2012-2013 Bradley schedule

[tornado]

get Virginia Tech or Colorado State to come to Peoria..it's only March - I know scheduling is difficult but
there's still lots of time before giving up and taking two teams whose RPI's are way up there

I am simply calling it as it is - landing Georgia Southern is not a coup....
they'd have come to BU ten times a year if that's who we want to bring in...

[JMM28]

get Virginia Tech or Colorado State to come to Peoria..it's only March - I know scheduling is difficult but
there's still lots of time before giving up and taking two teams whose RPI's are way up there

Ahh yes. It is really that simple. Just call them and tell them they are coming to Peoria.

These types of tournaments always feature low RPI "first round" games. We've played in them the past 10 years. Not sure what the big surprise is. This isn't nearly as bad as the Massachusetts tourney a few years ago.

[spoon]

get Virginia Tech or Colorado State to come to Peoria..it's only March - I know scheduling is difficult but
there's still lots of time before giving up and taking two teams whose RPI's are way up there

I am simply calling it as it is - landing Georgia Southern is not a coup....
they'd have come to BU ten times a year if that's who we want to bring in...

If it was that easy they'd do it. The schedule isn't going to be very good, but it won't be absolutely dreadful either. There aren't many tournaments clamoring for a 7-25 team to come in and play, we're lucky to get the opportunity, because we won't be getting any Virginia Techs or Colorado States to just come to Peoria to play us. You also can't substitute a potential game against Colorado State with our MWC game. We wouldn't have gotten a team anywhere near the caliber of Colorado State, we'd have gotten Boise State or Air Force.

[tornado]

Ahh yes. ... We've played in them the past 10 years...

but here's the difference - we have zero assurance of playing any BCS or major conference team -- last year we had 100% assurance of such ...
Now, maybe you see no difference there - but I'll bet you are in the minority...

I'll happily play a Presbyterian for a shot at Illinois or Wisconsin...but play Georgia Southern for a shot at Colorado State....ahem...just a little different


One last thought - and correct me where I might be wrong, here...
BU spent $2.5-$3 million over and above what was already being spent on operational and athletic Dept. costs....all in
just the past year and are still on the hook for a couple million more...presumably for a program upgrade that some fans had clammored for.
OK -- money spent - and I am now waiting and hoping to see evidence of that program upgrade - nobody WANTS TO SEE THAT EVIDENCE ANY MORE THAN I DO -
..be it Wins & Losses, be it recruiting successes, be it scheduling, or be it increased attendance, or whatever...but I sure am not going to get giddy over Georgia Southern -- I am going to wait until there IS legitimate evidence of UPGRADE...this is what everyone wanted - so let's stop being giddy over 7 wins, whiffing on recruits, and luring a Georgia Southern, please.

Honestly - if certain people who seem giddy about this and recent recruiting news would have been this exceptionally easy to please then where were their positive comments when BU was going to the Sweet 16, winning 20+ games every year, and landing solid 3-Star recruits?
I think the hypocrisy on the part of some fans is overwhelming...but hey - I thought the same thing when they ran Mo out and all his players turned out to be good players and he has shown himself to be a fine coach...

[spoon]

but here's the difference - we have zero assurance of playing any BCS or major conference team -- last year we had 100% assurance of such ...
Now, maybe you see no difference there - but I'll bet you are in the minority...

I'll happily play a Presbyterian for a shot at Illinois or Wisconsin...but play Georgia Southern for a shot at Colorado State....ahem...just a little different

We're coming off a year where we went 7-25. Tournament organizers want to have a field of teams that will at least be competitive and have an interested fanbase. That's why we're in a tournament with this set of teams. There's really no further explanation. We aren't in a tournament against guaranteed BCS teams because we don't deserve to be in a tournament against guaranteed BCS teams. And I'd rather watch us play Illinois than Colorado State purely for rivalry purposes, but if you're suggesting Illinois is going to be a better team next year than Colorado State, then I'm afraid you might be wrong.

[spoon]

One last thought - and correct me where I might be wrong, here...
BU spent $2.5-$3 million over and above what was already being spent on operational and athletic Dept. costs....all in
just the past year and are still on the hook for a couple million more...presumably for a program upgrade that some fans had clammored for.
OK -- money spent - and I am now waiting and hoping to see evidence of that program upgrade - nobody WANTS TO SEE THAT EVIDENCE ANY MORE THAN I DO -
..be it Wins & Losses, be it recruiting successes, be it scheduling, or be it increased attendance, or whatever...but I sure am not going to get giddy over Georgia Southern -- I am going to wait until there IS legitimate evidence of UPGRADE...this is what everyone wanted - so let's stop being giddy over 7 wins, whiffing on recruits, and luring a Georgia Southern, please.

Honestly - if certain people who seem giddy about this and recent recruiting news would have been this exceptionally easy to please then where were their positive comments when BU was going to the Sweet 16, winning 20+ games every year, and landing solid 3-Star recruits?
I think the hypocrisy on the part of some fans is overwhelming...but hey - I thought the same thing when they ran Mo out and all his players turned out to be good players and he has shown himself to be a fine coach...

Show me one example of anyone saying they are "giddy over Georgia Southern"... Seriously, show me. You can't because it's something you manufactured yourself.

Also, I haven't spoken to one person who was happy with last season. Did a lot of people want a coaching change? Yes. Did a lot of people want 7 wins overall last season? No. But when you make a major change to a program, that's sometimes what comes with it. Initial failure before being able to gain some traction and progress forward. Most rational people realize that and when a program is left in poor condition, progress won't happen overnight. Especially when a coach with an entirely different mindset and scheme is hired and has to play with players who don't ideally fit the blueprints.

But let me ask you this... You say people are getting giddy over recent recruits. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. I certainly don't see a lot of people claiming these recruits will be our saviors or anything. But what's wrong with members of a fanbase getting excited and feeling positive about recruits? Isn't that what you want your fans to do???

And as far as I'm concerned, the entire BU fanbase had nothing but positive things to say during their Sweet 16 run, it's the 4 years of consistent regression afterwards when people began voicing their concerns and discontent.

[Chico]

With the team's record last season, they're lucky they're not playing the first 2 games of the tournament on the road.

[Da Coach]

And as far as I'm concerned, the entire BU fanbase had nothing but positive things to say during their Sweet 16 run, it's the 4 years of consistent regression afterwards when people began voicing their concerns and discontent.

That is not how I recall it. I remember after a loss at Indiana State on February 8, 2006, during Bradley's run to the Sweet 16, there was a thread started on another bulletin board suggesting Bradley should fire Jim Les immediately and asking who we should hire for our next coach.
Why is it so hard for some to simply admit that there have always been those who hated Jim Les and didn't want him as the coach?

[TheAsianSensation]

Anyone who thinks this tournament is A level or B level is nuts.

But it is a mid-level MWC and ACC team on a neutral. This is C level. I'm not thrilled, but let's not also act like it's the end of the world.

The dirty secret of Les' scheduling reign is they were overrated a bit. I'm actually guilty of this. Retrospectively speaking, his peak schedules weren't quite the peak we thought they were at the time. I trust Geno and friends will put a quality schedule together, although we need to have a word about that SWAC team in there.

Again, C level tournament. Not good, but not catastrophic.

[TheAsianSensation]

Back to the schedule...with so many home games, I'd look to start a 1-for-1 with a BCS, maybe 2-for-1 if we have to, or 1-for-1 with a quality upper-major. And we can start on the road then to make it work. Let's see if they pursue it.

[tornado]

We're coming off a year where we went 7-25. Tournament organizers want to have a field of teams that will at least be competitive and have an interested fanbase. That's why we're in a tournament with this set of teams. There's really no further explanation. We aren't in a tournament against guaranteed BCS teams because we don't deserve to be in a tournament against guaranteed BCS teams. And I'd rather watch us play Illinois than Colorado State purely for rivalry purposes, but if you're suggesting Illinois is going to be a better team next year than Colorado State, then I'm afraid you might be wrong.

then you and I disagree -- and here's my take on it...
many if not most of these tournaments not only have to beg, beg, beg to get any teams - they're ALL having trouble getting anyone better than the lowest level of low-majors wanting to play in them...
...many of these tourneys fold year after year because they can't get anyone above the Georgia Southern level...

And the ones that have some of the top BCS teams are also hopeful of getting a few opponents for those BCS guys to whip up on - so I suspect if these tourneys have to dip all the way down to taking teams like Lubbock Christian - (or Bethune-Ciookman, Texas A&M-Corpus Chrisit, and Kennesaw State as were in the 2011 Las Vegas Classic) that they'd take Bradley any time, any where.

[Bravesfan]

but here's the difference - we have zero assurance of playing any BCS or major conference team -- last year we had 100% assurance of such ...
Now, maybe you see no difference there - but I'll bet you are in the minority...

I'll happily play a Presbyterian for a shot at Illinois or Wisconsin...but play Georgia Southern for a shot at Colorado State....ahem...just a little different


One last thought - and correct me where I might be wrong, here...
BU spent $2.5-$3 million over and above what was already being spent on operational and athletic Dept. costs....all in
just the past year and are still on the hook for a couple million more...presumably for a program upgrade that some fans had clammored for.
OK -- money spent - and I am now waiting and hoping to see evidence of that program upgrade - nobody WANTS TO SEE THAT EVIDENCE ANY MORE THAN I DO -
..be it Wins & Losses, be it recruiting successes, be it scheduling, or be it increased attendance, or whatever...but I sure am not going to get giddy over Georgia Southern -- I am going to wait until there IS legitimate evidence of UPGRADE...this is what everyone wanted - so let's stop being giddy over 7 wins, whiffing on recruits, and luring a Georgia Southern, please.

Honestly - if certain people who seem giddy about this and recent recruiting news would have been this exceptionally easy to please then where were their positive comments when BU was going to the Sweet 16, winning 20+ games every year, and landing solid 3-Star recruits?
I think the hypocrisy on the part of some fans is overwhelming...but hey - I thought the same thing when they ran Mo out and all his players turned out to be good players and he has shown himself to be a fine coach...

Well actually we are guaranteed a BCS or high mid-major team with this tournament. We play 2 games against either Colorado State, Virignia Tech and/or Portland. Hopefully we avoid Portland, but we at least get a shot at CSU or VTU. And I'd take CSU over Illinois, at least next year. CSU was a mid level MWC team this past year, but in a conference that ranked ahead of two BCS conferences and sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament. That they all underachieved in the tournament is irrelevant. They were rewarded on how well they did in the regular season. CSU beat all three ranked MWC teams at least once, albeit at home and one on a neutral site. But they were all great wins nonetheless, even overcoming a pretty weak non-conference schedule, and the committee rewarded them with an at-large bid, albeit with an 11 seed which is probably what they deserved. Now with most of their players coming back next year in a somewhat revamped MWC, they should be favored for at least a top 3 finish and another NCAA Tournament bid.

VTU admittedly will probably not help us. But at this stage, who cares. Using Georgia Southern as an example, let's just start by beating the Georgia Southerns of the world consistently at home, something we could not do this past year as demonstrated by horrible home losses against the likes of Loyola and SIU! Then we can worry more about beefing up our schedule a year or so down the line. Between Michigan coming to town next year and the Vegas tournament, and hopefully one or two more decent mid-majors added to the schedule, Bradley will have plenty of challanging games for experience sake. But they will also have plenty of easier opponents that they can use to build confidence.

Now maybe I'm wrong, but regarding negotiating which teams from an exempt tournament can play us at home, do all the participating teams have the option to request certain teams to play on their home courts, or do they have to take what they get? In other words, did Bradley actually have an option to request Colorado St. or Virginia Tech to play here in exchange for Georgia Southern or Mississippi Valley State, or do we have to play them to play the better teams on a neutral court? I thought that's always the way these tournaments work. Besides, it's a better test to play the better teams on a neutral site, even at the expense of a good home opponent, though I agree we need some more 1 for 1 or even 2 for 1 tourneys to get the better teams here more often.

[Bravesfan]

Anyone who thinks this tournament is A level or B level is nuts.

But it is a mid-level MWC and ACC team on a neutral. This is C level. I'm not thrilled, but let's not also act like it's the end of the world.

The dirty secret of Les' scheduling reign is they were overrated a bit. I'm actually guilty of this. Retrospectively speaking, his peak schedules weren't quite the peak we thought they were at the time. I trust Geno and friends will put a quality schedule together, although we need to have a word about that SWAC team in there.

Again, C level tournament. Not good, but not catastrophic.

I think Colorado St. will be better than a mid-level MWC team next year with most of their starters coming back. Plus, they were a "mid-level" MWC team that were better than about at least a quarter of the BCS teams that were in the NCAA Tournament. They will be a very strong opponent for us next year.

Virginia Tech is, well Virginia Tech. And Seth Greenberg is still their coach. Enough said!

[ancona flash]

If there ever was a year to have some cushion in the Non-Con schedule this is it. And I don't think it's that bad. You get Michigan and GW at home for good tests, Colorado St or Va Tech on a neutral site and hopefully some winnable games to get confidence rolling.

I'm not overly concerned about SOS in a year where it is highly unlikely we make the tourney anyway. Let's just get some W's and start feeling better about BU hoops again.

[Bravesfan]

If there ever was a year to have some cushion in the Non-Con schedule this is it. And I don't think it's that bad. You get Michigan and GW at home for good tests, Colorado St or Va Tech on a neutral site and hopefully some winnable games to get confidence rolling.

I'm not overly concerned about SOS in a year where it is highly unlikely we make the tourney anyway. Let's just get some W's and start feeling better about BU hoops again.

Agreed 100%!