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Illini disrespect for BU

B

brocks

New member
Lots of dissing BU going on over on Illini boards over Shumpert cutting UI but not BU. Call me naive, but I don't quite get it. Did Bradley NOT make the Sweet 16 only 16 months ago? Did Bradley NOT play Illinois to the wire on a neutral court last season? Does Bradley NOT have one of the best young recruiters in the business running its program right now?

And when did it become so outlandish that a kid might want to experience a genuine college experience at a place that's wild about hoops, where real profs teach classes, and where you don't have to take a bus to class?

Illinois fans need to face a new reality: you're already second in this state to SIU. You're pretty darn close to moving behind DePaul and Bradley, too. Not every HS player has the same fantasies Matt Roth does. Some want a special experince you can't get when your alma mater is named after a state.
 
dogsrus said:
How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....
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What is that supposed to mean? Is that the comparison that you are going with? Where is Larry Eustacy when you need him!
 
patrick_o'brian said:
dogsrus said:
How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....
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What is that supposed to mean? Is that the comparison that you are going with? Where is Larry Eustacy when you need him!
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I think its rather plain and simple but I'll spell it out. Illinois thinks of themselves as a "better" program and more "appealing" than BU. I would suggest most BU fans would feel the same about BU compared to a place like Eastern and I probably could have used numerous other examples like Western, Northern, Quinnipac, Maryland Eastern Shore......

SOOOOO...if Maniscalco dropped us for a program WE felt we were more appealing than I'm sure some would feel similar to what some Illinois fans feel.

As for Larry Eustachy...I have NO idea what he has to do with anything. :?

Hope that clears up any confusion and thanks for the kind response.
 
dogsrus said:
How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....
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Are you seriously saying that the gap between IU and BU is proportionate to the gap between BU and EIU? If so, I'll decline to respond.
 
brocks said:
dogsrus said:
How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....
Click to expand...

Are you seriously saying that the gap between IU and BU is proportionate to the gap between BU and EIU? If so, I'll decline to respond.
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I don't know how one measures "gaps" between programs. If there is a chart or something to reference I'd be glad to take a look at it.

I think my post spelled it out quite clearly. Its based on individual perception.

Simple question...do you see BU as a more appealing program than Eastern? I would offer 99.99999% of BU fans would.

I would also offer close to that same % of Illini fans see Illinois as a more appealing program than BU.

I was simply trying to point out why SOME Illini fans feel Shocked at being dropped while we were not.

I'm surprised anyone would be surprised they would feel that way. Heck they felt that way when Gordon dropped them for IU.
 
Illini nation can think however they want of themselves but they are currently nothing but an average program within the Big Ten.

If it were not for their win over us last season they would have not made the NCAA tourney. They did nothing within their conference but beat inferior teams and played mostly poor non conference opponents.

Illinois did not capitalize on their final four appearance and are now living off the conception that the Big Ten is a superior conference, they are top heavy and extremely average to poor when you get past Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Indiana
 
houstontxbrave said:
Illini nation can think however they want of themselves



I agree.....and again I'm not suggesting their feelings are correct or warranted just that its not surprising they feel that way.
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dogsrus said:
brocks said:
dogsrus said:
How would we feel if Maniscalco dropped us but kept Eastern on his list....
Click to expand...

Are you seriously saying that the gap between IU and BU is proportionate to the gap between BU and EIU? If so, I'll decline to respond.
Click to expand...




I don't know how one measures "gaps" between programs. If there is a chart or something to reference I'd be glad to take a look at it.

I think my post spelled it out quite clearly. Its based on individual perception.

Simple question...do you see BU as a more appealing program than Eastern? I would offer 99.99999% of BU fans would.

I would also offer close to that same % of Illini fans see Illinois as a more appealing program than BU.

I was simply trying to point out why SOME Illini fans feel Shocked at being dropped while we were not.

I'm surprised anyone would be surprised they would feel that way. Heck they felt that way when Gordon dropped them for IU.
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I would certainly agree that fanhood is more emotional than intellectual. That's why most Bradley fans would choose BU over ANY other school, even Duke.

But I don't see a meltdown every time a recruit picks a school, like Charlotte (a clearly inferior program to BU that nonetheless beat us for Charlie Coley) over BU, because Bradley fans are generally EDUCATED enough about hoops to know that, for example, Charlotte has a very good recruiter in Bobby Lutz who beats out a LOT of other good coaches, not just JL.

And most BU fans can act enough like grown ups about situations like that even if Charlotte did NOT make a huge national splash a mere 16 months ago like Bradley did.

Here's where you and I disagree: you want to focus on whether this new-found Illini disrespect for BU is UNDERSTANDABLE (which it is) while I'm talking about whether it is JUSTIFIED (which it is not).

While IU fans might be having hissy fits about Bradley, their reactions result from an alternate reality where they won't be challenged by emerging programs like SIU and Bradley and Lowery and Les, respectively. That reality is going the way of Communism in eastern Europe.
 
Here's where you and I disagree: you want to focus on whether this new-found Illini disrespect for BU is UNDERSTANDABLE (which it is) while I'm talking about whether it is JUSTIFIED (which it is not).



I don't want to focus on anything Brocks except the upcoming season. Also, I stated I DIDN'T think it was justified. Again I just understand why SOME Illini feel the way they do. I really expected it when I first saw Iman's list. I just new SOME Illini fans would feel that way. As Bert stated...really who cares.

They are entitled to those feelings (wrong as they may be :lol: ) just like you and I are entitled to ours.

If we are secure in who WE are as BU and BU fans what other fans think about us doesn't make much of a difference...at least to me.

I respect the fact you might feel different....
 
My point is simply this: We should be beyond the point where people are saying Bradley WHO???? But we all know that won't happen with the miopic fans of Illinois, KU, etc.

And who CARES what they think? If we're going to be honest, we all do.
 
brocks said:
My point is simply this: We should be beyond the point where people are saying Bradley WHO???? But we all know that won't happen with the miopic fans of Illinois, KU, etc.

And who CARES what they think? If we're going to be honest, we all do.
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OK...
 
Dogsrus, I completey agree with your Eastern Illinois / Bradley analogy. I think you make a good point, regardless of the possible differences in gap proportions??

Now, if a highly recruited player did drop BU from his list, but still included Eastern, I would be surprised, I would be unhappy, but I dont think I would attack Eastern. And from what I have seen on the Illini boards, the Illini fans seem pissed off with the situation, but I havent really seen any Bradley hatin' going on.

Ryan
 
peoriakid said:
Dogsrus, I completey agree with your Eastern Illinois / Bradley analogy. I think you make a good point, regardless of the possible differences in gap proportions??

Now, if a highly recruited player did drop BU from his list, but still included Eastern, I would be surprised, I would be unhappy, but I dont think I would attack Eastern. And from what I have seen on the Illini boards, the Illini fans seem pissed off with the situation, but I havent really seen any Bradley hatin' going on.

Ryan
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I basically agree with you Ryan. I think Illini fans are upset about losing out (most likely) on Shumpert and others. I can't blame em.

I saw some of the stuff they said about us and again maybe its just me and Big Mike so far but I just really don't care HOW they feel about us. Most Illini fans are good people just like us. A few goofballs don't make up the entire Illini fanbase. I just happen to know to many good Illini fans to let a few form my opinion.

Besides I know how I feel about BU and thats all that matters. Maybe its my advanced age :lol: I dunno. What some hyped up college kid sitting on some computer in Champaign feels about BU really means nothing to me.

Thanks for your response....
 
I understand comparing Illini-Bradley with Bradley-EIU.

But I think Brocks point needs to be revisited here before actually saying it is an equal comparison. He said 'Bradley made the Sweet16 just 16 months ago and played pretty close to UIUC on a neutral court' just this past season.

When has EIU been to the Sweet 16 and played Bradley close in a neutral floor game? They have been a 15 seed twice in their long rich history of college hoops and got beaten badly both times. And the last time Bradley played EIU was in 1972.

So I understand how Bradley fans might think of themselves as gapped to EIU. And I KNOW UIUC fans think of themselves as gapped to Bradley. But UIUC fans perception is further from the truth than BU fans may be.

So what might be more relative is to compare Bradley fans perception to non-BCS teams that got to the Sweet 16 in the (let's say) 5 years.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee as a 12 seed
UAB as a 9 seed
Kent as a 10 seed (and got to Elite 8 )

I doubt ANY Bradley fan thinks BU is gapped ahead of those schools.

Or how about any school Bradley lost to or played close with in the past (lets say) 5 seasons.

2007
W vs Winona St*
W vs SIU-Edwardsville*
L @ Tn Tech
I recall respect for all those programs and I added Winona and SIU-E as evidence of how BU fans respect even Non-DI teams.

2006
W vs Chi St
Recall a first half deficit and close half time score - they had lightning fast guards... but did we disrespect them?

2005
W vs SEMO
Mutual respect

2004
W vs La-Monroe in OT
L vs Lubbock Christian
Not too sure about La-Monroe, but I recall some disgust over losing to Lubbock but not a disrespect toward them, more inner disrespect... but then followed that game with a win over Miami-Fl

2003
L @ IUPUI
W vs Alcorn St
W vs Chi St
The loss at IUPUI might have been an inner-disrespect but they went on to win the auto birth from their conference and I recall feeling proud of them; the pounding of Chi St and Alcorn St never seemed like we disrespected them, we just let 'em have it.

2002
L vs Tex-Arlington
L vs Weber St
L vs Sam Houston
Not sure what everyone thought, I wasn't around on Message Boards then, but I personally felt more embarrassed that we couldn't win those games... but never disrespect toward those programs. We had a team that didn't perform very well back then.

So in conclusion, I think the Bradley-EIU vs the UIUC-Bradley comparison doesn't quite fit.
 
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