Wessler: Will Bradley players buy-in this season?

[Braves4Life]

What I found most interesting in this article was this:

"When one guy won’t commit to playing defense, and another is worried about how many points he scores, and another starts thinking he doesn’t have to abide by all the rules because he’s irreplaceable, and another guy sits the bench wondering how the hell these talented slackers stay on the floor in front of him, then you wind up with a 16-15 record instead of, say, 24-9 with a chance to keep playing deep into March."

1+1=2. Let's see, the only player quoted was Warren. No other player was even mentioned as even being talked to by KW -- even anonymously. Therefore, one can only guess this information also came from Warren.

I'm guessing AW said this to KW -- "OK. I'll give you more information but you have to promise not to attribute that information to me and not name the players involved with each of the above transgressions."

Gee, let's fill in the missing names -- "When one guy (Maniscalco?, Egolf?) won’t commit to playing defense, and another (Andrew Warren?) is worried about how many points he scores, and another (Taylor Brown?) starts thinking he doesn’t have to abide by all the rules because he’s irreplaceable, and another guy (DSE?, Eastman?) sits the bench wondering how the hell these talented slackers stay on the floor in front of him, then you wind up with a 16-15 record instead of, say, 24-9 with a chance to keep playing deep into March."

[thefish7]

I'd guess Thompson was the guy on the bench.

[real fan]

What I found most interesting in this article was this:

"When one guy won??™t commit to playing defense, and another is worried about how many points he scores, and another starts thinking he doesn??™t have to abide by all the rules because he??™s irreplaceable, and another guy sits the bench wondering how the hell these talented slackers stay on the floor in front of him, then you wind up with a 16-15 record instead of, say, 24-9 with a chance to keep playing deep into March."

1+1=2. Let's see, the only player quoted was Warren. No other player was even mentioned as even being talked to by KW -- even anonymously. Therefore, one can only guess this information also came from Warren.

I'm guessing AW said this to KW -- "OK. I'll give you more information but you have to promise not to attribute that information to me and not name the players involved with each of the above transgressions."

Gee, let's fill in the missing names -- "When one guy (Maniscalco?, Egolf?) won??™t commit to playing defense, and another (Andrew Warren?) is worried about how many points he scores, and another (Taylor Brown?) starts thinking he doesn??™t have to abide by all the rules because he??™s irreplaceable, and another guy (DSE?, Eastman?) sits the bench wondering how the hell these talented slackers stay on the floor in front of him, then you wind up with a 16-15 record instead of, say, 24-9 with a chance to keep playing deep into March."

What you are saying is exactly why you do not air your dirty laundry to the press, internal problems should be handled by your team captains getting everybody together and everyone participating in a group discussion to try and solve these problems, now you have thousands of readers speculating on who did what, this is a bad way to start what a lot of hope to be a great season.

[Bravesfan]

hmm...so the players should be cut loose??
..didn't we have players like Cellus and others telling us a few years ago that there were other players "not on the same page"
and "players who didn't want to buy into the system"..and yet everyone used that to argue the coach shuold be cut loose??

I agree. This is not a pro league, and I certainly wouldn't even entertain the thought of cutting players loose unless they do something really stupid off the court. I know some coaches of the elite schools do this, but I would be against this. Also interesting that our mediocre showing last year was all Les's fault, and now this year it's (or would be) the players fault!

I always thought Les did a good job explaining to the media and fans that this is exactly what he was trying to do, that is attempting to get the players playing as a cohesive unit and not as individual, selfish players. Why some (not all) players did not buy into this last year is beyond me. Some say Les should have benched players longer, but really, except for a couple of underclassmen who stepped up in status last year, we never could seem to get a rotation of five players playing as a tight unit at once, no matter who he benched. Hopefully this year with a much more mature team this will happen.

[Bravesfan]

I am kind of shocked that a player would make a statement like this in public, this kind of thing should be handled in a team meeting, a lot of us suspected internal problems were going on but the captains should be able to get everyone together and find out what the problems are and try to fix them, teams win championships, not individuals . Hopefully this statement will not hurt this teams chances because if I was on this team I would not be happy about him making it to a reporter.

I actually think this is a good thing. Now the fans know we had a few selfish individuals on our team who, as I stated above, hopefully will be a lot more mature this year.

I think whether AW was right or wrong in making this statement in public, it probably takes a bit of pressure off of Les while he tries to accomplish what he is setting out to do this year, that is lead our team to a strong finish in the Valley. Whether some still believe that all of the responsibility for last year's performance falls on him is irrelevant at this point. Les still has a job whether people like it or not, and with a veteran team this year, now is the time to root him on towards a great season, not tear him apart. Hopefully everyone from the coaches on down to the players have learned from their past mistakes and have grown as a team. That's all that matters at this point.

[Bravesfan]

I'm not pro or anti firing any coach. That's not MY concern. I'll leave that up to those that wield the sword.

With that said though its the coaches team be that JL, Weber or coach K and THAT person is responsible for all that goes on.

The coach recruited these guys...teaches them....hands out punishment......if guys aren't buying in its on the coach.

Well you just defeated your own argument dogsrus. If the coach did what he was supposed to do, that is teach them and handed out punishment, and the players didn't buy it, then how is that the coach's fault? It means that maybe he has a team of players that will just not get it no matter how hard he tries to teach and punish. It might make Les look bad on the recruiting end of things, rightfully or not, but sometimes players just don't pan out at the next level, and/or some just don't mature until after college.

But again, last year may just have been a team that was learning how to gel after coming off a year or two of injuries and many new players thrown into the mix. I obviously expect a lot more from this group this year and if things don't pan out, then these arguments can most certainly be revisited at a later time. But I'm getting way ahead of myself now. Let's get this season going so we can see how good this team can be!

[Bravesfan]

Haha, no, DR reports... KW does 'creative extrapolation.' I'm not saying it didn't happen, at all, but the only quote he gives is mild to say the least, and it's from a player who struggled last year(the stats were there, but the desire and intensity wasn't) and it is rumored he didn't like being outshined by SM and TB. He couldn't talk to any more players? In my high-school newspaper, I was sports editor and couldn't get away with that kind of speculation based on a single quote.

I'll give some credit to KW in regards to obtaining and elaborating on what AW said. It may not be the whole story, but at least we now know at least partially why this team played so erratically throughout last season.

Having said that though, yes, KW has to follow this up by talking to other players to get their take on what went on. And guess what? Many may have had completely different assessments of the team than AW had. So basically KW broke one of the cardinal rules that most in the media unfortunately do these days. He failed to obtain [i]all sides[\i] of the story.

Perhaps there were some internal struggles, but maybe no more than any other team experiences, and maybe nothing that was that big of a deal. But we don't know that because KW stopped after obtaining perhaps the most negative comment from a player and running with it like it was fact! Maybe he even did talk to others and did not even bother to state what they said because there was nothing as "newsworthy" as AW stated. Of course we'll never know unless KW does run an objective follow-up piece in the future, which I highly doubt.

Ahhh, the art of media spin. You gotta love it!

[SFP]

Cut AW some slack guys! I like it that he called his team out. What's wrong with a guy stating what he feels. I bet they have talked about this face to face. If a player can't handle the truth then why bother. He did not call out any one player. Get this out of the way now and cut the cancer if there is one. Read the book From Good to Great. It say to be a great team you are either on the bus or off! There is no in between. The UNI team last year had everyone on their bus.

[AZ BU Fan]

AMC - perhaps you should submit your resume to the PJS? I heard KW is on the hot seat!

Why is it every year I get fired up for BU basketball and then something screws it up!

To wit,
1. Several key players from last year are rumored to not start or even play in opening exhibition.....more injuries, discipline, or lack of effort already?

2. Top player airs dirty laundry to the media about teammates' efforts and lack of team work last year....why discuss this now instead of at the end of last year?

I am bummed out already and the season hasn't started yet. Fifth again?

[romar]

I actually think this is a good thing. Now the fans know we had a few selfish individuals on our team who, as I stated above, hopefully will be a lot more mature this year.

I think whether AW was right or wrong in making this statement in public, it probably takes a bit of pressure off of Les while he tries to accomplish what he is setting out to do this year, that is lead our team to a strong finish in the Valley. Whether some still believe that all of the responsibility for last year's performance falls on him is irrelevant at this point. Les still has a job whether people like it or not, and with a veteran team this year, now is the time to root him on towards a great season, not tear him apart. Hopefully everyone from the coaches on down to the players have learned from their past mistakes and have grown as a team. That's all that matters at this point.

Another interesting thought is that JL opted out of "rewarding" last years team with post season games in one of the alphabet soup tourneys because they were playing with their own agendas. If the scenario set out in this article is accurate, then JL was a stand up guy in taking the blame for the "mediocre" season last year and vowed to make this year different.

[ser_solace]

I think a lot of folks are reading too much into what Andrew said. There's nothing wrong with it in my opinion.

[lefty]

Cut AW some slack guys! I like it that he called his team out. What's wrong with a guy stating what he feels. I bet they have talked about this face to face. If a player can't handle the truth then why bother. He did not call out any one player. Get this out of the way now and cut the cancer if there is one. Read the book From Good to Great. It say to be a great team you are either on the bus or off! There is no in between. The UNI team last year had everyone on their bus.

actually the book says you get the wrong people off the bus and the right people on it.....which I think would be up to the coach....and if the coach is the issue then it's up to the AD and if the AD is the problem it's up to the Prez.
Now it's been a couple of years since reading the book so correct me here if I'm wrong Pete. I think this being brought up by AW should make the rest of the team sit up and take notice if the haven't already.

[Buesch N Chips]

I am bummed out already and the season hasn't started yet. Fifth again?

Unfortunately, I blame KW for the timing of both the "hot seat" article and this one. Things for this season are very optimistic, and this is twice now that KW has tried to poop on that parade with an article that is negative, or at least tends negative towards Les and his program. I'm not saying the articles aren't valid, but a better time to write about the hot seat would be the beginning of the off season, and a better time to write about team chemistry issues might be in that season, and not at the start of the next. Just my opinion.

[thefish7]

I guess for me I focused on AW's direct quote, which was him echoing what the coach is always saying-- they missed out some last year because they didn't play as a team. That's all AW is quoted as saying. KW said all the rest on his own, extrapolating the same things we all discuss here. In my way of thinking, KW ultimately spun the article to the positive by couching it in fix the "not a team" problem and this could be a very good team.

I don't think there's anything at all wrong with what AW said. Having re-read it a couple of times, KW did "get a lot out" of that quote in an editorial blog. I happen to agree with a lot of his conclusions, so the article didn't bother me...

[Buesch N Chips]

I guess for me I focused on AW's direct quote, which was him echoing what the coach is always saying-- they missed out some last year because they didn't play as a team. That's all AW is quoted as saying. KW said all the rest on his own, extrapolating the same things we all discuss here. In my way of thinking, KW ultimately spun the article to the positive by couching it in fix the "not a team" problem and this could be a very good team.

I don't think there's anything at all wrong with what AW said. Having re-read it a couple of times, KW did "get a lot out" of that quote in an editorial blog. I happen to agree with a lot of his conclusions, so the article didn't bother me...

I didn't disagree with anything said, just the timing of rehashing last year again as we sit on the precipice of a potentially special season.