Jerrance Howard- BU link

[BU freak]

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110319/sports/703199887/

Still my number one choice.

[MacabreMob]

*honk* *honk*

[Buesch N Chips]

I don't think there is any possible way that They will fire Jim Les to replace him with Jerrance Howard. Just my opinion.

[afan]

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...rts/703199887/

Still my number one choice.

This candidate has absolutely no experience...He is extremely young (no experience)...he recruits for Illinois in Chicago(much easier to recruit for Illinois than Bradley-why do you think that he would equal his illinois recruiting success at Bradley-it won't happen). In your own article it suggests that if he coached at Bradley he would eventually return to coach at illinois when weber leaves (what kind of loyalty is that). There has got to be a ton of coaches with more experience than Howard. I cannot think of a single reason to go after Howard as opposed to other potential candidates that have much more to offer than Howard. I just don't get it!!!

[Braves4Life]

I don't think there is any possible way that They will fire Jim Les to replace him with Jerrance Howard. Just my opinion.

I agree. This would be an underwhelming hire, IMO. But I guess everyone has to get their start somewhere..... he has more experience than Les did at that point.... and someday he may become a star. I just think there are better candidates that I'd rather see.

[78Brave]

When this process started Jerrance was on my list but not at the top. After looking at all of the rumored candidates and thinking about where I want Bradley basketball to be 5 years from now, Jerrance became far and away my first choice. Generally Bradley can go one of three ways - 1. Hire a moderately successful head coach from a lower level. 2. Hire a head coach who has failed at a higher level. 3. Hire an up and coming assistant from a power school. The first 2 are the conservative choices with some goog candidates that could have some success but for the most part would probably have us in the second level of the MVC. See Molinari. I keep hearing people talk about Bradley's potential. Well if that potential is really there Bradley should go for the lightening in the bottle and hire a rising star. There are some good choices - Lusk, Gard, Montgomery, etc - but because of his background, personality, and potential, Jerrance is my first choice. There is more risk going this way but the potential gain is also much higher in my opinion.

[tornado]

Not a dis on Jerrance but to continually label him as a top notch recruiter or recruiter extraordinaire....can be debated.
He is a good recruiter but Illinois is MERELY now recruiting at the level they SHOULD be recruiting...
they are NOT at the level that Kentucky, Duke, Syracuse, UConn, etc. are...

Illinois has only recently begun to land the top instate kids....and that IS good...but shouldn't they have been doing that all along...?

[78Brave]

I don't think you can give Jerrance credit or blame for Illinois' recruiting before he got there. I think that Kentucky and Illinois labeled Jerrance as a top recruiter when they engaged in a bidding war for him. If he comes to Bradley will Jerrance recruit the same level of players that he would at Illinois or Kentucky? Probably not. Does he need to? For now at least he probably only needs to recruit better players than ISU, Northern Iowa, Creighton, Wichita St, etc.

[lake Camelot]

When this process started Jerrance was on my list but not at the top. After looking at all of the rumored candidates and thinking about where I want Bradley basketball to be 5 years from now, Jerrance became far and away my first choice.

I was about like you at the beginning. I would not be unhappy with the choice, but he has slid a little lower on my list.

The only choices I've seen mentioned that would upset me are-

Isiah Thomas- (don't really believe this)
Keno Davis-(Has shown nothing to make me believe he can succeed)-I couldn't believe Providence hired him.

I would be happy with most of the mentioned people.

[srw]

I think things will become clearer in the next 5 days. Most of the teams of the coaches we would truly be looking at, will be out of the tournament by the end of the day.

Jerrance does appear to have Bruce's ear a lot more than he may have earlier.

Isaiah is not a real candidate.

Some of the other guys probably have legs, some don't.

Im not going to get real excited, or upset, by anyone until we know more about who is "really" in the picture.

[afan]

When this process started Jerrance was on my list but not at the top. After looking at all of the rumored candidates and thinking about where I want Bradley basketball to be 5 years from now, Jerrance became far and away my first choice. Generally Bradley can go one of three ways - 1. Hire a moderately successful head coach from a lower level. 2. Hire a head coach who has failed at a higher level. 3. Hire an up and coming assistant from a power school. The first 2 are the conservative choices with some goog candidates that could have some success but for the most part would probably have us in the second level of the MVC. See Molinari. I keep hearing people talk about Bradley's potential. Well if that potential is really there Bradley should go for the lightening in the bottle and hire a rising star. There are some good choices - Lusk, Gard, Montgomery, etc - but because of his background, personality, and potential, Jerrance is my first choice. There is more risk going this way but the potential gain is also much higher in my opinion.

You kinda forgot the best choice....a successful coach from a mid-major with a good balance of talent.

Jerrence Howard is neither "lightening in a bottle" or a "rising star". He remains very inexperienced, has no particular record of accomplishment, there is no gaurantee that he will recruit for Bradley as he has for Illinois (and, as Tornado has pointed out he has not been an exceptional recruiter for Illinois as Duke, Carolina, Kentucky, etc continue to get the elite, top recruits, not Illinois). Maybe in 5 years or so he will have some experience and be qualified for a low-major as a first step. I would definitely not hire a 30year old coach with zero on-court experience. What background are you referring to that would totally qualify him for a job as high profile as Bradley?

[78Brave]

I guess it depends on your definition of success but who exactly are these successful head coaches from mid major programs that are candidates for the Bradley job and when was the last time Bradley hired someone that fits that description? It is fair to question Jerrance's youth and lack of head coaching experience. However the people who are paid to run high major programs at places like Illinois and Kentucky apparently do think he is a rising star. No Illinois has not recruited the talent that Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina have but those are three of the top programs in the history of college basketball. Comparing Illinois to them is like calling Bradley a high profile job. I wish it was, was once, may be again, but sorry it is not now. Jerrance's background includes playing for excellent coaches at Peoria High and the U of I. He has worked in high major programs at Kentucky and the U of I with connections to Purdue and Kansas. He is said to have a great ability to relate to players and recruits. He knows Peoria which should help in selling peoria to recruits. He is enthusiastic and hard working. I'm not discounting your opinion about on court experience. I started with the same opinion. Jerrance would be more of a risk than others. I just think if Bradley really wants to be a high profile program again then they need to take the chance on somebody like him.

[amckillip]

I guess it depends on your definition of success but who exactly are these successful head coaches from mid major programs that are candidates for the Bradley job and when was the last time Bradley hired someone that fits that description? It is fair to question Jerrance's youth and lack of head coaching experience. However the people who are paid to run high major programs at places like Illinois and Kentucky apparently do think he is a rising star. No Illinois has not recruited the talent that Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina have but those are three of the top programs in the history of college basketball. Comparing Illinois to them is like calling Bradley a high profile job. I wish it was, was once, may be again, but sorry it is not now. Jerrance's background includes playing for excellent coaches at Peoria High and the U of I. He has worked in high major programs at Kentucky and the U of I with connections to Purdue and Kansas. He is said to have a great ability to relate to players and recruits. He knows Peoria which should help in selling peoria to recruits. He is enthusiastic and hard working. I'm not discounting your opinion about on court experience. I started with the same opinion. Jerrance would be more of a risk than others. I just think if Bradley really wants to be a high profile program again then they need to take the chance on somebody like him.

I'm agreeing more and more with this opinion. Sometimes you have to take a risk to get the big reward, and I wonder if this isn't the perfect time - down valley, trying to get some recruits to stay, decent foundation next year...

[theBUer]

JH was on the Score the night before their game against UNLV, and at the end the host was remarking on how a Peoria guy deserves to step up and coach at Bradley. He especially rode home the "hometown connections" and the fact that he can recruit Chicago talent. He even made a call out to the AD to look at him and hire him as well.

Free advertising for Bradley.

[srw]

I'm agreeing more and more with this opinion. Sometimes you have to take a risk to get the big reward, and I wonder if this isn't the perfect time - down valley, trying to get some recruits to stay, decent foundation next year...

I dont disagree with this theory either...


One thing I know..

Jerrance has played for excellent basketball coaches,

Brad Stevens became coach at Butler around that age, and Darren Horn got WKU and the effervescent Courtney Lee around the same age.

Heres the rub...
You have to be willing to take a chance to make the hire...

But if its done, and done with smartness all the way around it can work

Your goal is to have Jerrance for 5 or 6 years, and then have him leave for someone for more money because BU has been successful. I can deal with that

Now, still not my number one choice but I am warming to it.