BU 44-Loyola 56

[Bravesfan]

Bravesfan, I can see how you got confused by my post. I should not have said until Everyone was gone because that infers each and everyone. What I should have said was until all of Jims recruits are gone. I think Wells, Crawford and maybe SS will be useable. I think we are going to like Wells and Crawford in the near future and if SS is as good as they say he is. Thats 3 pretty good ones to build on. Hopefully Geno can get us back to where we expect to be but it's going to take at least 3 to 4 years. WE just need to be patient

Okay, understood. I hope you are right, and I agree these three have some very good potential. But I still believe players like JP, WL, and DSE have some value too. They can help bridge the gap until this team turns around.

[Boiler]

Regardless, I would trust Coach Les' judgement too, as he had a pretty good eye for talent.

lol

[Bravesfan]

lol

Well, what can I say. Not saying you are one of these people Boiler, but too many fans aimlessly call for a coach's firing based only on wins and losses while failing to look more closely into the circumstances of how seasons play out. And it's a real shame that so many people wanted Les out without realizing how devasting the injuries were that he had to deal with.

I'm not saying that Les would automatically get that top 3 finish if he stayed here, and I'm not saying he would have a winning record this year. I'm just saying he was and is a better coach then many are making him out to be, and we would be in better shape if he stayed here another year or two. AGAIN, this is NOT a knock on Geno. I think he is capable of doing as well, if not better than Les, and I am hoping this year was more of a fluke than anything else. But I also feel Les was more than capable of getting this program back on track within the next year or two as well had he stayed.

And before anyone accuses me of bringing Les up all the time, I'm not. I'm just responding to posts like this that continue to tarnish what he accomplished here and I am just trying to defend his time here. Otherwise, yes, I would like spend less time talking about the past and continue to concentrate on the current coaching staff.

[jasonpeoria911]

Reference some posts on if Geno can be successful, I have seen a few posts that Geno inherited a good group of players at Kent State and was the reason why he was successful. I havn't been able to prove that but here are the records...

-2 seasons before Geno at Kent State...

2006 season = 21-11
2007 season = 28-7

-3 seasons of Geno as head coach at Kent State...

2008 season = 19-15
2009 season = 24-10
2010 season = 25-12

So as you can see, Geno inherited a very good team or at least part of it depending on if players left. He managed to keep the team strong but only time will tell if he can actually improve a mediocre team.

In 2006 & 2007 he coached Muskingum and went 17-9 then 12-13
In 2002 he coached Shawnee State to 22-10.

This is uncharted territory for him, always been around 500 or way above it, not way way way below it LOL.

Jason

[jasonpeoria911]

Forgot to add, that even with a new coach, Kent State is still 19-7 this season, might finish better than last season without Geno.

Jason

[tornado]

Senderoff inherited quite a good team himself - and they were picked overwhelmingly to win the MAC - so they aren't doing any better than expected - in fact, a few KSU fans kinda are disappointed they haven't played better on the road in the MAC.

..and they aren't doing badly - they are 9-3 but are a couple games behind Akron (11-1)..but they just lost their BracketBuster to 114 RPI College of Charleston, and their RPI is 97 and their strength of schedule this year is terrible (190) so they'd better win their tourney or they might not even see the NIT.

[tornado]

Rick malnati

Hey -- one of Bradley's old timers is now a special assistant to Loyola's head coach Porter Moser - and although the position supposedly ...
"..will not allow him any on-court coaching.."
..it sure appeared Rick Malnati was often involved in the on-court coaching Saturday night --

http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/malnati_rick00.html

but he's also getting national credit for his invention - the heart-shaped deep-dish pizza - an item that sells well on Valentine's Day!

"Rick Malnati, Chicago family-run pizzeria founder Lou Malnati‘s son, came up
with the idea 22 years ago to create heart-shaped pizzas. The Valentine’s Day
tradition made February 14th the second-busiest event behind the holiday
season for Lou Malnatis..."

http://jasonkaczorowski.net/valentizer-day/celebrate-valentizers-day-2012/

"The traditional deep-dish pizzas at Lou Malnati’s, a family-run pizzeria chain
in Chicago, already sell well on any given day.
But weeks before Valentine’s Day, their heart-shaped pizza becomes the
favorite with Chicagoans and consumers nationwide.
..She credits Rick Malnati, the founder’s son, with coming up with the idea 22
years ago.
Rick, a basketball coach at Loyola University, thought it would be clever to
create a heart-shaped pizza and initially tried to make it with a cookie cutter,
said Eck.

Now, 22 years later, Lou Malnati’s heart-shaped pizza has a loyal following in
Chicago and nationwide."

http://businessnewsweblog.com/heart-shaped-pizzas-hot-for-valentines-day/

[molar50]

Malnatti

My wife and I sit a few rows behind the visitors bench. She reconized Rick and he did give some imput to Porter. It did not matter because Bradley was playing so poorly. Some fans near me kept yelling for Porter to tuck his shirt tail in his pants. After the final buzzer, I yelled to Rick "It is pizza time". He smiled. We have to have some entertainment this year.

[tornado]

should be a rules violation -- maybe we can still get a "W" on a technicality and forfeit..

[Beninator]

should be a rules violation -- maybe we can still get a "W" on a technicality and forfeit..

Don't really care. We lost to a sub 300 rpi team at home.

[JMM28]

This article says Averkamp picked Loyola over 2 other offers (Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee)-

http://hswisconsin.scout.com/2/812361.html

Sorry if it is a premium article, but here is a clip that includes quotes from Averkamp himself-
The 6-foot-8-inch, 220-pound starting center at Germantown High School began laying the groundwork for that career when he followed up on a verbal commitment he made in June, inking his letter of intent to play hoops at Loyola University Chicago during this week??™s early signing period.
Averkamp also contemplated offers from UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, but he chose Jim Whitesell??™s Ramblers, also a member of the NCAA Division I Horizon League.
???I lined them up and visited all three right in a row so I could compare everything at the same time, and I was comfortable with the campus and enjoyed the city,??? Averkamp said. ???It??™s about two hours from here, so it??™s far enough away that I??™m on my own and close enough that my family can come down for games. And it??™s got good academics.???

So I am not convinced that Majerus legitimately offered him.
Regardless, I would trust Coach Les' judgement too, as he had a pretty good eye for talent. And by the way, virtually every recruiting service had Jordan Prosser rated significantly higher than Averkamp. I agree though, that Averkamp has developed into a pretty good player, but I don't see him playing as much in a system like Geno's.

The mutual interest from SLU and Averkamp faded for two reasons. Biancardi was the primary recruiter early, and the Bills signed Cory Remekun and were about to land Cody Ellis from Australia to an already crowded front court.

I will disagree about Jim Les being anywhere near Rick Majerus in terms of judging talent, and especially big men.

I will agree that no doubt at the time Prosser was the better of the recruits. I am guessing by the schools in his top 3 (and his comments) that he wanted to stay very close to home, so saying he would have been a better get than anyone else would be a moot point.

I will also agree I don't think Averkamp fits the Geno system.

But back to the point of the matter that he is one of a few players on Loyola that would play for BU.

[Big Mike]

Chicago Tribune: Averkamp named Horizon player of the week...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-loyolas-averkamp-named-horizon-player-of-the-week-20120220,0,5746939.story

[tornado]

reading the full release

http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/loyolas-averkamp-earns-mens-basketball-player-of-the-week.html

..lends one to think it was a pretty slow week overall in the Horizon - but then does it surprise anyone that again playing Bradley gave someone another career night...it's been happening all season

[wily coyote]

Chicago Tribune: Averkamp named Horizon player of the week...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,5746939.story

I wonder if he is good enough to play for us? Ya think

[amckillip]

I have attended all home games this year except for the Drake game. I expected this team to finish last in the Valley, but I expected some improvement during the season. I am most disappointed in the lack of progress of this team.

I don't post much anymore because I have grown tired of being told I have an agenda etc. But I just have to echo this entirely. If anything this team has digressed. I don't know if there is a single thing I could say we do better now than we did on Nov. 1. I have seen my last BU game for the season as I'll be out of the country for the remainder and I can honestly say, I'm almost glad to not have to try to enjoy them when we are this bad.