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Steve Merfeld
- Thread starter beyondthearc14
- Start date
IlliBraves
New member
Definitely agree, bu fan 9. His biggest gig was at UE, which is a lowly Valley school, and his greatest triumph was beating Larry Eustachy's Iowa State team in the first round of the NCAA at Hampton.....I suppose he could apply for the job at Florida A&M :lol:
Folks, when you get a chance to bring in a guy like this as an ASSISTANT, then you do it. And I hope we've all learned a little bit about second-guessing JL's recruiting or hiring practices. This is rounding out as a VERY solid and experinced staff.
I hope we can get a little bit classy here and welcome Coach Merfeld (and might we now learn to spell that correctly?) into the Bradley FAMILY. Amen and good night.
I hope we can get a little bit classy here and welcome Coach Merfeld (and might we now learn to spell that correctly?) into the Bradley FAMILY. Amen and good night.
Braves4Life
New member
This hire is HUGE! If JL moves on in a few years we have a guy who was a STUD at Hampton. Many schools would have loved to have gotten this guy as a head coach a few years ago.
You don't suddenly forget how to coach :? I attribute the lack of success at EU completely to poor support and misplaced priorities by the Athletic Dept.
Welcome to the Hilltop Coach M!
You don't suddenly forget how to coach :? I attribute the lack of success at EU completely to poor support and misplaced priorities by the Athletic Dept.
Welcome to the Hilltop Coach M!
Most of what has been posted on this site has been very positive about Merfeld. And thanks to our insiders with good connections, a lot of people here knew about Merfeld likely becoming the next coach before Coach Buescher officially announced his retirement.
As far as Merf's 5 years at Evansville...Evansville is a tough place to recruit to. They might be the only Valley school with significantly worse facilities than Bradley. It's a tiny campus with a dwindling fan base (though they have a history of drawing much better in the distant past). I think Merfeld would have been successful if he had been given more time, but they needed to make a move with someone like Marty Simmons now.. His biggest undoing was his unfamiliarity with the midwest recruiting at first, and the fact that he recruited guys with questionable character. A bunch of his early recruits were asked to leave the program which continually set him back the first few years. There is no question about his coaching knowledge and ability. His teams were always well coached. And he now knows the MVC and the other teams well.
I believe Jim Les handles recruiting about as well as it's going to get at Bradley, and another assistant with recruiting connections was not what BU needed. Merf can run the team in practices and game prep and will make BU better in just about every area. This is a great hire.
Still no official announcement from Bradley. But expect that within the next day or 2.
As far as Merf's 5 years at Evansville...Evansville is a tough place to recruit to. They might be the only Valley school with significantly worse facilities than Bradley. It's a tiny campus with a dwindling fan base (though they have a history of drawing much better in the distant past). I think Merfeld would have been successful if he had been given more time, but they needed to make a move with someone like Marty Simmons now.. His biggest undoing was his unfamiliarity with the midwest recruiting at first, and the fact that he recruited guys with questionable character. A bunch of his early recruits were asked to leave the program which continually set him back the first few years. There is no question about his coaching knowledge and ability. His teams were always well coached. And he now knows the MVC and the other teams well.
I believe Jim Les handles recruiting about as well as it's going to get at Bradley, and another assistant with recruiting connections was not what BU needed. Merf can run the team in practices and game prep and will make BU better in just about every area. This is a great hire.
Still no official announcement from Bradley. But expect that within the next day or 2.
Birdfan on redbird board writes....."what a silly choice, first a Juco assitant with no D1 experience THEN a caoch run out of UE in disgrace with a string of sub .500 seasons".
See ya next year Birdfan..... :lol:
Does he understand HIS new HEAD coach had an equally dismall D1 record at his last headcoaching job....
See ya next year Birdfan..... :lol:
Does he understand HIS new HEAD coach had an equally dismall D1 record at his last headcoaching job....
tornado
New member
And dogs, several people on the anti-BU board have labelled the selection of Merfeld as "wild", "just weird", "temporary", "surprising", "ironic and weird", "not great", etc.
Why do certain anti-BU people begrudge Jim Les the inherent right to choose his own assistants (over on the anti-BU board)?
They bashed his selection of Chuck Buescher, they criticized his recent selection of Alvin Brooks, and now they seem bewildered over his choice of Steve Merfeld.
They are even ripping into anyone who seems to support JL's right to choose as he sees fit.
As noted by others, I still don't see a bit of coverage on this coming from any local news outlet. Anyone know why?
Why do certain anti-BU people begrudge Jim Les the inherent right to choose his own assistants (over on the anti-BU board)?
They bashed his selection of Chuck Buescher, they criticized his recent selection of Alvin Brooks, and now they seem bewildered over his choice of Steve Merfeld.
They are even ripping into anyone who seems to support JL's right to choose as he sees fit.
As noted by others, I still don't see a bit of coverage on this coming from any local news outlet. Anyone know why?
tornado said:
I must not interpret it like you are....I actually agree it is "wild, wierd and surprising". Here is a guy that actually applied for the head coaching job coming back as an assistant. As far as "Temporary"...as someone stated, aren't ALL jobs temporary :lol:
Hey alls that matters is what JL thinks and he obviously likes him.