Favorite JL Coaching Memories

[BUfan14]

It has been about a week now, and I was reflecting on JL's coaching time. I was thinking we needed a thread specifically for our favorite moments/memories with Jim Les as the Bradley coach. I have seen a few great stories in the threads, as well as many people saying they would never forget the Sweet Sixteen. Well here are my top JL moments:

-The Sweet Sixteen run
-Unveiling of the banner and destroying Depaul
-Beating Illinois at a neutral site
-The NIT game against Providence
-Chris Roberts's shot
-The energy of the Michigan State game
-JC knocking off an undefeated ranked Drake team
-Defeating a ranked UNI team at home
-The team playing great for his final home game as head coach

-On a personal note for me, I attended a basketball camp in junior high at Bradley in JL's first couple years at BU, and he made me into a huge Bradley fan. He was really nice and met with everyone individually to talk. After I won a camp knockout contest I got a Bradley jersey, a picture with him and had him sign a basketball card I had of him on the Kings. I'm now finishing up Junior College and going to transfer to Bradley to continue pursuing a degree in Math Education. JL was the reason I even explored Bradley and found it was the right school for me, because of his kindness. Now I have become obsessed with Bradley basketball and its history.

Thanks Jim for these priceless memories....

[electricmayhem]

Great post, 14!

To add to that, a great JL legacy piece is the amount of his players that are playing pro ball somewhere - D-league, Europe, etc.

Les will forever be tied to the S16 run - leading to my best JL story.

I was sitting in a restaurant/sports bar outside Chicago for the Kansas game, and behind me was a couple and their daughter. The daughter was going to Kansas and the mother went to Kansas as well; dad was from BU. They were all extremely nice people, but mom and daughter trash talked me, my friends and their dad/husband for quite some time - all friendly banter.

In the second half, the daughter asked me where BU's coach came from. I told her he was an alum and a great player at BU in the 80s. Fast forward - game ends and she congratulates us and steals the BU hat off her dad's head! I told her she wasn't worthy (asking her to take her KU shirt off seemed a little forward) and we all laughed out to the parking lot.

[Buesch N Chips]

S16 first and foremost
Tulsa CBI game at home - great atmosphere
Roberts shot
Beating Illinois - even though I root for both, great moment for BU
Getting Mich St to play in Peoria
Beating UNI at home 2010
Blizzard Game
Last home game vs. Drake

[runninfiend]

I think it would have to be his cutting in line at Dunkin Donuts with nary a word to any customer or employee and storming out with his free bag of jelly-filled like the sunglassed ruler of junk food land. Ah, the memories!

Ok fine, the win over Kansas.

[Braves4Life]

One of my favorite memories. Jim Les loved his players and they loved him........

http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2006/mar/24/77349/

[Dub]

Jim Les was true to only one college team. It annoyed him when people would wear Illini or other gear to the Bradley games. Last year after we beat UNI at home there was a postgame party at the CC. Les gets up to give his victory speech and right as he's about to speak he pauses and looks out to the crowd and says something like, "Hey get that guy with the purple shirt out of here." The guy rips his UNI pullover off and they let him stay.

[ancona flash]

Not favorite, but memorable. 1st home game as coach vs. Pepperdine motioning to the crowd to "get up" during a critical defensive set towards the end of the game. I felt excited and awkward all at the same time. I think we won that game in OT if memory serves.

I've never seen a coach do that to a home crowd and haven't since.

As far as total favorite, sweet 16 trumps them all by far.

[SFP]

What coach would go on and chat on a fan site?

[BUfan14]

What coach would go on and chat on a fan site?

What? Did I miss something?

[tornado]

What? Did I miss something?

Coach Les did a couple chat sessions with the people on Bradley fans last year...

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15751

[Bravesfan]

Here's my top ten favorite JL coaching memories, in no particular order:

The Sweet 16 run.
BU/Providence NIT game.
BU/Virginia CBI game.
BU/Tulsa CBI finals, particularly the BU home game.
The Blizzard game.
2011 BU/Drake senior night.
BU win over top 25 UNI last year.
BU/Illinois in Vegas.
Chris Roberts shot.
BU over SIU in Peoria in 2006 which helped break a four way tie at the top of the Valley.


So for a coach that did not have a lot of big time success within the Valley race, he still was a good coach that kept his teams above water, graduated most of his players, and still generated a lot of memories that us fans will never forget!

[BUfan14]

Coach Les did a couple chat sessions with the people on Bradley fans last year...

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15751

Oh ok, I didn't understand what the comment meant. Yes that was very cool.

[Chico]

Great post, 14!

To add to that, a great JL legacy piece is the amount of his players that are playing pro ball somewhere - D-league, Europe, etc.

Les will forever be tied to the S16 run - leading to my best JL story.

I was sitting in a restaurant/sports bar outside Chicago for the Kansas game, and behind me was a couple and their daughter. The daughter was going to Kansas and the mother went to Kansas as well; dad was from BU. They were all extremely nice people, but mom and daughter trash talked me, my friends and their dad/husband for quite some time - all friendly banter.

In the second half, the daughter asked me where BU's coach came from. I told her he was an alum and a great player at BU in the 80s. Fast forward - game ends and she congratulates us and steals the BU hat off her dad's head! I told her she wasn't worthy (asking her to take her KU shirt off seemed a little forward) and we all laughed out to the parking lot.

We watched the Kansas game at a place called Benchwarmers in Mesa. We had our BU garb on and a Kansas group came in and one guy older than me ask where Bradley was located. He said he never heard of Bradley or Peoria. I ask him how long he's been a Kansas fan and he said forever. I told him to get off my back because if he was a Kansas fan that long he would had to hear of Bradley because the Braves were always rated high in the late 40's and early 60's and my friend Bert Born and the Kelly brothers left Kansas and came to play for Caterpillar in Peoria. When the game over, he came by and wished us luck and a guy sitting next to us said I bet he knows where Peoria is now, but by the way where is it?
My favorite memory of Coach Les, will be his willingness to come to the Peoria Elks Lodge 20 and spend time with great Bradley fans there. Good Luck coach, we will miss you.