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Question for the Great Basketball MInds Here

The only way to change this program into what we all want, needs to be done by the NCAA. The NCAA needs to step up and somehow force the match ups that they like to avoid. But they dont because of the almighty $$$. The BCS schools continue to avoid all of the so called Mid Majors which hurts recruiting for all the Valley schools. Every year during the NCAA tournament a couple get put in their place by a non BCS school. We all know the BCS schools should always beat the Mid Majors. NOT !!!
The Mid Majors as a whole have narrowed the gap.
No matter who the coach is, he will always be questioned unless he delivers. I Remember Mo, Albeck and Versace being questioned all the time. It wont stop no matter who the coach is.
I think a better question would be,
What defines a good solid program at BU.

We already have a good solid program. We are a mid major, and will be until the NCAA makes a few changes.

Jim Les is a good Coach. FACT
 
Just a question here:

What do those NCAA changes have to do with our inability to win the Valley?

We made the Sweet Sixteen a few years back with a relatively poor non-conference season in which we lost to several RPI bandits.

The truth is Jim Les has not won a Valley title in 9 years. I'm a Bradley fan who grew up with that being a regular occurance. I guess I feel we are better than a mediocre member of the MVC.

I think a private school with a bigger budget than, I believe, everyone but WSU should be a year-in-year out contender for a Valley title. We are not.
 
In terms of budget I'd have to believe that Creighton has a larger budget and all the public schools are being subsidized by their perspective state.

On wanting more, ditto! One thing we all have in common is that everyone on this board wants more. The difference is on how we achieve more.
 
saluki762 said:
I will personally pay Jim Les's buy out if you will hire Chris Lowery.
Click to expand...

That is because you want to get rid of Lowery. No Thanks
I do not believe in a coaching change, I just think there are some things that need to be changed in order for BU to reach their full potential, we have only lost 1 game that we all feel we should have won, that is not reason for panic, I really like the players on this team and this staff is responsible for getting them. It wasn"t long ago that this team beat Illinois which showed how much potential we have and I doubt any other Valley teams could have beaten Illinois on a neutral court.
 
Samd2 said:
The only way to change this program into what we all want, needs to be done by the NCAA. The NCAA needs to step up and somehow force the match ups that they like to avoid. But they dont because of the almighty $$$. The BCS schools continue to avoid all of the so called Mid Majors which hurts recruiting for all the Valley schools. Every year during the NCAA tournament a couple get put in their place by a non BCS school. We all know the BCS schools should always beat the Mid Majors. NOT !!!
The Mid Majors as a whole have narrowed the gap.
No matter who the coach is, he will always be questioned unless he delivers. I Remember Mo, Albeck and Versace being questioned all the time. It wont stop no matter who the coach is.
I think a better question would be,
What defines a good solid program at BU.

We already have a good solid program. We are a mid major, and will be until the NCAA makes a few changes.

Jim Les is a good Coach. FACT
Click to expand...

It is not a "FACT" that Jim Les is a good coach. It is only your opinion...sorry. In my opinion, he's an OK coach that has proven to be a far better salesman than tactician to this point...

The FACT is that we have not finished higher than 4th place in our mid-major league with Les as coach...The big, bad NCAA isn't to blame for these underwhelming Valley finishes...and these consistent middle-of-the-pack finishes, to me, make us fall quite a bit short of being a "good solid program".

Just my opinions...We have enough talent in place here over the next two years to accomplish more in the league than we have under Les to this point. We should all expect that. We should not be content with anything less. We should not be a perennial afterthought in this league, we should not be stuck in the Friday afternoon 4/5 game down in STL year after year after year after year...

I hope the team plays better, I hope the coaching staff becomes better at what they do...I hope whatever breaks we need to contend for a Valley title fall our way...because the FACT that we are in year 9 under Les and have yet to contend even one time in this league simply should not be acceptable.
 
patrick_o'brian said:
personally, i would want to hear about the local kids that we lost out on that are constantly going to other schools that are "killing" us. I can only think of carlton fay, and thats about it! The reason that we don't go after the 1-star and 0-star kids are because they are not good enough. Just 5 names would be great garland.
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still waiting???
 
Garland 22 said:
The truth is Jim Les has not won a Valley title in 9 years. I'm a Bradley fan who grew up with that being a regular occurance.
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When did you "grow up" Garland? I grew up with Bradley basketball from the early 70's until today and cannot recall winning Valley titles as a regular occurrance.

Let me help you with this one. OK?

* BU Regular Season Titles -- 1950, 1962, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1996.
* BU MVC Tourney Titles -- 1980, 1988

I don't see anything that could be considered a "regular occurance" there. Do you? I'd say we have Dick Versace to thank for 4 of the 7 regular season titles (his recruits helped get the 1988 title. Also, the only 2 MVC Tourney Titles can be linked to Versace.

So, you see, maybe Jim Les is really more the rule than the exception. And, since he has created a level of excitement at BU that we have not really seen since the Versace era I say Les is OK with me. Now, as I've said, if Les can't show more consistency and winning with the nucleus he has in place for the next 3-4 years then I may have no problen saying it's time for another coach. Until that time I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
 
B4L Your avatar has given me a bit of excitement!;) Wow I could pull a Tiger for those girls. I'm sure he would bypass them. They're not trashy enough for him.:D
 
SFP said:
B4L Your avatar has given me a bit of excitement!;) Wow I could pull a Tiger for those girls. I'm sure he would bypass them. They're not trashy enough for him.:D
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Things were just getting too serious around here after that WCU game. Just thought I'd lighten things up and bring a little beauty and joy back to the board;) :lol: :)
 
patrick_o'brian said:
Between you and SFP my wife is starting to have her doubts about bradleyfans.com;)
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LOL If there were any good pics of BU girls out on the web I'd have them as my avatar. We are just having a bit of fun! Tell her to lighten up. No, that would be suicide. :-o Tell her that we are pigs and you would never do what we do or that you never ever look at our avatars. :oops:
 
Braves4Life said:
When did you "grow up" Garland? I grew up with Bradley basketball from the early 70's until today and cannot recall winning Valley titles as a regular occurrance.

Let me help you with this one. OK?

* BU Regular Season Titles -- 1950, 1962, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1996.
* BU MVC Tourney Titles -- 1980, 1988

I don't see anything that could be considered a "regular occurance" there. Do you? I'd say we have Dick Versace to thank for 4 of the 7 regular season titles (his recruits helped get the 1988 title. Also, the only 2 MVC Tourney Titles can be linked to Versace.

So, you see, maybe Jim Les is really more the rule than the exception. And, since he has created a level of excitement at BU that we have not really seen since the Versace era I say Les is OK with me. Now, as I've said, if Les can't show more consistency and winning with the nucleus he has in place for the next 3-4 years then I may have no problen saying it's time for another coach. Until that time I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Click to expand...

I guess I grew up in the 80's. 4 in a decade with relatively high finishes the other 6 was probably what I was thinking of. I would call that regular but everybody thinks different. I guess when you are used to 0 in 9 years - 4 in 10 seems really regular.
 
patrick_o'brian said:
still waiting???
Click to expand...

I didn't see your earlier post so sorry for the delay. Here is 5 I can think of without doing any research.

Randall Faulker - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Blake Ahearn - 2 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Darren Brooks - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Bucky Cox - 0 star Schaumburg not recruited by Bradley
Gordon Hayward 2 star Indianapolis not recruited by Bradley

I'm not even going to go into Iowa which is a place we don't recruit because we don't even want to try and compete with Creighton and UNI.

Once again, my point is to say I'm dissapointed this staff couldn't get a strangle hold on the area. I don't think we should get only local guys, just saying I would like to make Bradley the first Mid Major good talent in the are looks at and I would like to see us find those diamonds in the rough that seem to be showing up on other teams.
 
Brooks was recruited in 2000 so my bad. Molinari's mistake.

I'll think of someone to replace him with while I'm bored at work tomorrow.
 
Garland 22 said:
I didn't see your earlier post so sorry for the delay. Here is 5 I can think of without doing any research.

Randall Faulker - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Blake Ahearn - 2 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Darren Brooks - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Bucky Cox - 0 star Schaumburg not recruited by Bradley
Gordon Hayward 2 star Indianapolis not recruited by Bradley

I'm not even going to go into Iowa which is a place we don't recruit because we don't even want to try and compete with Creighton and UNI.

Once again, my point is to say I'm dissapointed this staff couldn't get a strangle hold on the area. I don't think we should get only local guys, just saying I would like to make Bradley the first Mid Major good talent in the are looks at and I would like to see us find those diamonds in the rough that seem to be showing up on other teams.
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Haha, now local means out of state? 2-star recruits are unheard of? What level do you think most of our recruits are??? JP was 3 stars for pete's sake. We have had players better than all those at their position as well. And we're going to miss people. Hayward grew up going to Butler games. Bucky Cox was a nobody - He WALKED ON at DRAKE, and even then had an overrated career IMO. Faulker and Ahearn? We recruited POB and JC(See argument about local talent made by... YOU) at that same time... I'd like to think we did alright. And as you said Brooks wouldn't have been recruited by JL. This has to be one of the weakest arguments I've seen.
 
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Garland 22 said:
I didn't see your earlier post so sorry for the delay. Here is 5 I can think of without doing any research.

Randall Faulker - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Blake Ahearn - 2 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Darren Brooks - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Bucky Cox - 0 star Schaumburg not recruited by Bradley
Gordon Hayward 2 star Indianapolis not recruited by Bradley.
Click to expand...

With all due respect, even you have to admits that it is ridiculous to suggest the Bradley coaching staffs (Molinari's and Les') are somehow negligent in not recruiting these kids you listed. If anything, the fact that you can't come up with better names than this is proof for that your claim is wrong- that Bradley has not missed out on "local" recruits.

Faulkner and Brooks were fine players, but if Bradley had signed a 1-star player, people like you would be ripping them for the quality of their recruits. How many other schools didn't recruit those guys?
Cox was not even offered a scholarship by Drake! He was a walkon that eventually earned a scholarship. Only about 335 other D1 schools passed on him.
Hayward, from near Indianapolis, went to Butler. There is no way Bradley could have gotten him. And how do you know Bradley didn't recruit him? I have heard that they did have contact with him in high school.
Ahearn is another guy that nobody else recruited. If Bradley had signed him, how many posters here would have been ripping BU for signing a slow sub 6-foot guards?

And only 1 of those kids is even from Illinois (The 0-star, walkon Cox), and none are from closer than 160 miles away. That's hardly valid evidence that BU has failed to recruit "local kids".
Sorry, I don't accept any of those 5 as evidence.
 
garland22,
your right, I cant blame it on the NCAA.
I still think that the NCAA has the means to force those matchups and chooses not because of $$$$$$.

Sweet 16 ?
remember how long we waited to return to that level in the tournament.

I think that is Success !!

Dont get me wrong, we are not perfect but the glass is half full and filling up !!!
 
er3

your right, my opinion, and I will stand by it.
I think we have a solid program, what defines a solid program ?

The talent we have right now and the expectations for the next 2-3 years are at the highest level we have had in several years.

Les is a good coach in my opinion.

and nice avatar sfp
 
Garland 22 said:
I didn't see your earlier post so sorry for the delay. Here is 5 I can think of without doing any research.

Randall Faulker - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Blake Ahearn - 2 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Darren Brooks - 1 star st.louis not recruited by Bradley
Bucky Cox - 0 star Schaumburg not recruited by Bradley
Gordon Hayward 2 star Indianapolis not recruited by Bradley

I'm not even going to go into Iowa which is a place we don't recruit because we don't even want to try and compete with Creighton and UNI.

Once again, my point is to say I'm dissapointed this staff couldn't get a strangle hold on the area. I don't think we should get only local guys, just saying I would like to make Bradley the first Mid Major good talent in the are looks at and I would like to see us find those diamonds in the rough that seem to be showing up on other teams.
Click to expand...


J.L. has done a better job than any coach bradley has had sense Joe Stowell on recruiting local kids.
Dan Ruffin, Sommerville,Crouch,Dodie,Prosser, D.S.E., he as went after many other locals but is competing with Illinois for many of those.
He is doing as good at recruiting local kids as anyone would do.
 
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