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  • #31
    Originally posted by Da Coach View Post
    You are welcome to your different opinion, but that does not make you right and me wrong. Look at the records. We finished 10th for the first time in history. Last year, we were 9th. 10th is a step backward from 9th no matter how you look at it. We lost more games than any BU team in history, and have a worse record than any team in Bradley history. We have multiple records for margins of loss, and many more records for futility, losing at home to 300+ RPI teams, and others that I won't repeat. I am not making these facts up, they have all be documented by Dave Reynolds and Kirk Wessler.
    I don't see how anyone can say we didn't take a big step backward. It's obvious. Like you, I am optimistic we can turn things around. But finishing tied for 9th, with your 2 best players missing is not the same as finishing dead last, 3 games behind the 9th place team, and 7 games out of avoiding the Thursday games.
    My memory may not be as good as it once was but did we not play in the 10 -7 game last year also. If that was the case how did we finish 9TH?? Just a little confused maybe you can help me out . We were not very good last year and not very good this year. It was a different brand of basketball from last year and when we get Geno's players in here it may not be what we are use to. I will admit I'm not a great fan of 1 on 1 basketball but hopefully that will change when we have more options. The sooner the better.

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    • #32
      Originally posted by wily coyote View Post
      My memory may not be as good as it once was but did we not play in the 10 -7 game last year also. If that was the case how did we finish 9TH?? Just a little confused maybe you can help me out . We were not very good last year and not very good this year. It was a different brand of basketball from last year and when we get Geno's players in here it may not be what we are use to. I will admit I'm not a great fan of 1 on 1 basketball but hopefully that will change when we have more options. The sooner the better.
      The best example I can give is that this season 5 teams tied for 3rd place in the MVC. But one of those teams, Drake, got the 7th seed. But they did not finish 7th. Drake finished tied for third. It is the tiebreaker system that makes the seeds different from the place the teams finish.

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      • #33
        With all the talk about finishes and record, we should point out that you might want to throw out this year - for everybody. Only 2 teams finished with winning records. Only 2 teams finished with losing records. .500 could get you either the 3 seed or Thursday. 7 teams out of 10 can claim a top 3 finish this year.

        (by the way, could you imagine how the "fire Les" crowd would've reacted if Les was here and went 8-10 or worse in a year when 7 teams claimed a top-3 finish? or the excuses we would've heard if he did go 9-9 and had a top-3 finish but was forced to play on Thursday? Could you just imagine those arguments? )

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        • #34
          Originally posted by Da Coach View Post
          JD, you need to get a job working for Kirk!

          I like Geno and his enthusiasm, and I think he'll recruit well and get better. But as I predicted, this season was a giant step back from where we were last year.
          Yes, we made a big step backwards and lost a year that could have been a little above .500 at best instead of horrible, but maybe these hard knocks were necessary. I don't think Geno expected these kind of results - maybe so - who knows?

          But the play of DSE and JP have a lot to be desired and I don't think the coaching change had much to do with that - they just had really rough seasons and maybe degressed, which probably cost the Braves a few wins. I thought they'd step up and lead, but they really haven't.

          And of course, our lack of true PG may have led to that "step back". Geno's decision to stick it out with Walt may have cost the Braves in terms of record. Most of us fans thought he'd be better at the 2 and we should give DS more P.T. at the 1. But sticking with Walt may have been the best thing for the Braves, as you can really see his growth for most of the season. And believe it or not, he is establishing himself as a leader.

          I'm not gonna' sugar-coat the season - very disappointed even if I feel a bit better at the end of the season. We can only hope that we finish well in St. Louis to give this team some confidence heading into the off-season. Just because we finish well doesn't equate to a good start to NEXT season. That's Geno's job to keep that momentum and positive vibe, but also to implement major changes in the off-season and find a WINNING formula with the new guys.

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          • #35
            Originally posted by BradleyJD View Post
            We are still at the bottom of the Valley this season; So there is no change noticeable there. However, I would say this team has made a few great strides here at the end of the season. Most noticeable is the play of WL. Walt, is certainly a player on the rise. Despite playing out of position, his numbers and confidence has increased over the course of the season, and especially, in the past few weeks.....

            ... But, I do believe he has a good chance at turning Bradley around.
            JD - I will tell you one major noticeable difference for me. The home fans this year got to see precious few wins. Winning at home is absolutely necessary for a program to make advancements, and to keep the fans and donors active.

            Also, when the MVC prediction came out with Bradley at the bottom, the Bradley fans I spoke with thought this was preposterous. We underachieved even the most pessimistic predictions.

            I do agree Geno has a good chance to turn this around in coming years...but he hasn't helped us yet, let's be frank.
            Compete. Defend. Rebound. Win.

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            • #36
              I was busy this weekend so I had to wait until today to read a copy of the local rag for free. As usual this year, KW is a master of spin!

              The only part of Wessler's article that I agree with is that our defense is better than earlier in the year. Our rotations are much better..

              However, I found Wessler's choice of words here very unusual to defend his point.

              "After yielding an average of 79.4 points through the first 13 Missouri Valley games, Bradley has given up 60.8 over the past five. Teams this season have made 45.4 percent of their shots against the Braves, but not one of the last five MVC opponents has shot better than 42.6 percent, and ISU shot only 35.4 percent Saturday. Also, not one of those last five Valley rivals has scored more than 64 points.

              The last time Bradley held five consecutive MVC opponents to 65 or fewer points, Bill Clinton was president."


              First off, the stats for the first 13 MVC games are going to be inflated as those games included Wichita State, Creighton, and Evansville. As everyone knows, our last 5 games included Drake, Missouri State, UNI, ISU, and Loyola and three of the last five games were home games.
              Looking back at the last 5 games of each school we will find the following.

              Average points from the last 5 games of opponents last 5 games

              Drake- 66.2 points
              Missouri State- 61 points
              UNI- 67.4 points
              ISU- 65.6 points
              Loyola- 62.8 points

              The other curious factor is that Wessler mentions field goal percentage the teams we played for the last five games. Again, the 42.6% --even if it is the highest percentage in the last 5 games-- he mentions is relatively close to the yearly percentages of those teams.

              Yearly averages
              Drake- 44.4%
              Missouri State- 43.6%
              UNI- 43.8%
              ISU- 44.1%
              Loyola 41.9%


              So yes the numbers for the last 5 games are lower, and I will attribute some of this to an improving defense, but the quality of the opposition during those last 5 games can not be overlooked when a statement like this is made.
              Bradley 72 - Illini 68 Final

              ???It??™s awful hard,??™??™ said Illini freshman guard D.J. Richardson, the former Central High School guard who played prep school ball a few miles from here and fought back tears outside the locker room. ???It??™s a hometown thing. It??™s bragging rights.??™

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              • #37
                Some good and fair points by many here; however, I still believe many people can't see the forest for the trees.

                This was never going to be about one year. This was about establishing the change and setting a new direction for Bradley basketball. This was about the long range view of what Bradley basketball could become.

                This year might have been very ugly, but at least, the new direction is now underway. We can now look to build for the future.

                Did Bradley sacrifice what could have been a 15 or 16 win season? They may very well have. But they did so in order to build for the possibility of a much brighter future. They took a risk, no doubt. But, I believe they did so to encourage future growth.
                When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

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                • #38
                  Originally posted by BradleyJD View Post
                  Some good and fair points by many here; however, I still believe many people can't see the forest for the trees.

                  This was never going to be about one year. This was about establishing the change and setting a new direction for Bradley basketball. This was about the long range view of what Bradley basketball could become.

                  This year might have been very ugly, but at least, the new direction is now underway. We can now look to build for the future.

                  Did Bradley sacrifice what could have been a 15 or 16 win season? They may very well have. But they did so in order to build for the possibility of a much brighter future. They took a risk, no doubt. But, I believe they did so to encourage future growth.
                  It's a tough business and nobody wants to see us succeed any more than I do - I have been following BU basketball 45 years and season tix well over 30 years..
                  BUT it's harder and harder for the small, non-BCS schools to land better players, so I guess only time will tell if that's going to happen...
                  Basketball is Bradley's most visible sport - but if we view the others where changes have been made - would you say the same thing??
                  That the change had to be made because ultimately BU was going to get better down the road?
                  If so then which sport over the past 5 years were changes made that resulted in a better, overall stronger program?

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                  • #39
                    Originally posted by tornado View Post
                    It's a tough business and nobody wants to see us succeed any more than I do - I have been following BU basketball 45 years and season tix well over 30 years..
                    BUT it's harder and harder for the small, non-BCS schools to land better players, so I guess only time will tell if that's going to happen...
                    Basketball is Bradley's most visible sport - but if we view the others where changes have been made - would you say the same thing??
                    That the change had to be made because ultimately BU was going to get better down the road?
                    If so then which sport over the past 5 years were changes made that resulted in a better, overall stronger program?
                    30 years? Man, you are old J/k

                    I can't speak for the other sports at BU for 2 reasons. One, I don't follow them as much since I graduated. Two, I honestly do not believe BU holds any other sport to a level even remotely close to that of men's basketball.
                    When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

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                    • #40
                      One other factor that is curious about KW's article. While he mentioned our last 5 MVC games, and I admit that I forgot to include Indiana State in my last post, he omitted the Loyola game for his analysis of the Braves at the end of the season. While it is true that the best shooting percentage against us for the last five MVC games was UNI at 42.6%, Loyola shot 46.2% from the field.
                      Bradley 72 - Illini 68 Final

                      ???It??™s awful hard,??™??™ said Illini freshman guard D.J. Richardson, the former Central High School guard who played prep school ball a few miles from here and fought back tears outside the locker room. ???It??™s a hometown thing. It??™s bragging rights.??™

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Originally posted by Da Coach View Post
                        The best example I can give is that this season 5 teams tied for 3rd place in the MVC. But one of those teams, Drake, got the 7th seed. But they did not finish 7th. Drake finished tied for third. It is the tiebreaker system that makes the seeds different from the place the teams finish.
                        Thank you! I didn't realize this was so hard to understand.

                        Now.....someone please go tell this Drake team they did not finish tied for 3rd, but they in fact finished 7th! I wonder what there response will be.
                        ???People say, ???Forget last year', but I want our guys to remember that one, because that will not happen again. We will be much better.??? Geno Ford, 9/22/12

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                        • #42
                          Originally posted by LittleBrave View Post
                          But the play of DSE and JP have a lot to be desired and I don't think the coaching change had much to do with that - they just had really rough seasons and maybe degressed, which probably cost the Braves a few wins. I thought they'd step up and lead, but they really haven't.
                          Aren't these two of the guys that Geno recruited? I keep hearing how good Geno's players are going to be and I do believe JC will be a good player. I have not been impressed with SS and don't even know what to say about DH. Hopefully, the two players that are signed to play next year are good players at this level.
                          ???People say, ???Forget last year', but I want our guys to remember that one, because that will not happen again. We will be much better.??? Geno Ford, 9/22/12

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Originally posted by shaunguth View Post
                            Aren't these two of the guys that Geno recruited? I keep hearing how good Geno's players are going to be and I do believe JC will be a good player. I have not been impressed with SS and don't even know what to say about DH. Hopefully, the two players that are signed to play next year are good players at this level.
                            I'm not making excuses for Geno and recruiting but as you all know it's always somewhat of a crapshoot....and it takes some time to see how it will all work together. Much of the time you are recruiting guys for 2-3 years....

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                            • #44
                              Originally posted by TheAsianSensation View Post
                              With all the talk about finishes and record, we should point out that you might want to throw out this year - for everybody. Only 2 teams finished with winning records. Only 2 teams finished with losing records. .500 could get you either the 3 seed or Thursday. 7 teams out of 10 can claim a top 3 finish this year.

                              (by the way, could you imagine how the "fire Les" crowd would've reacted if Les was here and went 8-10 or worse in a year when 7 teams claimed a top-3 finish? or the excuses we would've heard if he did go 9-9 and had a top-3 finish but was forced to play on Thursday? Could you just imagine those arguments? )
                              I was thinking the same thing! If Les stuck around this year and we finished 9-9 and tied for third, or even in third alone, there would be quite a lot of spin from the same people who thought that would be a good enough finish to keep him around longer.

                              That's why the 11-7 team from 2006 that tied for 5th was a much better accomplishment than finishing 9-9 and third this year would have been.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Originally posted by shaunguth View Post
                                Thank you! I didn't realize this was so hard to understand.

                                Now.....someone please go tell this Drake team they did not finish tied for 3rd, but they in fact finished 7th! I wonder what there response will be.
                                Let's be honest, unless you finish first (which guarantees the NIT bid), what place you finish in is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is your seed, and Drake parlayed their third place tie into a Thursday night play-in game as the 7 seed.

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