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Official Red-White Scrimmage Updates/Thoughts/Analysis Thread

Old Coach said:
Wow! This is a lot of pre-season optimism.
I think they'll all work very hard for Coach Ford, but there just isn't enough basketball talent on this team to compete this year. 10-12 wins is what we're looking at, so I'll be there every game cheering for effort.
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This sounds like the pre-season negativity.
If we only win 10 games this year, what a disappointment barring a key injury.
A new system in which I think our players will be better suited, renewed confidence, and a starting 5 that I think is more skilled than last year's starting 5 with JP & WL who are going to improve, DSE will be more consistent, & TB is back. Our bench can't get much thinner than last year.

Not saying we will contend, or even finish in the top half of the Valley, but I expect to win at least 8 games in Valley play.

My expectation for this team is to stay out of the Thursday play-in game, and I think Geno is equipped to make that happen.
 
LittleBrave said:
Not saying we will contend, or even finish in the top half of the Valley, but I expect to win at least 8 games in Valley play.

My expectation for this team is to stay out of the Thursday play-in game, and I think Geno is equipped to make that happen.
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Umm.... To stay out of Thursday one must pretty finish in the top half of the MVC... (Unless you're saying we'll finish exactly 6th)
 
FutureBrave2013 said:
A couple other thoughts.

I have heard great things about Taylor Brown's play in practice. If he isn't our best player, he is right on the heels of DSE.
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This doesn't surprise me about what you've heard. TB is our most prolific scorer, giving multiple ways to put points on the board. He should be among the leaders in rebounding this year too (in the Valley).
Had he stayed focused 2 years ago, we likely would have seen more performances like vs. Okie St., Missouri St., & Creighton.
Being his senior season, let's hope he maintains that focus so that we can see the best of Taylor.
 
amckillip said:
Umm.... To stay out of Thursday one must pretty finish in the top half of the MVC... (Unless you're saying we'll finish exactly 6th)
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Yes, we will finish EXACTLY 6th! :D
You disected my e-mail...nice work!
I should have said Top 3 instead of Top half.
 
Keeping starting 5 injury free and out of early foul trouble will be a key to how well BU can do this season.... Hopefully silly fouls can be kept to a minimum by the starters this coming year.
 
I'm really baffled as to how people think this team will stay out of the Thursday play-in game. There are really only 3 players on this team I feel comfortable with in a starting lineup, the bench is one of the weakest in recent memory, 2/3 of the team are underclassmen, and only half the team stepped out on a college court last year. This is a last place team that loses 60% of its scoring, and returns a combined 27.8% 3-pt shooting percentage and more turnovers than assists. And none of this is taking into account that there will be injuries, fatigue, foul trouble, and off-nights.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the Braves win, but I just don't see it happening this year very often. It's going to be fun to watch a new coach, new scheme, and new players, but it's going to take a year or two to get out of the basement. I'm confident we'll be back to competing in the league soon enough, it just won't happen this year.
 
spoon said:
I'm really baffled as to how people think this team will stay out of the Thursday play-in game.
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I don't think Geno expects us to finish in the bottom 4, and I have a lot of confidence in what he can do with the guys. You can't downplay the mental aspect of the game, and I think Coach Ford will bring a new mentality to the team.
I am jumping on the Lemon-wagon. He may struggle at times at the point, but I think we'll be pleased with his improvement this year. We didn't have a true PG last year either. I think our starting 5 will hold its own in the Valley.

Creighton's Terrific Trio (Echenique, McD, Young) are arguably better than any other trio in the league, but the trio of DSE, TB, and JP are as good as any other in the Valley IMO. Any challenges here???
 
LittleBrave said:
Yes, we will finish EXACTLY 6th! :D
You disected my e-mail...nice work!
I should have said Top 3 instead of Top half.
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I wasn't dissecting your 'e-mail', just highlighting something I don't think people realize.

spoon said:
I'm really baffled as to how people think this team will stay out of the Thursday play-in game. .
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I agree with spoon. Without a PG in a guard driven league, and ZERO depth at big man, (even less than last year) we cannot do very well. I hear people say we won't finish top half, but we should stay out of Thursday, but those two things are pretty much mutually exclusive. I hope we finish in the top half of the MVC, and don't have to worry about Thursday, but compared to last year, we lose WE and AW, add Shayok and TB. I don't see that being enough to jump up a bunch in the MVC, and from a purely talent standpoint we could have actually gotten worse. Now we haven't lost two leaders in the beginning of the season like last year, which can demoralize a team pretty quickly, but imagine if JP gets injured? Once again, I hope we do well, we're very athletic, but without someone to really run the offense, and no big man depth whatsoever, it is just going to be a rebuilding year. I don't hold this against Geno or anyone else, but it's going to take a while to be good. After this year we lose TB, then we lose DSE... The road will take a bit longer than I think some realize.
 
Leadership on the court

Leadership on the court

I am an admirer of good leadership, and it's not hard to demonstrate what a difference in the W/L column can result from either good leadership or the lack thereof, on the court.

That said, which player(s) in this year's lineup do most fans feel will be able to provide this critical commodity? I am interested in this above almost all other aspects on the roster. Thanks.
 
Dub said:
I am an admirer of good leadership, and it's not hard to demonstrate what a difference in the W/L column can result from either good leadership or the lack thereof, on the court.

That said, which player(s) in this year's lineup do most fans feel will be able to provide this critical commodity? I am interested in this above almost all other aspects on the roster. Thanks.
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I think that's a big question mark? DSE? There is no clear cut leader at all IMO...
 
Dub said:
I am an admirer of good leadership, and it's not hard to demonstrate what a difference in the W/L column can result from either good leadership or the lack thereof, on the court.

That said, which player(s) in this year's lineup do most fans feel will be able to provide this critical commodity? I am interested in this above almost all other aspects on the roster. Thanks.
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DSE is pretty quiet...but is a leader...
 
BeBrave said:
Are you suggesting that Bradley students aren't interested in sports?

No doubt we have a great fan base. Bradley is Peoria's team. Always has been. But stop just disregarding the students. That is part of the probem.
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The students are disregarding themselves, kudos to the ones that have shown up and attempted to get others , unfortunately most don"t seem to care enough to go even when it is free and on campus, has been like this for a long time and I do wish it was different but it isn"t so you move on.
 
I think it is too early to tell much about our team because they have only played against themselves, the next 2 exb. games should give everybody a better idea on what this team is capable of doing this season.
The positive things that I see are:
1) good size and athletic ability across the frontline
2) 4 decent guards
3) top 7 players seem to be more physical type of players

I cannot wait to see how this team plays in their next 2 exb. games and how Geno gets them ready for the start of the season, our previous coach had a hard time getting his team ready in Nov. and Dec. and also lost exb. games to lower division teams.
 
BeBrave said:
Are you suggesting that Bradley students aren't interested in sports?

No doubt we have a great fan base. Bradley is Peoria's team. Always has been. But stop just disregarding the students. That is part of the probem.
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I am having trouble trying to understand what you mean. Do you mean Bradley or the fans are disregarding the students?
What can "we" do differently?

The fans I know all want to see more students at the games. I know fans that have donated money specifically to pay for the students' freebies at games and events and prizes for the contests, and I hear that Bradley went out of their way to recruit and entice more students to the scrimmage Tuesday and they were very disappointed at how few came. Bradley offers free transportation to Carver Arena and to Shea Stadium, and free food, drink and giveaways. I am sure Bradley would be willing to try anything else you might suggest that would help, but it sounds like they have already done about as much as they possibly can. It is clearly one of the very top priorities of our AD, coaches, and athletic staff.
 
BU RICK said:
I'd say Geno is the clear-cut leader and a leader like Sam Maniscalco will come along again someday and lead us to a MVC Championship and/or some pre or post season tournament championship. I can't wait.
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That much we and all fans agree on!

Go BU!
gobraves.gif
 
LittleBrave said:
Creighton's Terrific Trio (Echenique, McD, Young) are arguably better than any other trio in the league, but the trio of DSE, TB, and JP are as good as any other in the Valley IMO. Any challenges here???
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Wow I'd love for you to be right on this...and perhaps you'll end up being...

I'd say Odum/Lathan/Richard as well as James/Koch/Moran would have something to say...
 
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