! And quite possibly and hopefully - the people who are still bashing each other will let up and all enjoy the ride..
Click to expand...

I agree with everything here, though while not at all downplaying the five straight 20 win seasons, I think most would prefer the 20 wins coming during the regular season, or at the very worst during the Valley tournament. That would all but guarantee no worse than NIT bids most of those years. Hitting 20 wins during the EIEIO tournaments is nice and shows that we are not as dreadful a program that some make it out to be since you still have to be a decent team to qualify for those types of tournaments. But getting to 20 wins during the regular season shows that we would be a team in contention for Valley titles, which is the "easiest" path towards the NCAA Tournament (be it through an at-large bid and/or higher seeding in the Valley tournament).

So basically, to answer the question as to where we should be next year and the year after, no worse than .500 (or very close to it) next year with all the player turnover, and NIT territory at the worst by year 4, which would require a 3rd or 4th place finish (preferrably 3rd) and 19 or more wins by the Valley tournament. Year's 5 and onward would hopefully earn us an NCAA Tournament bid once every 3 to 5 years and a Valley championship (regular season and/or Valley tournament) about that same frequency, with top 3 finishes every 2 or 3 years.
 
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