The talent thread

[srw]

Where do you guys think this teams top 7 or 8 rates talent wise?

I think we are worse than:
Most
CU
UNI
WSU

I think we are better than
UE
ISU
SIU

Pretty even with:
Sycs
DU

I think a lot of things make it up..but I don't believe this is 10th place talent

[SaintLouBrave22]

You know I myself am not really sure of anything anymore...



If we don't have last place talent, then what seems to be the issue...

[BuBraves55]

To me, having the 7th best talent in the league warrants a pass for finishing 9th or 10th.

It seems rational that the worse the season is going the harder it would be to keep focused and poised. After all, it's everyone's goal to win or at least be competitive in the conference and there's no hiding the fact that you're struggling. I understand it's the coaching staffs' responsibility to keep the players motivated but when you're without TB and SM the task seems much harder. There's leaders both on and off the court and when we're without 2 of our vets the leadership might tank quicker.

The reasoning behind why we have the 7th best (worst) roster in the league is a whole other story and I would say injuries to leading scorers isn't a huge concern. It's not like the talent isn't there, it's there now just like most other years.

I think the situation BU would be the same if you gave any other program our current roster. Swap a place or two, but there's no way that this team would finish in the top 6 under any circumstance imo.

[Da Coach]

First, by missing Sam and TB, I think the talent level drops more significantly than some would like to believe. But I also think the whole point of this thread is quite shallow, and is missing out on other major factors.
Sorry to have to remind the "fire Jim Les" people, but we are not just missing any 2 players, but 2 4th-year, All-MVC caliber players- our primary point guard and playmaker, and our best inside offensive and defensive player. That means Bradley is affected more than by just the talent shortage alone. We have significantly less depth that we would if we had a healthy squad. That hurts in late game situations when our players are more affected by fatigue. Just check the MVC stats on minutes-played. 3 of the top 7 MVC players in minutes played are from Bradley-
http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM (scroll to bottom)

It also means the players we do have are forced to play out of position. Yesterday Jake spent most of the game guarding Carmichael or Lewis.
Of course, to those who want to believe it is all the coach's fault, then they will still believe it is.

[BradleyJD]

Not to get into a super large argument, but I had this conversation yesterday and it partially fits here.

List any issues you want for the team:

Facilities

Injuries/Depth

Talent

Fundamentals

Asst. coaches


etc.....

All of them certainly can have an impact on a program.

Facilities....have never been better at BU. Should be a huge plus in recruiting.

Injuries...have impacted the team, obviously. Where is the depth? Who is repsonsible for recruiting the players? The coach is.

Talent......again, who is recruiting the players. The coach is.

Fundamentals.....whose job is it to A)find players with these or B)to teach these to the players? The coach is.

Asst. Coaches.....if they are not good enough or not qualified enough, who hired them? The coach did.

I am sure you could go through many more issues. As SRW as stated, not every problem is Jim Les'.....but in the end, the head coach is the one who is responsible for the overall product that is on the floor.

IF, BU were to make a move after this season, it's not like Jim was not given a fair shot at doing his thing. He would have been given 9 complete years. I think most would agree that 9 years is ample time to prove yourself.

Again, I loved Jim as a player, loved the way he brought energy to the program......really loved the S16 run that he spearheaded. But, in the end, being under.500 in conference and never competiting for a Valley title outweighs those things to me.

[Braveman]

Look at the bright side- tickets to StL are available- BU fans have only purchased 275 tickets.....

[carter]

Taylor and Sammy

Sorry I have to remind some of you but we were still picked to only finish 5th this year with Taylor and Sammy.I think you need to come up with a better excuse.

[squirrelgotdead]

Look at the bright side- tickets to StL are available- BU fans have only purchased 275 tickets.....

Holy cow that's terrible.

[MacabreMob]

Asst. Coaches.....if they are not good enough or not qualified enough, who hired them? The coach did.

I could be wrong, but I don't believe JL had ANYTHING to do with the hiring of Platt - that was all Cross and Glasser.

[SaintLouBrave22]

Need I remind that the 1st person to bring up Jim Les was once again a Mod...

My point as per usual...the people who feel so slighted assume that's exactly where everyone is headed with a discussion are either paranoid or know that their points hold little water these days...but I digress...


Also, this whole guys out of position guarding other guys...hmm...I seem to recall teams with full compliments of players still playing 4's as 5's and 3's as 4's and so on...so that's a horrible argument to make...

Guys have been playing out of position for about 7 of 9 years...


The one thing that is well known...4 guard systems do not work...


A talent level that is considered 4/5 with Taylor and Sam should not drop to 10th without them...they are good, but no way they're THAT good!

[BradleyJD]

I could be wrong, but I don't believe JL had ANYTHING to do with the hiring of Platt - that was all Cross and Glasser.

IF that is true it's even worse. He has done the most improvement this season. Our defense is actually better than in the past.

[squirrelgotdead]

I could be wrong, but I don't believe JL had ANYTHING to do with the hiring of Platt - that was all Cross and Glasser.

Not true at all. Why would they not let him make the choice? They probably did have veto power.

[Da Coach]

Need I remind that the 1st person to bring up Jim Les was once again a Mod...

No, you are wrong. We are all intelligent people here as someone keeps reminding us, so stop playing games. The purpose of the initial post was to find something more to blame on the coach. And you, in the 2nd post, made the implication the fault was on the coach, or do you seriously want to deny that? And the 3rd post specifically brought the coaching into the discussion, well before "the mod" ever made a post.
But please don't pretend that every game we lose is just another excuse for the fire-Jim Les fans to repeat their desires with multiple threads.

[BradleyJD]

But please don't pretend that every game we lose is just another excuse for the fire-Jim Les fans to repeat their desires with multiple threads.

Losing is not an excuse...it's evidence.

[bigdaddystuck]

Talent wise...with everyone healthy? or just the ones still playing?

With our absolute top 7-8 players....we have the middle of the pack talent (4-6)...I could see us squeeking in a 3rd....