Anything I say is of little significance

[Chico]

Was this guy in the sports department? If not, why can't a former employee write a letter concerning Bradley basketball? The same as a Cat employee writing it. I have been deleted and attacked by another on this board, but I still keeping reading and posting. I figure Da Coach knows when I'm going overboard and I respect his opinion.

[Da Coach]

Was this guy in the sports department?

No, I don't think he was.

[chitown fanatic]

in 2002 the only forums that existed were not only populated by 100% bubashers, they were even run and moderated by them...and look what it and the letters to the PJS led to...
running a decent man and coach (Jim Molinari) out of town and here's where we are now, yet the bashers want to do it all over again..

Again, Mo may have been a decent man, but he's not a decent coach...he's subpar and he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire at WIU yet either(though admittedly that was a trainwreck when he took over) The man publicly said the 2 for 1 is an "NBA thing" That statement alone tells me all I need to know about his in game strategic abilities.
And to the other posters who have correctly pointed out the difference between wanting to see the program fail and wanting change for the sake of getting better, I applaud you. Someone mentioned we should list Les's shortcomings...IMO, they are as follows:
1)Ineffective and inopportune use of timeouts. Time and again, Jim has used timeouts at exactly the wrong times during games(i.e during rallies, after key stops,etc)
2)Poor substitution patterns. Similar to number 1, guys like Milos score 11 points in 5 minutes, then never see the floor again. This, coupled with the lack of development of recruits like Edge, AT, and Milos spell poor coaching
3) Lack of retooling offensive gameplan for personnel on floor. We're not the Phoenix suns and his insistence on running a 4 guard show is a key reason we're stuck in neutral
4) No high-low. Using bigs to solely set high screens is beyond ridiculous. Go back to what worked utilizing a high-low game and see what happens.
5) Lack of preparedness and adjustments after halftime. How many times did we give up leads out of the locker room this year?

These are my areas where I see Les fails and another coach or assistants he'll listen to would help.

[BradleyBrave]

The message boards and newspaper didn't run Jim Molinari out of town. David Broski did, and some contend it was because some people with money wanted Jim Les to lead the program. If that's the case, then who is really to blame?

In fact, this was the statement made upon Mo's firing -

University president David Broski cited the team's 42-48 record during the three seasons he has been president. He said Bradley should regularly challenge for conference titles and NCAA tournament bids. "I think we should be holding our teams to a higher standard than that," he said. "Basketball is very much a core part of our traditions and history, and I think we need to pay attention to it."

http://www.nabc.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030502aab.html

So I need to ask the question - Have we been regularly challenging for conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids over the last 8 seasons? The answer is no.

[it's boogie time]

...and look what it and the letters to the PJS led to...
running a decent man and coach (Jim Molinari) out of town

This is comedy gold.

[indybrave10]

I HAVE had posts deleted, but this is by far the best DISCUSSION board I've been on. Think about it like a debate, there are rules and regulation to make it more productive.

Hit the nail on the head. I have had posts deleted too. But people don't need to take it personally if they are deleted.

[SFP]

Hit the nail on the head. I have had posts deleted too. But people don't need to take it personally if they are deleted.

I take it as a badge of honor.

[Out of Balance]

Hit the nail on the head. I have had posts deleted too. But people don't need to take it personally if they are deleted.

I take it as a badge of honor.

OK, OK, I can be a sport I won't take all my deleted posts personally BUT first I have to know this
HAS DC OR ANY OTHER MOD DELETED t
JK

[Da Coach]

I delete more of t's stuff than everyone else's combined!

Gotta keep from irritating everyone!

[Out of Balance]

I delete more of t's stuff than everyone else's combined!

Gotta keep from irritating everyone!

WOW So much for the Brotherly Love Thing
Delete Away on Me then Oh you already do Good one DC

[zeeman]

Thanks for your usually cogent point of view, TAS-

Just a couple things more-
I said JL has done a good job, because though the detractors will acknowledge nothing more than a "lucky 6 week" period in 2006, Bradley has played the strongest schedule over the past 5 years of any MVC team. They have won 102 games in the last 5 years, they have never finished in the lower half of the conference, they have as many NCAA wins as all but maybe 1 other school, they have far more post-season wins than any MVC school, and I could go on with listing the positives, but I think any rational fan will admit that the last 5 years have not been the disaster than a few people try to portray. Nobody is totally satisfied, and I would like to see better finishes. But considering the serious injuries to key players, I can understand why some of the teams have underachieved. There are some who aren't willing to be reasonable about those intangibles.

The Letter- I have been informed by a reliable source that the person who wrote the letter is a former long-time Peoria Journal Star employee.
Maybe that doesn't mean anything to most readers, but, IMO if this is true, that should have been disclosed, and leads many readers to suspect a potential conflict of interest, and possible a lack of integrity.

And one more thing regarding the anti-JL crowd, and my use of the term "agenda". There are some who have specific agendas, and it is not always to see Bradley win.
Without going into greater detail, I have saved several long PMs and emails sent by a couple former posters on this site, who no longer post (not by their own choice), and forwarded to me. In these messages, these self anointed Jim Les-haters list incidents that they detail to try to convince others that Jim Les is a bad guy, and to support their admitted hatred of him.
They felt that if they decribed their issues with Jim Les enough, they would convince others what an awful man, and terrible coach he was.
But many of us know Coach Les, and he is nothing like what those couple haters described. So when I use the term "agenda", I mean it to describe a type of person, like these I am referring to, who have an irrational hatred for a decent man, and who admit they are dedicated to trying to bring him down in any way they can. I have the proof I need to show that there are irrational JL-haters out there, and there are still others around who masquerade as Bradley "fans", and they are not going to be allowed to poison this site.

It's been an interesting couple of days on this post, and the conspiracy theories have run the gamut, so as the letter writer, let me clear up a few things for you. First of all, any of you with "sources"; they're worthless. These are the people that think Elvis is still alive. The facts:

I an NOT and never have been an employee of the Peoria Journal Star
I AM a season ticket holder
I AM a graduate of Bradley University
I am NOT a financial contributor to the University

I am just a regular joe that sits in the upper bowl with all of the regular joes, and trust me, nobody up there or on the street, or in the bars, is bragging about what a good job JL has done with the team, and that's why the letter was written. There is no personal attack on the man or the team in this letter and to read that into it is ridiculous. I even made a point to admit what a great player he was, and I think he is a great speaker during the game day luncheons, but as a coach, it's just not happening. As one of the posters said, I don't want Bradley to fail, far from it. I've been going to BU games since 1973 and I'm starving for a winner, but I'm not a fan because I criticize a coach? Give me a break. Look, people go to work every day, Cat engineers, car salesmen, secretaries, and they try their best, but if they don't succeed, they get fired. What's the difference if it's a basketball coach? So if you want to know my "agenda" since I guess you have to have one when you criticize a coach, here it is: Aspire to be better. Look to the Gonzagas and the Butlers and see that a small school can win at a higher level. Are you really satisfied being in 4th place and a 70-74 record in 8 years? Sorry, but I'm not.

[houstontxbrave]

It's been an interesting couple of days on this post, and the conspiracy theories have run the gamut, so as the letter writer, let me clear up a few things for you. First of all, any of you with "sources"; they're worthless. These are the people that think Elvis is still alive. The facts:

I an NOT and never have been an employee of the Peoria Journal Star
I AM a season ticket holder
I AM a graduate of Bradley University
I am NOT a financial contributor to the University

I am just a regular joe that sits in the upper bowl with all of the regular joes, and trust me, nobody up there or on the street, or in the bars, is bragging about what a good job JL has done with the team, and that's why the letter was written. There is no personal attack on the man or the team in this letter and to read that into it is ridiculous. I even made a point to admit what a great player he was, and I think he is a great speaker during the game day luncheons, but as a coach, it's just not happening. As one of the posters said, I don't want Bradley to fail, far from it. I've been going to BU games since 1973 and I'm starving for a winner, but I'm not a fan because I criticize a coach? Give me a break. Look, people go to work every day, Cat engineers, car salesmen, secretaries, and they try their best, but if they don't succeed, they get fired. What's the difference if it's a basketball coach? So if you want to know my "agenda" since I guess you have to have one when you criticize a coach, here it is: Aspire to be better. Look to the Gonzagas and the Butlers and see that a small school can win at a higher level. Are you really satisfied being in 4th place and a 70-74 record in 8 years? Sorry, but I'm not.

AWESOME. Thank you and please post anytime. I for one really really enjoyed your post and your candidness.

[New Guy]

Wow Zeeman. I did not think anything could stop the spin doctors. I can hear crickets chirping when I open this thread now.

I think you have a right to have and express your opinion. Thanks.

P.S. Love the Elvis reference.

[ER3]

Wow Zeeman. I did not think anything could stop the spin doctors. I can hear crickets chirping when I open this thread now.

I think you have a right to have and express your opinion. Thanks.

P.S. Love the Elvis reference.

Don't worry...the spin doctors will likely be back soon with 'proof' that zeeman is NOT the guy that wrote the letter in to the Journal Star...
He is just another imposter that is out here to try an undermine their credibility and make this site look bad...

Too funny.

[amettrick]

It's been an interesting couple of days on this post, and the conspiracy theories have run the gamut, so as the letter writer, let me clear up a few things for you. First of all, any of you with "sources"; they're worthless. These are the people that think Elvis is still alive. The facts:

I an NOT and never have been an employee of the Peoria Journal Star
I AM a season ticket holder
I AM a graduate of Bradley University
I am NOT a financial contributor to the University

I am just a regular joe that sits in the upper bowl with all of the regular joes, and trust me, nobody up there or on the street, or in the bars, is bragging about what a good job JL has done with the team, and that's why the letter was written. There is no personal attack on the man or the team in this letter and to read that into it is ridiculous. I even made a point to admit what a great player he was, and I think he is a great speaker during the game day luncheons, but as a coach, it's just not happening. As one of the posters said, I don't want Bradley to fail, far from it. I've been going to BU games since 1973 and I'm starving for a winner, but I'm not a fan because I criticize a coach? Give me a break. Look, people go to work every day, Cat engineers, car salesmen, secretaries, and they try their best, but if they don't succeed, they get fired. What's the difference if it's a basketball coach? So if you want to know my "agenda" since I guess you have to have one when you criticize a coach, here it is: Aspire to be better. Look to the Gonzagas and the Butlers and see that a small school can win at a higher level. Are you really satisfied being in 4th place and a 70-74 record in 8 years? Sorry, but I'm not.

well said!