Mid (sort of ) Season Report Card

[romar]

I know that some guys start great & finish weak while other start slow & finish strong. Post your reasons for your grades or simply put you letter grade down on the five starters & any bench players you would like. IMO at this point in the season there are only a couple of guys trending toward A's, but none have earned one yet. (I did this on chatzy the other night so I apologize to those who see it as a repeat).

SM - Solid B - trending toward a B+ or better with last couple of games. Seems like he's feeling fully healthy & at the right time!

WE - B+ with big leap in effort on the floor - like what I'm seeing last 2-3 games - if only he were a true 5!

TB - C+ - stupid off court things and his trend of finding dumb fouls lately has hampered his production and time on the court. To steal from Yogi Berra, basketball is 90% mental & the other half is physical - TB has the physical, just the space between his ears gets in the way once in a while.

AW - C - reminds me alot of JC his Jr year & 1/2 his Sr year - just doesn't seem to want to step into the role as "the man" even though he has the ability to do it. Has shown a tendency to trend up late in the year - hope that continues.

CR - C - his "D" has been awesome, but his "O" has been MIA - I partially blame the coaching staff. Every other team with a guy like CR will set back-screens for Alley-oops at least 2 x's per game. Why can't SS set a moving screen or two off the ball once in a while (tongue firmly in cheek). If CR get's 1/2 a step toward the basket all SM has to do it get close.

OK - Will only give addl grades to the two Frosh logging minutes (on a bit of a curve here for obvious reasons - they're FRESHMAN!)

DSE - B++ - only thing keeping him from an A was the time it took him to get back "up to speed" following his down time. Saw him in HS and he has shown so much more grit than I expected and has fantastic skills paired with good B-ball instincts IMO. Has a decent jumper but if can make it a good jumper with the way he finishes around the basket, he will be tough to stop in the MVC (or anywhere else for that matter).

JE - B - clearly a heady player and coaches son - thought he'd be a more complete "knock down" shooter, but has a nose for the ball & is very "grindy" when he gets on the floor. Have noticed he's not afraid of floorburns & gets rebounds because he WILL put a body on a guy once the shot goes up.

There's my take - would be interested in others thoughts!

[bu fan 9]

What about EM?

[Buesch N Chips]

Team grade for the season: C

Team grade for the last week: B+

[romar]

What about EM?

Chose not to give him a grade....
Didn't grade AT, SS or MK either

Feel free to do so if you'd like.

[BradleyBrave]

Team Grade - C

Can't really see any way you could grade the team any higher than a C. If you do give them a higher grade, I am curious as to what your standards of success are.

[Da Coach]

Holy cow- Andrew Warren gets a C!?
All he has done is- He is Bradley's leading scorer, and he's been leading the MVC in scoring for almost the entire first half of the conference season, and now is #2, just 0.3 ppg behind Harry Marshall. He is actually outscoring the preseason POY Osiris Eldridge in MVC games!

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM

He is shooting 41.7% from three point range, far better than anyone else on the team, except Chris Roberts who is 0.3% ahead of him.
In MVC games he's shooting 47.5%- third best in the MVC.
His scoring has won several games for Bradley, including the win against Illinois.

His free throw percentage is 85.9%- best on the team, and his FT% in MVC games has been unbelieveable. He is 38-40 in the 9 MVC games, for 95%.

And Andrew is rebounding at a rate of 5.6 rpg in MVC games- better than any true guard in the MVC. His 4.2 defensive rebounds per game ranks 8th in the entire MVC

He leads BU in minutes played, and has played extremely good defense. That's not just my opinion, it's the opinion of the coaches.

Andrew will be a 1st or 2nd team All-MVC.
What more does he have to do?
If AW gets a C, what does Osiris Eldridge merit, a D or F, because AW leads him in every important category?

I would give Andrew an A. He's done everything expected of him.

And Taylor Brown a C+???!
Again, please check the stats before you grade TB a C+. He is Bradley's 2nd leading scorer and top rebounder. He is playing great defense. He is in the top 10 in most MVC categories, and every coach in the MVC would like to have him.
I'd give Taylor an A.

[BradleyBrave]

Holy cow- Andrew Warren gets a C!?
All he has done is- He is Bradley's leading scorer, and he's been leading the MVC in scoring for almost the entire first half of the conference season, and now is #2, just 0.3 ppg behind Harry Marshall. He is actually outscoring the preseason POY Osiris Eldridge in MVC games!

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM

He is shooting 41.7% from three point range, far better than anyone else on the team, except Chris Roberts who is 0.3% ahead of him.
In MVC games he's shooting 47.5%- third best in the MVC.
His scoring has won several games for Bradley, including the win against Illinois.

His free throw percentage is 85.9%- best on the team, and his FT% in MVC games has been unbelieveable. He is 38-40 in the 9 MVC games, for 95%.

And Andrew is rebounding at a rate of 5.6 rpg in MVC games- better than any true guard in the MVC. His 4.2 defensive rebounds per game ranks 8th in the entire MVC

He leads BU in minutes played, and has played extremely good defense. That's not just my opinion, it's the opinion of the coaches.

Andrew will be a 1st or 2nd team All-MVC.
What more does he have to do?
If AW gets a C, what does Osiris Eldridge merit, a D or F, because AW leads him in every important category?

I would give Andrew an A. He's done everything expected of him.

And Taylor Brown a C+???!
Again, please check the stats before you grade TB a C+. He is Bradley's 2nd leading scorer and top rebounder. He is playing great defense. He is in the top 10 in most MVC categories, and every coach in the MVC would like to have him.
I'd give Taylor an A.

I agree on AW.

TB gets a B- for his off-the-court problems.

[Da Coach]

I am refraining from grading our guys, but I wanted to add one more thing- Sammmy has been our star and has carried us in a number of games. I believe his leadership and toughness are the #1 reason for Bradley's resurgence lately.
At SIU, where the fans shouted obscenities at the BU players throughout the game, I heard more than one SIU fan say they wished they had a player like Sammy. I am glad we have him.
I think he makes the biggest difference if we take him away from this team. So even though a B sounds OK, I would ask what more could he do?

[romar]

So I'm too soft on some too harsh on others - THEY ARE MY OPINIONS PEOPLE! Give AW your own grade, that was the point, criticizing mine does not move me one way or another. I didn't come here to argue my opinion, just asked for others to put theirs up and if they wanted to, a little reason why.

So DC all you had to say is, IMO AW deserves an A or B.

AW is a statistical anomoly IMO, expected much more leadership from him as other then SS & SM he is the most tenured player on the court and has FAR more star potential than either of them, yet he finds a way from time to time to disappear completely. I'm not grading AW the student or AW the human being, I'm sure he is a wonderful kid. I made the JC comparison because he too put up great #'s but didn't become the true team leader or reach what he had shown was his potential until the last 10 or so games of his Sr. year.

I didn't grade the team, I didn't grade the coaches because I meant for this to be a light, fun thing, but it's become obvious that this board is like a tank full of pirahna just waiting to pounce on someone and try to make them look dumb or uninformed. I'm neither, I'm just a BU fan with an opinion of his very own.

[romar]

I am refraining from grading our guys, but I wanted to add one more thing- Sammmy has been our star and has carried us in a number of games. I believe his leadership and toughness are the #1 reason for Bradley's resurgence lately.
At SIU, where the fans shouted obscenities at the BU players throughout the game, I heard more than one SIU fan say they wished they had a player like Sammy. I am glad we have him.
I think he makes the biggest difference if we take him away from this team. So even though a B sounds OK, I would ask what more could he do?

He has played wonderfully of late and now that he's healthy (which I pointed out) he looks even better. I feel you can credit some of his resurgence to the improved presence in the paint. Plus, truthfully, I don't know that anyone deserves an A on a basically .500 team, unless they are night in, night out consistent (ala - Hersey Hawkins or Anthony Parker).

[romar]

Team Grade - C

Can't really see any way you could grade the team any higher than a C. If you do give them a higher grade, I am curious as to what your standards of success are.

Not sure what you mean, please define, "standards of success". Not sure what your expectations of this team are going into each game, but there hasn't been a game I've watched or attended this year when I arrived expecting a loss. I think they have the talent & depth to compete with every team they have had on what by most standards is a very strong schedule.

So AW is an A, TB is a B- & you didn't attack any of the other grades I posted, yet the team grades out a C? Seems like a double standard?

[BradleyBrave]

Not sure what you mean, please define, "standards of success". Not sure what your expectations of this team are going into each game, but there hasn't been a game I've watched or attended this year when I arrived expecting a loss. I think they have the talent & depth to compete with every team they have had on what by most standards is a very strong schedule.

So AW is an A, TB is a B- & you didn't attack any of the other grades I posted, yet the team grades out a C? Seems like a double standard?

We're 10-9. We have 3 home losses. Do I really need to explain why our grade is a C?

[KillerB]

I'd have to agree.. a 500 team sounds like a C at best.
A big finish would certainly improve that grade.

[amckillip]

So I'm too soft on some too harsh on others - THEY ARE MY OPINIONS PEOPLE! Give AW your own grade, that was the point, criticizing mine does not move me one way or another. I didn't come here to argue my opinion, just asked for others to put theirs up and if they wanted to, a little reason why.

So DC all you had to say is, IMO AW deserves an A or B.

AW is a statistical anomoly IMO, expected much more leadership from him as other then SS & SM he is the most tenured player on the court and has FAR more star potential than either of them, yet he finds a way from time to time to disappear completely. I'm not grading AW the student or AW the human being, I'm sure he is a wonderful kid. I made the JC comparison because he too put up great #'s but didn't become the true team leader or reach what he had shown was his potential until the last 10 or so games of his Sr. year.

I didn't grade the team, I didn't grade the coaches because I meant for this to be a light, fun thing, but it's become obvious that this board is like a tank full of pirahna just waiting to pounce on someone and try to make them look dumb or uninformed. I'm neither, I'm just a BU fan with an opinion of his very own.

Agreed with you here. I like AW, but his stats are 'soft.' He is not tough like he needs to be and he seems to make baskets in times where its easy, and miss them when its crucial. I pretty much agree with your assessment all around. I'd probably give SM an B+/A- but I'm obviously a pretty big fan of his.

[romar]

We're 10-9. We have 3 home losses. Do I really need to explain why our grade is a C?

I was just pointing out that, if you were picking up my grades for the remaining starting 5 & boosting TB & AW's grades, they average out to a strong B? Yet you give the entire team a C?

Now you could say that coaching is a factor, but is it a full grade factor? I mean the game planning has given them 11, 12, 13 & 16 (going purely by memory) point 1st half leads which resulted in losses. I'd argue that's as much, if not more player execution, although I understand many feel it's bench management, time out calling or halftime coaching adjustments.