Recruiting?

[ph]

Let me also mention one factor related to recruiting. There have been some who have said that Bradley is not at any disadvantage academically with recruiting. But Geno may be learning what Jim Les and Jim Molinari also found out, that Bradley does have this disadvantage.
Bradley does not have a Physical Education curriculum. Most state schools, and some private schools do. Especially with recruiting junior college kids, some of the better kids have a number of their credit hours in their junior college's physical education curriculum since it is sometimes easier to maintain passing grades in PE (no offense to you PE majors). Since those credits are not accepted at Bradley, by the time those credits are subtracted from their total credits, they do not have enough credits to be admitted at Bradley. I know of one highly rated juco kid that Jim Les got a verbal commitment from a couple years ago, but when his transcript was examined, he was not admissable to Bradley. He ended up at South Alabama.

That's somewhat interesting about credits. When I went to ICC, there was a rule of thumb that if you were not going to a school with an established credit transfer (ICC to BU, ISU, UIUC.. was already established) then you want an associates degree because the associates essentially results in all credits transferring.
Due to NCAA rules in the past few years, it sounds like jucos must now get their associates . I would think any juco transfer with an associates would have at least 60 credits at Bradley (But I guess a major does need a certain number of specific credits so it makes a change in major more difficult when you consider graduation)

[bradleybraves1]

There are other standards that are considered for admitting student athletes that vary a lot from school to school. I won't mention specific instances, but I know of a very good point guard that our current coaches wanted, but were not able to get admitted.

That was more of a character issue than academic. Bradley cannot afford to bring in anyone of questionable character at this critical juncture of the turnaround process. We saw what happened when Les reached with guys like Williams, Fears, Byucks... Our program is still trying to recover from that fiasco.

[Da Coach]

I am not an expert, but I would guess that not all associates degrees are the same. This example I am aware of, the player did get his associates degree, but not all of the credits that were accumulated at the Kansas juco were transferrable to Bradley. They were transferrable to other schools, because he had no problem enrolling at University of South Alabama.

[Da Coach]

That was more of a character issue than academic. Bradley cannot afford to bring in anyone of questionable character at this critical juncture of the turnaround process. We saw what happened when Les reached with guys like Williams, Fears, Byucks... Our program is still trying to recover from that fiasco.

That was my point. Each school may have their own standards that they impose on coaches recruiting players with certain issues. They are not always academic issues.

[Beninator]

That was more of a character issue than academic. Bradley cannot afford to bring in anyone of questionable character at this critical juncture of the turnaround process. We saw what happened when Les reached with guys like Williams, Fears, Byucks... Our program is still trying to recover from that fiasco.

I have no problem with BU or any mid-major for that matter reaching out to someone whom has had character issues in the past. That is as long as those issues were not very egregious and the person has shown some signs that they have improved. If the situation is right, I have no problem using one scholarship as a gamble that could have the potential of a big payoff to the program as far as talent is concerned. That gamble scholarship would have to come with the understanding of a zero tolerance policy as well. IMHO, JL reached out to too many of these guys during a short time frame which led to us doing some patchwork recruiting.

[Da Coach]

That was more of a character issue than academic. Bradley cannot afford to bring in anyone of questionable character at this critical juncture of the turnaround process. We saw what happened when Les reached with guys like Williams, Fears, Byucks... Our program is still trying to recover from that fiasco.

I disagree. those guys you mentioned did not hurt Bradley significantly at all. 2 of them, DeAaron Williams and Dwight Buycks, were never even admitted and never spent a day at Bradley, and their problems were never character issues at all. Fears left before he was ever eligible to play, and although he might have had some character issues if he had stayed, there was never any significant character issues that hurt Bradley in any way.
Although I agree that Bradley doesn't need character issues now, I think it is totally wrong to bring up Jim Les, which too many people always find convenient whether it applies or not. Jim Les no more character issues than any school in the MVC, and they were minor compared to many of the other schools. And none of those names were significant character issues, either.

[BuB]

That's somewhat interesting about credits. When I went to ICC, there was a rule of thumb that if you were not going to a school with an established credit transfer (ICC to BU, ISU, UIUC.. was already established) then you want an associates degree because the associates essentially results in all credits transferring.
Due to NCAA rules in the past few years, it sounds like jucos must now get their associates . I would think any juco transfer with an associates would have at least 60 credits at Bradley (But I guess a major does need a certain number of specific credits so it makes a change in major more difficult when you consider graduation)

Correct. NCAA rules have changed. Juco transfers must now meet new guidelines. Not only does the transfer have to meet the new schools requirements they must also meet NCAA requirements. On a two year transfer I think a minimum of 48 (out of 64 hours when you have an Associates) hours must be accepted AND 40% of those hours must go towards your declared major at your new school. 60% must go toward your major if you transfered after going to school the previous 3 years. If you are a non qualifer out of high school then you must have your associates to continue on at D1.

I have pointed this out here in the past. Not having a PE major does limit Bradley in recruiting certain players. If a potential recruit has declared PE as his major at a Juco, and has taken a lot of courses towards that degree, Bradley will not accept those hours. Well, they could accept him as a student (paying his own way) and make him change his major, but he would be immediately ineligible as an athlete until he caught up and met the 40-60% requirement.

[Beninator]

I disagree. those guys you mentioned did not hurt Bradley significantly at all. 2 of them, DeAaron Williams and Dwight Buycks, were never even admitted and never spent a day at Bradley, and their problems were never character issues at all. Fears left before he was ever eligible to play, and although he might have had some character issues if he had stayed, there was never any significant character issues that hurt Bradley in any way.
Although I agree that Bradley doesn't need character issues now, I think it is totally wrong to bring up Jim Les, which too many people always find convenient whether it applies or not. Jim Les no more character issues than any school in the MVC, and they were minor compared to many of the other schools. And none of those names were significant character issues, either.

They didn't hurt Bradley from a character standpoint, but they did occupy a scholarship slot that could have been used for another person. Again, I am not against a coach using a gamble scholarship, just think JL got in a situation in which he used too many at the same time or within a short time frame.

[78Brave]

I disagree. those guys you mentioned did not hurt Bradley significantly at all. 2 of them, DeAaron Williams and Dwight Buycks, were never even admitted and never spent a day at Bradley, and their problems were never character issues at all. Fears left before he was ever eligible to play, and although he might have had some character issues if he had stayed, there was never any significant character issues that hurt Bradley in any way.
Although I agree that Bradley doesn't need character issues now, I think it is totally wrong to bring up Jim Les, which too many people always find convenient whether it applies or not. Jim Les no more character issues than any school in the MVC, and they were minor compared to many of the other schools. And none of those names were significant character issues, either.

I probably disagree with Da Coach on some things about Jim Les but on this I agree with him. JL recruited good kids and when there was a problem he dealt with it. This may anger some people but Bradley players have had fewer and less serious behavior issues over the years than many Division I programs and there is nothing wrong with saying it. I would think all Bradley fans would be proud of that.

[Beninator]

I probably disagree with Da Coach on some things about Jim Les but on this I agree with him. JL recruited good kids and when there was a problem he dealt with it. This may anger some people but Bradley players have had fewer and less serious behavior issues over the years than many Division I programs and there is nothing wrong with saying it. I would think all Bradley fans would be proud of that.

+1

[SFP]

+1

+ another 1

Players graduated and for the most part they have been model citizens. The ones that have crossed the line have been dealt with fairly for the most part.

[bradleybraves1]

...JL recruited good kids and when there was a problem he dealt with it. This may anger some people but Bradley players have had fewer and less serious behavior issues over the years than many Division I programs and there is nothing wrong with saying it. I would think all Bradley fans would be proud of that.

Sorry. It was not my intent to disparage Jim Les. I agree that Jim had good kids while at Bradley. What I meant was that those three kids were certainly not stellar characters with regards to the type of kid Les usually recruited... And I think it came back to bite him in the behind. I'm of the opinion that losing those three kids from that class set BU back in a major way that caused Les' final 3-year slide and contributed to the lack of depth that made it impossible to overcome injury... And Jim, ultimately, paid the ultimate price for this mistake.

[78Brave]

No reason to apologize. I think Jim Les did some good things at Bradley - raising money, bringing increased enthusiasm and loyalty, graduating players who didn't get in much trouble. I just don't agree there were major character issues. Actually I think that was one of the strongest points in his favor. Ultimately though he just didn't win enough games in my opinion. The reasons for that are the subject of some dispute and I think reasonable people can disagree.

[SFP]

No reason to apologize. I think Jim Les did some good things at Bradley - raising money, bringing increased enthusiasm and loyalty, graduating players who didn't get in much trouble. I just don't agree there were major character issues. Actually I think that was one of the strongest points in his favor. Ultimately though he just didn't win enough games in my opinion. The reasons for that are the subject of some dispute and I think reasonable people can disagree.

Same can be said for Coach Mo. One thing we have had at BU have been coaches beyond reproach when it comes to role models IMO.

Now back to the recruits! In all honesty I put a little flame to this thread to see who would bite. I'm so far out of our inside recruiting news I just wanted to glean a little knowledge and as always I did learn a few things from this thread. So thanks!

[PeoriaLou]

It's my guess there will be 2 to 3, and possibly more additional recruits this spring, and they will be high quality kids who will contribute immediately. There have been recruits at each of the last couple games, and others who have visited the campus and facilities when there wasn't a game to attend. In some cases, the coaches are open about the recruits we are pursuing, but for now they are preferring to be candid and secretive until the scholarship situation is resolved.

If a few spots open up, I'd like to see a big man and Buovac. If a third scholly is available, I'd love to have Brzoja. That may be a longshot, but we could almost guarantee him immediate playing time. Along with Bell and Pickett, thus would be a huge recruiting class for Geno.