How much is he missed

[Out of Balance]

Seven games after Merf's departure, BU is 2 - 5 and the team is struggling, maybe headed towards finishing in the bottom of the MVC and a Thursday play-in game in St. Louis Is BU's record and problems in some ways do to the lost of a very experienced asst. coach. I think so, but I am not sure how much better our record would be I do know this, we have a very weak and inexperience coaching staff at a time when this coach and team need someone like Merv to help straighten the ship, absorb some of the heat and help put out the fires This coaching staff looks lost. Jimmy looks like he is trying to do it all This will NEVER WORK
I learned many years ago that if you surround yourself with good people, good things will happen to you Not saying these coach's are not good people but none have the leadership nor the experience right now to help this coach and this team, now My opinion

[BradleyJD]

I don't know about Merf specifically, however, I would say there has been a clear loss of fundamentals in the past few seasons.

Could be partly Merf, partly Chuck. But something is definately missing.

[Da Coach]

IMO, the bigger loss was Dodie Dunson. They really miss his defense, outside shooting, and most of all his leadership on the court. The team has the talent to play with any team in the league, but seems to have chemistry issues. I think a senior leader like DD would have made a big difference

[BradleyJD]

IMO, the bigger loss was Dodie Dunson. They really miss his defense, outside shooting, and most of all his leadership on the court. The team has the talent to play with any team in the league, but seems to have chemistry issues. I think a senior leader like DD would have made a big difference

I certainly think he would have contributed. However, BU has depth at that position.

He averaged 10 points, less than a steal a game, less than an assist per game last year. He most likely would have improved some on those numbers.


Da Coach, have you noticed a drop in defense in the past few seasons? or a drop in fundamentals?

[BuAlum03]

I think the loss of Merf and our declining record is a coincidence. Remember early in the year we played against a few teams that we barely closed out. I remember us saying, "if we don't figure out how to finish a game strong, we'll start losing these." (at least, I said that, and I don't believe i was alone) We just started playing better teams, and started losing those types of games.

I'm sure that losing Merf hasn't helped, but I think even with him on the bench we'd still have a handful of frustrating loses.

[Braves4Life]

Jimmy looks like he is trying to do it all This will NEVER WORK
I learned many years ago that if you surround yourself with good people, good things will happen to you

I definately agree with you OoB! Coaching at this level is just impossible to do without a great staff. JL once had that with Forrester, CB, et. al. and I think it showed in the preparation level of the team and even the in-game coaching. Like others, I DO NOT necessarily think that little Bish is a bad asst. coach. He is just too inexperienced and, IMO, too close personally to Les. Sometimes friendship can get in the way of complete honesty. The term "yes man" comes to mind.

[Braves4Life]

IMO, the bigger loss was Dodie Dunson. ..... The team ....seems to have chemistry issues. I think a senior leader like DD would have made a big difference

I certainly think he would have contributed. However, BU has depth at that position.

I agree Da Coach! Though DD's numbers were not overly impressive I think his leadership and the respect that he commands from his teammates would have gone a LONG way toward helping our chemistry issues. I don't think we'd have a few "rogue" players playing outside the team system.

I think the loss of Merf and our declining record is a coincidence.

And I definately agree with this BuAlum. This team had problems long before Merf left. Might he have seen the chemistry problems unfolding and decided to bail ship before it completely sank?

[BradleyBrave]

The wheels fell off when Merf was canned, and I don't think it's a coincidence. The players loved him (and that comes from more than one player), and thinking that wouldn't resonate with them is naive.

One of the things I thought would really give us a shot at a league title and the NCAA's this year was what I perceived as program stability. We were heading into our 3rd year in a row with the same coaching staff, returning almost our entire team from a 4th place team that nearly contended last year, and we added an all-league guard. Well, as we have plainly seen, what I perceived was false. We didn't have the stability I thought we did, and it's contributing to our season falling by the wayside.

[peoriaspitfire]

Besides the obvious (Hersey Hawkins and many others), I have really been missing Will Franklin lately. I'm hoping DSE can fill the void. So far, I really like what I see from him in his limited minutes. I hope he gets the start tomorrow night.

I think most of the posts so far in this thread have been spot-on. We need a qualified staff to help Jimmy out. I might have only coached 5th grade level basketball, but even at that level, without a good assistant, there was too much detail for one person to keep in check.

[real fan]

The wheels fell off when Merf was canned, and I don't think it's a coincidence. The players loved him (and that comes from more than one player), and thinking that wouldn't resonate with them is naive.

One of the things I thought would really give us a shot at a league title and the NCAA's this year was what I perceived as program stability. We were heading into our 3rd year in a row with the same coaching staff, returning almost our entire team from a 4th place team that nearly contended last year, and we added an all-league guard. Well, as we have plainly seen, what I perceived was false. We didn't have the stability I thought we did, and it's contributing to our season falling by the wayside.

Very good points about having program stability, if players had gotten close to Merfeld then you will have guys that are not happy which leads to poor performance, the one thing we really lack is a good defensive coach as it would cure most of our problems.

[BRADLEY FAN 49]

The fact that Merf has left has as much to do with BU losing as it does with the health care bill passing.

[BradleyBrave]

The fact that Merf has left has as much to do with BU losing as it does with the health care bill passing.

Not sure I agree 100%...but funny nonetheless!

[Bradleyguy10]

Yea I think DD has had a pretty big impact...more so than an assistant coach that apparently didn't have very many responsibilities.

[fan]

So if you had a poll that gave you a choice between Merf and Al B or young Buesch and Kyle, who would you chose?

That is a big problem.

[Toyota12]

I would take Al B or Merf over Buesch all day long!!!As i stated in a thread last week our staff is not seasoned enough to be good DI coaches or assistants,but all good people...I agree that JL is trying to do it all himself with a bunch of yes men..You see alot of guys that just do not make it as head coaches but make great assistants.. Why can't we find one or retain them??