10 questions surrounding the team this year

[basketball nut]

Good thing John Wooden or Coach K didn't start out here as this group would have ran them way out of town by now. Am I saying JL will become either one? One never knows just ask UCLA and Duke, they didn't give up after 7 years and ended up w/ 2 of the all time best.

[SFP]

Good thing John Wooden or Coach K didn't start out here as this group would have ran them way out of town by now. Am I saying JL will become either one? One never knows just ask UCLA and Duke, they didn't give up after 7 years and ended up w/ 2 of the all time best.

I know some are going to say he has had enough time and unfortunately we are in a society that is developing an overwhelming sense of entitlement for immediate gratification and right now.

[squirrelgotdead]

Good thing John Wooden or Coach K didn't start out here as this group would have ran them way out of town by now. Am I saying JL will become either one? One never knows just ask UCLA and Duke, they didn't give up after 7 years and ended up w/ 2 of the all time best.

John Wooden had 3 NCAA Tournaments in his first 7 years at UCLA, and had a national runner up at the NAIA level before that. So there was an absolute track record of success.

Coach K at Duke went to their 4th consecutive NCAA in his 7th year there and have only missed one NCAA since, without him.

[Da Coach]

Coach K's record in his first 8 seasons of coaching (5 at Army and 3 at Duke)-
1975-76 Army 11-14
1976-77 Army 20-8
1977-78 Army 19-9 NIT 1st round loss
1978-79 Army 14-11
1979-80 Army 9-17
1980-81 Duke 17-13 NIT quarterfinals
1981-82 Duke 10-17
1982-83 Duke 11-17
Record- 8 yrs 111-106

Not exactly Hall of Fame numbers at that point in his coaching career.
Maybe if he was at Bradley and went 9-17 in year 5, and failed to make the NCAA or to even win a single postseason game, he some fans would have wanted him gone. Instead, someone who knew better could see his qualies as a coach, and hired him at Duke. It took 4 years to turn Duke around, but he's been pretty good since then.
BTW- Jim Les' record after 7 seasons is 126-105.
Before anyone has a stroke and accuses me of comparing Jim Les to Mike Krzyzewski as a coach, I am not. I am merely comparing records, and JL's is better than MK's. If we used the same criteria some people use to evaluate Jim Les, Coach K would have been canned before he got the Duke job, and he's probably be unknown and coaching at some high school somewhere.

[AZ BU Fan]

For the record, I felt BU may want to consider someone else as coach if, after 9 years on the job, there aren't any top MVC finishes/ championships, no Conference Tournament Titles, and no other NIT/NCAA appearances.

Not after this coming season, but after the 2010-11 season...

I would think 9 years on the job doesn't represent instant gratification,
giving up on a guy too soon, etc.

[tornado]

I really enjoyed putting this together, because there are a lot of questions going into the season, but the Braves seem to have a lot of answers!

http://www.examiner.com/x-7020-Bradl...ball-in-200910

we're only 4 games into the season and a couple quesitons are already answered...

#1 - yes AW is healthy and he's starting..

#2 - and with Dodie out of the lineup, we no longer have the glut of guards that caused so much
consternation about where we'd get all the playing time from.

#4 - will any freshman contribute? Two already have and have helped win games!

#5 - Joe, you sounded very doubtful that Taylor Brown would score points....
your statement was...
"Taylor Brown showed the ability to score in the post during the Brazil
tournament, and while it isn't likely due to the depth of the bigs in the
league, he could be a surprisingly consistent source of points."
I think TB will be our most consistent scorer...and rebounder as well...
so that takes care of question #6 as well.

#9 - TB will be the most improved in the whole league...although we saw the talent there last year, but TB just didn't get a lot of minutes.

[wizard1]

Best Bradley Coach

Clearly, Chuck Orsborn was the best coach Bradley ever had. Check his W- L record when we played against some of the best teams in the nation and his record in the old NIT when it was about as tough as the NCAAs.

He and I didn't always get along very well but I respect his superb coaching ability.

The only guy to even come close to Orsborn was my old friend, Dick Versace who was also a great coach and teacher of the game, a super motivator, and a recruiter par excellence! If Dick hadn't been undercut by the Pres. at that time and stayed at BU, we would have eventually been a final four team IMO.

[Chico]

Clearly, Chuck Orsborn was the best coach Bradley ever had. Check his W- L record when we played against some of the best teams in the nation and his record in the old NIT when it was about as tough as the NCAAs.

He and I didn't always get along very well but I respect his superb coaching ability.

The only guy to even come close to Orsborn was my old friend, Dick Versace who was also a great coach and teacher of the game, a super motivator, and a recruiter par excellence! If Dick hadn't been undercut by the Pres. at that time and stayed at BU, we would have eventually been a final four team IMO.

Sure have to agree with you on Dick Versace. I'm sure other coaches could have turned the program around, but he was the one Fergie hired. With the talent he was left, he did a tremendous job. His flair was just what Bradley needed at the time.