Remy Abell

[mrcoachdude]

most could care less...but have to throw in my 2 cents... I will be watching how Remy does...he is a nice kid that was headed here and decided to go to Indiana...still a nice kid and hope he does great for IU...appreciate the updates...

if I did not want to follow his career, I would not read a thread with his name in the title....

[Bravesfan]

Ok, we don't fire Les, the program falls anyways, the same decomposition happens.

I really want to focus on that last sentence. Yes we knew firing Les would cause fallout. How bad, no one knew. But you're acting like everything would've been fine if Bradley did nothing. If they kept on the path with Les. We were headed down this path with Les anyways, the firing only accelerated it and gives us a chance to recover as soon as possible (notice I said only a chance, Ford may or may not be the right hire; we'll see).

You're completely ignoring the reason why the firing happened in the first place, only focusing on the worst-case scenario as a result of the firing.

I would say the true Bradley fans are the ones who realize that no one man, or one or two recruits, is above the entire program. They realize every individual season can't be analyzed in a vacuum - previous recruting and previous seasons and previous player development impacts the next season. They realize bottoming out is a risk, and it's never ever wanted or rooted for, but they also realize it's OK if - and I stress if - it leads to a full recovery and even stronger program. The people who are putting their own interests first here are the ones who try to still argue that the firing was wrong and keep dregging up the past.

Excellent post TAS! And especially your previous one as well. While I may not necessarily take your side of the argument, you at least summarize perfectly where the two sides stand on this issue. Your previous post in particular showed that most people would agree that had Les stayed here, the program would not have bottomed out this badly.

Of course where we differ is that I believe with Abell and Hawkins, we would potentially be back in at least NIT territory this year. Yeah, I understand the ones that wanted Les gone thought he would not get any further than that, but I think he would have returned the program to greatness as he did succeed in doing before. If it turns out that Geno succeeds more consistently than Les did, great. I hope he does. But at the same time, the most successful programs do not have to bottom out so badly while they are rebuilding. And I believe Les was more than capable of straightening things out quicker. But since he's not here I hope Geno succeeds greatly as well.

[Bravesfan]

So the sentiments of fans on a message board can somehow drive the future of this team down? Wow, how things have changed.
I recall people, especially a certain columnist, intentionally trying to undermine the last regime. Where was all this "not fair to the players and coaches" then?

I think the difference here DC is that the same people here on the message boards who wanted Les gone have changed their tune because Geno is only in his second year here. And I hope he proves to everyone that he can restore the program to greatness. But you can bet that if we suffer through another year or two like we did last season, these same people will turn on Geno pretty quickly! Again, I'm sure we all hope it doesn't come to that and he does well here.

Regarding that "certain columnist", that's definitely a completely different situation than from some of the posters here (though a lot do agree with him). This was a person who never gave Les a chance from the get-go because of his lack of coaching experience, like it was his fault even though he wasn't the one who hired him! Why this columnist didn't go after the administration for hiring Les is beyond me, if that was why he was so upset. And also, for the same person to say this program was "light years better" than during the last year of Les's tenure was stupid beyond belief!

[Bravesfan]

you know I hope Abell does well.....heck I hope kids we don't recruit do well. Why wouldn't you? But he chose not to come here and that's fine.....people here follow him and talk about him more than the recruits we have.....that's what seems out of balance

Only because he had the potential to be a "franchise player" so to speak. And because we lost him after the coaching change.

[Bravesfan]

There are a few points from several posters that I agree with. I also have my own thoughts.

-- I don't think JL should have been fired when he was. I was prepared to give him one more season to prove that he could lead sustainable success. I don't consider .500 as success, and the fact remains that he only crossed that mark in conference play in three of his nine seasons at the helm.

-- If JL had been back, SM would have been back, and I think last season goes totally differently. I have never believed that SM was a great difference-maker, but putting his leadership on a team, and taking scoring pressure off TB and DSE (who both shot very poorly) would have made a huge difference.

-- To me, there is no doubt that firing JL cost us RA. The trade is that there are a few guys that we probably wouldn't have had that are, or might be, major contributors. I'll call that a wash.

-- I am in full support of Coach Ford, and I have to remind everyone that JL was 13-15, 6-12 in his third season. Even as late as the losses @MSU and @INSU in the Sweet 16 season, nobody knew how that campaign would end. Had we not made the dance, would JL have been around until 2011?

-- Both sides of this argument includes far too much drama. The fallout believers take it to the extreme and never let it die. The fallout haters sometimes want to make it personal and engage in endless arguments with the other side. There needn't be a chasm between us. We should all be able to have constructive conversations about these things without beating horses to death.

-- I am 100% pro-BU, no matter who the coach is, what players are on the floor, or how many people are in the seats. I happen to live outside Chicago, and I can't get to many games any more, as family and life obligations take priority. I also don't have the financial means to donate as much as others. That doesn't make me any less of a fan. That is one argument I'd like to see disappear.

-- I appreciate what Da Coach does on this site. The information is outstanding and the forum is excellent. If you don't recognize what we have here, go to forums of other valley schools, or much higher-profile schools. We simply have the best fans on one of the best forums in the nation. We don't always have to agree with each other, but for the sake of Bradley University and the Braves basketball team, let's look forward to a day when we will be back on top of the Valley and dominating the league like we used to. It has been a long time - but we will get there again. We are a proud program with a great tradition. Five years from now, we will all look back at this and be thankful that we built a strong, clean program that competes every season.

GO BRAVES

Joe

Excellent post Joe! Agreed with everything as well.

[BU30]

15 minutes tonight. 1-6 from the field - 1 assist - 1 turnover - game changer

[tornado]

not great numbers but good defense and helped his #1 ranked team to beat UNC convincingly

[Braves4Life]

It's hard to rip on a kid that can get playing time on a team as good as IU. He definitely looked liked he belonged at that level while in the game. His one basket was a three that sparked a big first half run. Once Crean found a team of guys that were playing UNBELIEVABLE he stuck with that hot hand and Abell played little (if any) after that.

[lefty]

Only because he had the potential to be a "franchise player" so to speak. And because we lost him after the coaching change.

yeah...I know why.....some want others to know what we are missing since the coaching change....so even when the stat line isn't good...he played a great floor game and great defense....like I said I hope he does good at IU......but I care more about how BU (and UofI) than i do recruits that were missed.

[Bravesfan]

yeah...I know why.....some want others to know what we are missing since the coaching change....so even when the stat line isn't good...he played a great floor game and great defense....like I said I hope he does good at IU......but I care more about how BU (and UofI) than i do recruits that were missed.

Well, nothing wrong with tracking all of our former recruits, players and coaches for those who are interested. I've seen threads here for just about everyone, not just Remy.

[DeltaBrave03]

I think the difference here DC is that the same people here on the message boards who wanted Les gone have changed their tune because Geno is only in his second year here. And I hope he proves to everyone that he can restore the program to greatness. But you can bet that if we suffer through another year or two like we did last season, these same people will turn on Geno pretty quickly! Again, I'm sure we all hope it doesn't come to that and he does well here.

Of course they've changed their tone bc GF is in his second year rebuilding a bad team. JL was in his 9th season and never finished better than 4th.

Why is it a bad thing to have expectations for a program and if those expectations aren't met, move on with a new coach. If GF hasn't produced results by year 4 I fully expect there to be rumblings about whether he's the right man for the job.

[wizard1]

Remy Abell

Gents---The poor horse is dead!! Let's stop kicking it, put our egos in our pocket, and move on.

[Bravesfan]

Of course they've changed their tone bc GF is in his second year rebuilding a bad team. JL was in his 9th season and never finished better than 4th.

Why is it a bad thing to have expectations for a program and if those expectations aren't met, move on with a new coach. If GF hasn't produced results by year 4 I fully expect there to be rumblings about whether he's the right man for the job.

Right. I totally agree with you on what we expect from Geno after 4 or so years on the job. I still disagree with the assessment of JL from a lot of people, but just wanted to clarify that most of us will expect results from Geno within the next couple of years.

[Bravesfan]

Gents---The poor horse is dead!! Let's stop kicking it, put our egos in our pocket, and move on.

Same here. Just responding to some posts that I did not agree with.

[Gary the Gargoyle]

Of course they've changed their tone bc GF is in his second year rebuilding a bad team. JL was in his 9th season and never finished better than 4th.

Why is it a bad thing to have expectations for a program and if those expectations aren't met, move on with a new coach. If GF hasn't produced results by year 4 I fully expect there to be rumblings about whether he's the right man for the job.

There were rumblings last year about whether or not Geno was the right guy for the job. People were questioning both his offensive and defensive philosophies and strategies.