Braves 71 ill 75

[Da Coach]

Here are the PJ Star articles--
Dave Reynolds' article--

http://pjstar.com/stories/112606/BRA_BBKSP1LO.080.shtml

Kirk Wessler's report--

http://pjstar.com/stories/112606/KIR_BBKSOU88.080.shtml

Kirk talked to NBA scouts who were impressed with Zach Andrews and think he could play in the NBA!

[Dallas Brave]

Congratulations to the Braves for a fine showing in Chicago. This is going to be a fun season with A few more losses along the way, but this is a team that we can be proud of.

The Bradley program is back on the map.

[Braves4Life]

Weber

Just got back to the hotel. Not much more to say. The Illinois big guys made just enough diference in the game, and the shots were not falling quite as well tonight.

I listened to the Bruce Weber post-game show up here. He was extremely complimentary to Bradley and Jim Les. He pointed out how much Bradley lost from last year's team, and how Jim Les has "totally revamped" the offense and defense to accomodate the new guard-heavy team Bradley has this year.
He must have said a dozen times what a great league the Valley is.

I don't think I saw any time during the game where the kids didn't think they could still win the game, until the final seconds. This is a great group of kids, and I am sure they will bounce back to continue to have a fine season.

As much as I hate the Illini, Weber is a class guy. I think he knows he may be back in The Valley soon; those arrogant, rich Illini alumni are going to run him outa town soon.

I'd love to see him restore the glory at Evansville or Indiana State. Has Drake ever had any glory?

[MacabreMob]

Something I didn't like seeing was a couple times Bradley seemed to look desperate. Veering from their style of play, they looked like they hurried their offense, chucked up some 3's, or drove hard to the basket and got nothing out of the possession.

Just wanted them to stick to the unselfish style of TEAM play with a lot of passing waiting and working for a good shot.

[mike radigan]

Zach being in foul trouble obviously hurt us. I thought Ruff lost his legs somewhat in the second half, too. And, oh yeah, Illinois scored more points than us. Congrats to the Illini. Now we have to move on quickly and get ready for Tennessee Tech on the road.

Just a few comments about the facility. Really nice and comfortable to watch a game. Just the right size. And it was easy to get to and traffic wasn???‚¬?„?t an issue. The concourses were especially spacious. That said, with so much room the restrooms were way too small. Who designs these things? The parking aisles were not marked. Maybe they will still do this. The concession people were still going through training. Our seats under the one basket had to be reached from the opposite end of the floor.

[wily coyote]

Your right........this team is exceeding my early prediction of a 500 team.........let's not get too high from the wins and not get too low from the loss! Good effort tonight..........but if ZA goes out with foul trouble we will struggle IMO!

Big Mike, so true. Zac has to stay in the game for us to have a chance. # of his fouls were not necessary. He was showing great effort and hustle,but the risk is not worth the reward. Diving after loose balls is one thing, but diving into players after loose balls needs to be reevaluted. Over all great effort,some things to clean up but great effort. We played hard and wins will come with that same effort.Oncw a Brave always a Brave

[Chico]

Being a Bradley fan first and Illinois fan second, I was glad to see the matchup and was hoping for a BU victory. Let's hope they both do good in their respective conferences. There are local kids on both teams who deseve our support. Matt Roth would be a great addition to BU program.

[phyneous_j_whoopie]

Something I didn't like seeing was a couple times Bradley seemed to look desperate. Veering from their style of play, they looked like they hurried their offense, chucked up some 3's, or drove hard to the basket and got nothing out of the possession.

Just wanted them to stick to the unselfish style of TEAM play with a lot of passing waiting and working for a good shot.

You're exactly right Mob. You and I have talked also about Will's tendency to come down and throw up a quick three.

This was our first test with extreme pressure man-to-man defense and I thought overall we held our own. Every experience like this makes us a better team and the next time we're in a situation like this, we'll know better what to do!

[Grassman]

This game furter illustrated the fact that, this team will go as far as Zach can take them. He did not have a good game tonite and we lost.
He is the difference maker.