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Mid (sort of ) Season Report Card

it is not aimed at you or anyone in particular.......don't take everything so personal

you posted your thoughts and said you would be interested in others'
I think our guys deserve higher marks....I am not bothered by your marks, so please tolerate mine...
 
Agreed - I think they've turned a corner in the way they are playing, now let's hope they can step up to that different level I believe all of us thought they were capable of...

I am really close to feeling like they've turned a corner too. If we can somehow establish some sort of home court presence from here on out (i.e. win out at home), I think our feelings will be substantiated.
 
Romar- Welcome to the wrath of Bradleyfans!

How dare you question the mighty and powerful OZ! lol

I agree with most of your post. A C grade for the team is fair IMO- after all, you graded on entire season to this point- not last 3 games after all.

And AW is soft- despite his stats- I think people expect more "leadership" from him. He disappears for stretches of games at times... I give him benefit of doubt as he hadn't played in some time- but all in all- I think your opinions were pretty well stated...
 
if watching Sammy and gang can't impress a Bradley fan better than a B or a C, then I'd say find another team to follow, maybe the Illini or ISU...

Honestly- How can you say this?

A 10-9 team is a C team at best... And Romar and others didn't say anything about not enjoying this team.. Sheesh...
 
Holy cow- Andrew Warren gets a C!?
All he has done is- He is Bradley's leading scorer, and he's been leading the MVC in scoring for almost the entire first half of the conference season, and now is #2, just 0.3 ppg behind Harry Marshall. He is actually outscoring the preseason POY Osiris Eldridge in MVC games!
http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM

He is shooting 41.7% from three point range, far better than anyone else on the team, except Chris Roberts who is 0.3% ahead of him.
In MVC games he's shooting 47.5%- third best in the MVC.
His scoring has won several games for Bradley, including the win against Illinois.

His free throw percentage is 85.9%- best on the team, and his FT% in MVC games has been unbelieveable. He is 38-40 in the 9 MVC games, for 95%.

And Andrew is rebounding at a rate of 5.6 rpg in MVC games- better than any true guard in the MVC. His 4.2 defensive rebounds per game ranks 8th in the entire MVC

He leads BU in minutes played, and has played extremely good defense. That's not just my opinion, it's the opinion of the coaches.

Andrew will be a 1st or 2nd team All-MVC.
What more does he have to do?
If AW gets a C, what does Osiris Eldridge merit, a D or F, because AW leads him in every important category?

I would give Andrew an A. He's done everything expected of him.

And Taylor Brown a C+???!
Again, please check the stats before you grade TB a C+. He is Bradley's 2nd leading scorer and top rebounder. He is playing great defense. He is in the top 10 in most MVC categories, and every coach in the MVC would like to have him.
I'd give Taylor an A.

Romar can't give his opinion it appears if it differs with yours?

And TB doesn't play great defense... I would be willing to wager most fans wouldn't give him a top 3 spot on this team for defense!

Romar gave his opinion and asked for others on grading the team- not his post!
 
Romar is entitled to his opinion- am I not entitled to mine? It is an opinion forum.
I posted Andrew Warren's stats to show what a great season he is having.
I commented that a C-which suggests average performance- seems low to me for a player excelling in so many statistical areas.
If posting stats is interpreted as an attack on someone's opinion, then IMO you are a little overly sensitive.

BTW- just about every time I or anyone posts a positive opinion here, we are attacked and asked to justify low expectations, or support of mediocrity.
 
Overall team season to date grade IMO has to be a C- , because of the home games we've lost losing good leads :( This is going to be an interesting thread, we've got two big 'key' games coming up this week so that C- could turn into a D or a B- , I don't think it can ever be an A this season, unless of course... , considering we should never lose home games the way we have.

I'd give SM and WE a B+ for the last 3 games.
 
An interesting thread....here are my 2 cents

SM - B+ - trending toward an A- or better with last couple of games. His leadership over the last 3-4 games had been missing for this team. He has really been the go to guy the last couple of weeks.

WE - B has shown improvement from earlier play this year. I could see him sliding up to a B+ or A- by the end of the year, IF this effort keeps up.

TB - C+ - Agree with this score, missed games for off the court stuff, costing the team. Seems lacking in the mental part of the game, but the physical side is there for sure.

AW - hmmm....statistically he has some good numbers, but it seems to me that those numbers have gone down the last week or so. Also, I don't see real leadership from him...at least not on par with SM. Offensively, for the season I'd give him an A-, defensively, he is a decent defender...I'll go with a B. Leadership wise I'd go with a D.....so total, I'd give him a C+. Could see this go up to a solid B or B+ by years end.

CR - B-Unlike others, I don't see CR as a huge offensive threat. I see him as the defensive specialist...kind of like J.J. was a few years ago. I think he has done a pretty good job defensively, usually guarding one of the opponents best guards. He is also asked to go low and pick up some bigger guys as well.

EM- C+ For what he is asked to do on this team, I think he has had a decent season. He brings an extra ball handler and good defender into the game. He also is not asked to score alot.

DSE - B+ - Being a freshman, being injured early and coming back and playing very well. Once again he does well with the minutes he is given. I think he is getting about the right amount of minutes. Overall, impressed with what he brings to the table, just hope he can develop a more consistent jump shot.

JE - B - I know DSE gets more of the mins. and hype, but I love the energy that JE brings. He is a put my head down, stick my nose in, and fight kind of guy. He is willing to go and bang down low...and wins more of the battles than he loses. Rebounds very well...and hustles!! Not worried about his offense, once again, not something he is really being asked to do right now!

TEAM- 10-9 overall...5-4 in conference. Home court is really not an advantage right now, I think we actually play better away from home! Overall the potential is there....but I can't give them a high score for that. I'd say a solid C trending up to a C+ right now. The last 3-4 games we have jelled as a team and had good results. But month and a half before that we looked like 2-3 guys playing together and than 1 or 2 just trying to get there own.
 
Honestly- How can you say this?

A 10-9 team is a C team at best... And Romar and others didn't say anything about not enjoying this team.. Sheesh...

Logic doesn't hold any weight on this board sometimes. You will be bashed if you say anything negative and even mildly realistic.

Thus far, the season has been a C. Our record and our play has been below average at times and until recently it has been about average and above average. Therefore, it all averages out to average. A team 1 game above .500 has played average thus far therefore a C is average. Can they raise that grade? Of course, and I hope (and think) that they will. We have vastly underachieved.
 
I know that some guys start great & finish weak while other start slow & finish strong. Post your reasons for your grades or simply put you letter grade down on the five starters & any bench players you would like. IMO at this point in the season there are only a couple of guys trending toward A's, but none have earned one yet. (I did this on chatzy the other night so I apologize to those who see it as a repeat).

SM - Solid B - trending toward a B+ or better with last couple of games. Seems like he's feeling fully healthy & at the right time!

WE - B+ with big leap in effort on the floor - like what I'm seeing last 2-3 games - if only he were a true 5!

TB - C+ - stupid off court things and his trend of finding dumb fouls lately has hampered his production and time on the court. To steal from Yogi Berra, basketball is 90% mental & the other half is physical - TB has the physical, just the space between his ears gets in the way once in a while.

AW - C - reminds me alot of JC his Jr year & 1/2 his Sr year - just doesn't seem to want to step into the role as "the man" even though he has the ability to do it. Has shown a tendency to trend up late in the year - hope that continues.

CR - C - his "D" has been awesome, but his "O" has been MIA - I partially blame the coaching staff. Every other team with a guy like CR will set back-screens for Alley-oops at least 2 x's per game. Why can't SS set a moving screen or two off the ball once in a while (tongue firmly in cheek). If CR get's 1/2 a step toward the basket all SM has to do it get close.

OK - Will only give addl grades to the two Frosh logging minutes (on a bit of a curve here for obvious reasons - they're FRESHMAN!)

DSE - B++ - only thing keeping him from an A was the time it took him to get back "up to speed" following his down time. Saw him in HS and he has shown so much more grit than I expected and has fantastic skills paired with good B-ball instincts IMO. Has a decent jumper but if can make it a good jumper with the way he finishes around the basket, he will be tough to stop in the MVC (or anywhere else for that matter).

JE - B - clearly a heady player and coaches son - thought he'd be a more complete "knock down" shooter, but has a nose for the ball & is very "grindy" when he gets on the floor. Have noticed he's not afraid of floorburns & gets rebounds because he WILL put a body on a guy once the shot goes up.

There's my take - would be interested in others thoughts!

I have to pretty much argee with you.

SM though is I think an A he is just hard core hard nosed and even when he was struggling in the non conference, the guy played and played hard. Not his fault he played even when hurt.

AW I know he has some very strong stats but the eye test for me is he was a much more well rounded player before he broke his hand 2 years ago. He went to the rim hard, got into passing lanes and created turnovers. He was a definite triple threat. For me the C is deserved simply for the grade school intentional foul at SIU. That was terrible. But his overall game today is equal to a C.

But, I see some other things specifically his defense, he is getting beaten more often then he used to one on one. He looks honestly a step slow sliding... especially to his left. I am just not sure he is 100% confident in his overall game.

But he is a great scorer and when he is on shooting the ball he is on bigtime. But if you break down his last 4 games offensively:

11-34 from the field
14-14 from the line
14 total turnovers.
 
An interesting thread....here are my 2 cents

SM - B+
WE - B
TB - C+
AW - C+.
CR - B-
EM- C+
DSE - B+
JE - B -

so let me get this straight...and please don't pummel me simply for asking this...I think these are legitimate questions.....
You have Eddren getting the exact same grade as Andrew Warren, who is the top scorer in MVC league play, and TB...who leads the team in rebounding and is 2nd in scoring and who is 2nd in FG%, FT%, and steals.
and you have Sam Maniscalco getting exactly the same grade as Dyricus, who's averaging 4 ppg,
and you have Jake Eastman getting the same grade as Chris Roberts who often "fills the stat sheet".....
TB is inside the top 12 in the Valley in six different statistical categories, I don't think any MVC player is rated in the top in more categories...


and also....anyone....who in the Valley would get an A?? Just curious, I can understand why nobody wants to answer...;)
 
so let me get this straight...and please don't pummel me simply for asking this...I think these are legitimate questions.....
You have Eddren getting the exact same grade as Andrew Warren, who is the top scorer in MVC league play, and TB...who leads the team in rebounding and is 2nd in scoring and who is 2nd in FG%, FT%, and steals.
and you have Sam Maniscalco getting exactly the same grade as Dyricus, who's averaging 4 ppg,
and you have Jake Eastman getting the same grade as Chris Roberts who often "fills the stat sheet".....
TB is inside the top 12 in the Valley in six different statistical categories, I don't think any MVC player is rated in the top in more categories...


and also....anyone....who in the Valley would get an A?? Just curious, I can understand why nobody wants to answer...;)

IMO many are looking at EM doing exactly what he is asked to do and that is give SM a breather which might explain the better grade.
As far as TB goes he has had some great games this year but many games has been MIA. Also many dumb plays and dumb fouls that could have seriously hurt us-especially in recent games. IMO that is why so many are saying he isn't worhty of any grade above a C+ and IMO I would only give him a C as I really do expect more from him on a regular basis.
As for AW-he also has nights where he just doesn't seem to show up to play. Part of that might have to do w/ the amount of minutes he has been playing and he might be wearing down after not playing or even being able to condition much the last 2 years. IMO I would give AW a B- for the season but would like to see more consistency over all.
If TB & AW were playing as hard as WE, SM, CR & DSE are when they are on the floor the grades would be much better. IMO I don't see those 2 players giving 100% all of the time like I do the rest of the guys that play.
I do love the team as a whole and, yes I agree, that AW has a chance @ 1st or 2nd team all MVC along w/ SM & WE-not saying they will make it
but are playing very well in the Valley portion of the season.
Over all I would give this team a solid B for the season to this point. There are only 2 games that should have been deffinate wins that we lost. There were other game we lost we could have possibly won but the other team was just as good as we were talent wise. Some loses were because we didn't play to our potential and others were just because we got beat by a better team (at least on that night)
 
so let me get this straight...and please don't pummel me simply for asking this...I think these are legitimate questions.....
You have Eddren getting the exact same grade as Andrew Warren, who is the top scorer in MVC league play, and TB...who leads the team in rebounding and is 2nd in scoring and who is 2nd in FG%, FT%, and steals.
and you have Sam Maniscalco getting exactly the same grade as Dyricus, who's averaging 4 ppg,
and you have Jake Eastman getting the same grade as Chris Roberts who often "fills the stat sheet".....
TB is inside the top 12 in the Valley in six different statistical categories, I don't think any MVC player is rated in the top in more categories...


and also....anyone....who in the Valley would get an A?? Just curious, I can understand why nobody wants to answer...;)

I would assume that the grades that people are giving each of these guys is based on what the expectations were for each player coming into the season...If the player exceeded those expectations, they would get in the A/B range, if a player fell below his preseason expectations they would get in the C-/D range...

If I were giving out grades, DSE would probably be the guy I would give the highest grade to...based on the fact that he was mentioned as a redshirt candidate by some before the season started, and now he has progressed to the point where he is our best bench player and is often on the floor at the end of tight games...
He would get the highest grade, but that doesn't mean he is our best player...
 
I would assume that the grades that people are giving each of these guys is based on what the expectations were for each player coming into the season...If the player exceeded those expectations, they would get in the A/B range, if a player fell below his preseason expectations they would get in the C-/D range...

If I were giving out grades, DSE would probably be the guy I would give the highest grade to...based on the fact that he was mentioned as a redshirt candidate by some before the season started, and now he has progressed to the point where he is our best bench player and is often on the floor at the end of tight games...
He would get the highest grade, but that doesn't mean he is our best player...

Excellant way to look at the grading system and truly the most realistic.
 
so since Osiris was everyone's preseason Player of the Year, and since he really hasn't lived up to the hype, and even his own fans have blasted him as selfish and are looking forward to him being gone next year, and in their own thread NONE have him as POY, then I guess he'd get a D or D- ?
 
so let me get this straight...and please don't pummel me simply for asking this...I think these are legitimate questions.....
You have Eddren getting the exact same grade as Andrew Warren, who is the top scorer in MVC league play, and TB...who leads the team in rebounding and is 2nd in scoring and who is 2nd in FG%, FT%, and steals.
and you have Sam Maniscalco getting exactly the same grade as Dyricus, who's averaging 4 ppg,
and you have Jake Eastman getting the same grade as Chris Roberts who often "fills the stat sheet".....
TB is inside the top 12 in the Valley in six different statistical categories, I don't think any MVC player is rated in the top in more categories...


and also....anyone....who in the Valley would get an A?? Just curious, I can understand why nobody wants to answer...;)

I will bite... BDS offered his opinion on grades... Nobody else from the Valley is being graded here.. and like another poster stated- JE could indeed have the same grade if he has exceeded expectation- which I think he has.. From a redshirt to a valuable player off the bench? Pretty impressive in my eyes... Same thing for DSE- he has impressed and exceeded expectations- so a good grade is reasonable IMO

Stats are impressive- but don't tell the whole story all the time...

I would be interested to see when people score and get rebounds- a weighted value added to simple numbers...

Nobody is saying BU sucks- just that they have largely underachieved... IF everyone deserves a b or better- why is Bradley barely above .500?

I know- injuries, etc.... all excuses...
 
I would assume that the grades that people are giving each of these guys is based on what the expectations were for each player coming into the season...If the player exceeded those expectations, they would get in the A/B range, if a player fell below his preseason expectations they would get in the C-/D range...

If I were giving out grades, DSE would probably be the guy I would give the highest grade to...based on the fact that he was mentioned as a redshirt candidate by some before the season started, and now he has progressed to the point where he is our best bench player and is often on the floor at the end of tight games...
He would get the highest grade, but that doesn't mean he is our best player...

I believe grades should be based on the same criteria for everyone. That's the only fair way, IMO.
If we grade based on expectations, the better players will never be able to get As and Bs, because even if they play extremely well, they are "just meeting expectations".
If we graded academically this way, the smart people could get 100% on tests and would still get a C because that's what their teachers expected them to do.:D
 
I believe grades should be based on the same criteria for everyone. That's the only fair way, IMO.
If we grade based on expectations, the better players will never be able to get As and Bs, because even if they play extremely well, they are "just meeting expectations".
If we graded academically this way, the smart people could get 100% on tests and would still get a C because that's what their teachers expected them to do.:D

Point taken. But I think the reason Warren is getting graded down is he does not seem to be bringing his whole game every night, like the recent SIU performance. Maybe that is unfairly deminishing the defense played against him - against SIU he did have their best defender on him all night (Freeman).
But if he is our best player don't you expect him to find a way to make a difference?

I can better defend the TB's grade.. because he's like the kid scoring A's one some tests and c's, d's and f's on others. When he's good he is very good. But he has also pulled some disappearing acts, and made some very bad plays and decisions. Personally c+ or b- seems about right for him.
 
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