How surprised?

[bigjimmy]

I would agree that our schedule has certainly helped our record this year but you play who you play and it's certainly better to be 12-7 than being 6-13 like the last 2 years. Does it mean we are a better team? That's the $26.00 question. Last year we lost 14 games by double digits including 5 by over 20 points(2 to Wichita, 2 to Evansville and 1 to ISU Red). So far this year we have lost 4 games by double digits including 1 by over 20 points(UNI) and 1 game by 19 points(USF). 2 of those games were on the road with no Will Egolf. There were just games last year where we were just not competitive at all whereas at least this year I can only say that about just 3 times. This week at Evansville and at Wichita with Will playing will give a us a better indication of where we're at as a team.

[aggieman]

Been an observer here for awhile but have stayed on the sidelines until now. I am so tired of hearing people make excuses for this regime.

FACT- Our SOS is horrible
FACT- Most of our production is coming from players recruited by a staff that was fired
------ The man that we needed so badly to fire is turning things around in a much worse situation
------ If we would have kept that man we would be a MUCH better team right now
------ This administration is in way over their heads

[DeltaBrave03]

Yes, but the 4 others do. See my above post.

I completely agree with you. We have 4-5 players who contribute a lot. Other than that we have nothing. Hopefully the two transfers and tucker are as good as advertised and we can land a quality juco big.

[DeltaBrave03]

Been an observer here for awhile but have stayed on the sidelines until now. I am so tired of hearing people make excuses for this regime.

FACT- Our SOS is horrible
FACT- Most of our production is coming from players recruited by a staff that was fired
------ The man that we needed so badly to fire is turning things around in a much worse situation
------ If we would have kept that man we would be a MUCH better team right now
------ This administration is in way over their heads

The last three of those are opinions. Yes I would ecpect most of our production to come from les recruits as they are upperclassme. Les is in a much lesser conf than the MVC.

[lefty]

Been an observer here for awhile but have stayed on the sidelines until now. I am so tired of hearing people make excuses for this regime.

FACT- Our SOS is horrible
FACT- Most of our production is coming from players recruited by a staff that was fired
------ The man that we needed so badly to fire is turning things around in a much worse situation
------ If we would have kept that man we would be a MUCH better team right now
------ This administration is in way over their heads

We are so glad to have you around.....this is the kind of post that ends up with a thread deletion

[AZ BU Fan]

Been an observer here for awhile but have stayed on the sidelines until now. I am so tired of hearing people make excuses for this regime.

FACT- Our SOS is horrible
FACT- Most of our production is coming from players recruited by a staff that was fired
FACT- The man that we needed so badly to fire is turning things around in a much worse situation
FACT- If we would have kept that man we would be a MUCH better team right now
FACT- This administration is in way over their heads

-----------------------------------------------------

Why do birds suddenly appear, every time he is near....
Just like you, they long to be, close to him.....



Why do stars fall down from the sky, every day he walks by
just like you, they long to be, close to him....



On the day that he was born, the angels got together
and decided to create a dream come true



So they sprinkled moon dust in his gold hair and star light in his eyes of blue...

That is why all the lovers in town, follow him all around...
Just like you, they long to be, close to him....




Didn't see many posts from you when JL went 10-8, 9-9, 10-8, 9-9. and 4-14 in the MVC in his last 5 seasons at BU....

[Braves4Life]

Good stuff as always AZ BU Fan.

[aggieman]

I apologize for maybe being over the top. I've had a lot of that building up. Keep in mind that I dont blame Geno for any of the things I listed. I just feel like he shouldnt be here. However, he is here and I will continue to support him

[braveatheart]

I think we are a lot better this year than last. So far this year Pomeroy has us at #147 out of 347. Last year (Geno's first) we ended the year at #276.

In JL's last year we were #177. The two years before that we were 114 and 119.

Even though we are at 147 now we could slip by year end as our lack of depth could start to show. I would expect us to wear out a little and slip down from where we are now.

I think the reason Les was let go was because ranking over 100 on a consistent basis is not acceptable to most at BU. Has Geno done better? Not really up to this point. I am optimistic though that he has us on the right track.

As it stands now I believe next year we will start three gaurds. Anthony Fields at point, Walt at the two and Omari Grier at three. It is my understanding that Fields is a lightning quick natural point gaurd who should cut down on our point gaurd turnovers. Grier shot 40.8% from three his freshman year and 88.9% from the line. He also has more steals than turnovers though not many of either. Of course WL will be a senior.

I suspect TP will start at the 4 spot and JP at the 5. Both will be seniors.

My guess is that team will be better than our current one. Plus we will be much deeper. I also suspect Geno uses the last two scholarships to get a juco big man and a juco shooter. We will see how that turns out but with a good couple of additional recruits and no serious injuries I think we could be a top 100 team again and be in the top half of the valley.

Back to the original question, I am pleasantly surprised at how well we have done so far. I expected less.

[Braves4Life]

I apologize for maybe being over the top. I've had a lot of that building up. Keep in mind that I dont blame Geno for any of the things I listed. I just feel like he shouldnt be here. However, he is here and I will continue to support him100%

............

[Beninator]

I think most didn't think we would be tied for 4th right now but I also think we have won the games we are suppose to up to this point. I'm still concerned about quality of depth as we go into the guts of the conference. It's hard for WL, DSE, and WE to play at a high level game in and game out if they play 35 minutes a night....

Best post of the thread. I very much agree.

Our starters can hold there own with most teams in the Valley. I think the huge talent gap lies in the rest of our roster... Guys who give more to the team by sitting on the bench and getting getting good grades than they are capable of giving in practice or games.

I agree with most of this post. However, IMO just looking at our starters, we are an incomplete team. None of our guards or forwards for that matter can really shoot the three.

[bradbasketball44]

Been an observer here for awhile but have stayed on the sidelines until now. I am so tired of hearing people make excuses for this regime.

FACT- Our SOS is horrible
FACT- Most of our production is coming from players recruited by a staff that was fired
------ The man that we needed so badly to fire is turning things around in a much worse situation
------ If we would have kept that man we would be a MUCH better team right now
------ This administration is in way over their heads

Then tell UCD fans about this

[aggieman]

Then tell UCD fans about this

Im sure a lot of them feel good about the direction they are headed. Of course there will always be a select few who cant see what they really have. Be it in California or Peoria

[RedSeaElite1]

From my persepctive I think we have a pretty good shot at staying out of Thursday this year though much of that will rely on how we play vs. Evansville and vs. UNI at home. I agree that this team does not have much depth, but they have proved a lot of doubters wrong already. Yes, we have beaten the teams we are supposed to beat, but this was not that case over the past few years. Geno has a pretty good chance at turning this team around from a last place finish to potenially staying out of thursday. We were picked to finish 9th in the valley, I am surprised and pleased with our progress and think that if we continue on this pace of development that we could become a top tier MVC team in a few years. I think it is way to early to judge Geno's recruiting abitilities because he only really has two players playing this year that he was given more than the spring to recruit (TP and KB), and one of them is starting...

[Beninator]

I apologize for maybe being over the top. I've had a lot of that building up. Keep in mind that I dont blame Geno for any of the things I listed. I just feel like he shouldnt be here. However, he is here and I will continue to support him

Nobody on this board was as critical of the staff last year than I was! However, this year I have seen more communication on the floor on defense from our team than I have seen in years!!! Last year, I was hyper critical of our offensive sets. If you look at some of the games this year, our offensive sets while not always executed properly, are miles ahead of what was run on the floor last year. If one really wants to compare player development at the early stage of Coach Ford's tenure, let's look at our JUCO player this year. TP has contributed since game one this year. In the past, our JUCO players had to adapt to division one play. Yes we have a softer schedule and I have no problem with that as we have also faced some tough teams along the way. If you really are a Bradley fan, sit back and try to notice some of the things that are going on this year. So far, the staff has done a very nice job.