Bradley's low post players - comparison over past 25 years

[tornado]

I see a lot of criticism of our post players...but let's see how they stack up vs. our best in the past 25 years...

I went back 25 years - back to the Albeck era and culled the stats of all the low post/centers and ranked them in order....if I missed anyone lmk...
Our guys this year share the low post spot while a lot of guys in the past have planted themselves there all alone and yet - I think our current guys have proven themselves sufficiently - but this locks in even more the proof that our current guys are top notch.

Here are the BEST season totals among low post players - I did not count guys like Cellus, Granger, Parker - they do not fit the definition.

SCORING
15.4 Bayo 98
13.4 POB 06
12.4 Bayo 97
11.6 Funches 96
11.3 Pickett 13
11.1 Zach A 07
10.0 POB 05
8.9 Egolf 13
8.0 Egolf 11
7.9 Pollard 93
7.8 Pross 12
7.2 Funches 95
7.0 Egolf 10
7.0 Rabey 01
7.0 Salley 07
6.8 Pollard 94
6.3 Hall 02
6.1 Salley 08
6.0 Prosser 13
5.3 Prosser 11

So - SEVEN of the TOP 20 scoring seasons in the past 25 years by our low post guys are the guys we have RIGHT NOW..
and FOUR of the TOP dozen!!
guys like David Collins, Zach in '06, Koita - don't even make the list!!!


So - as much as we all would like to see a Bayo or a POB at BU - it simply doesn't happen often and the guys we have NOW do not deserve the criticism they get.

[tornado]

Here's rebounding going back to the Albeck era among our low post guys...
I did not include the guys from the 80's Massive Mike, Reese, Luke Jackson, etc...


Rebounds
8.3 POB 06
8.2 Bayo 98
7.4 POB 05
7.3 Rabey 01
7.0 Zach A 07
6.9 Salley 08
6.5 Prosser 12
6.0 Bayo 97
5.7 Tyshon 13
5.5 Egolf 13
5.5 Prosser 12
5.3 Funches 96
5.3 Pollard 93

again - the guys we have right now make up 1/3 of the top dozen rebounding seasons..........
the following starters ......Koita, Hall, Stewart, Funches, Pollard, Collins, Zach, Salley -- all had years where they were our MAIN low post guys and did not make this list!!
If you carry the list further - you see Egolf had two other seasons with more rpg than Collins' best year, or Koita's or Hall's or anyone else form the 90's..

[lake Camelot]

Comparing our post players to our past ones may be fine back POB and before. But after that it was my main problem with the past staff. They were unacceptable and getting worse. It says something when you long for at least another Salley. We are never going to consistently get top notch post players at our level of school. But we need some toughness and defensive presence at the least. I feel we are comparing Apples to rotten Apples.

Also while we had some good players under MO, those stats are going to be skewed because we took fewer shots so less rebounds and scoring. Defense was the emphasis.

[lake Camelot]

By the way I think Pickett stacks up fine. I just think we need a bigger version of him in the Post.

[Braves4Life]

I love all of our Bradley guys and agree that much of their criticism is just wrong and mean-spirited BUT...

This is probably one of the most misleading use of statistics that I have ever seen to prove a flawed point. It's like comparing Mikan to Wilt to Jabbar to Duncan... Different teams, different coaches, different systems, different eras, different styles... Besides, look at our bigs and their post defense... And not one shoots better than 50%. Our top rebounder (under-sized Pickett) ranks only 10th in the MVC in rebounds.

Most of our current bigs would probably not even start on many of our past better teams. These stats are misleading because these players put up stats simply because they have to play... there's no one else... stats by default. Walt would not put up the numbers he has if he were on Wichita State or Creighton... or even a better Bradley team. Curtis Stuckey was star for Bradley because his team was horrible... He has the highest scoring average in BU history I believe... He was NOT a good player... But his stats sure looked good. Anthony Manuel nearly doubled his scoring average after Hawk left. Was he suddenly twice as good of a scorer? See, that's why stats are misleading. There are plenty of other examples of players who put up gaudy stats on bad teams (see Jason Conley while at VMI).

[amettrick]

I think the point of those who criticize our post play isn't that they are significantly worse than our previous post players from recent seasons.

I believe the criticism is based on the fact that someone like Prosser was expected to be at or near the top of a list like this by now, rather than near the bottom.

[lefty]

Most of the others were a force on the defensive end though too...we don't have that now.

[tornado]

B4L - I knew there'd be people who'd disagree - I fully suspected someone to cry about not including Xanthus Houston - who was recruited more than 25 years ago...

but what measure do you want to choose??? those are just raw numbers - facts that are pretty hard to dispute - anything else anyone'd say would get the usual "I don't believe it" or "that's not how I see it"...

All I am trying to do is point out that quality big men come along only once or twice a decade for most midmajors...
the guys we have are as good as any big men we've had for 25 years - save for 2, maybe 3 of them....
PLUS they are as good as any in the Valley except Echenique, Hall & maybe the guy they have at ISU...

BUT even using Carmichael as proof of how easy it is to get big men - note that for 3 years...Carmichael's averages were 9ppg/6rpg...not even what we're getting from Tyshon - and about what Will Egolf is giving us right now as we speak....
I dare say it's hard enough to apparently make some fans happy - that if we brought in a Jackie Carmichael clone - he'd hear THREE YEARS of fans griping before he'd be able to shut them up.

[BradleyJD]

Most of the others were a force on the defensive end though too...we don't have that now.

I would agree. I also think, looking at the numbers. You only get 1 in the ppg top 5 and 0 in the top 5 of rebounding. That says quite a bit.

Again, you are never going to consistently get a "big" who impacts like the BCS schools do. We just need to get good enough guys and develop them so that by years 3 and 4 they can reach above and beyond the top 5 of these lists.

[Braves4Life]

B4L - those are just raw numbers - facts that are pretty hard to dispute

Stats are stats and facts are facts... Using your rationale then Curtis Stuckey was the greatest player in Bradley's history.

[braveatheart]

I am just glad our current coach tries to play two post players at a time. It seemed in years past the idea was to put as many guards on the floor as possible.

[Da Coach]

Stats are stats and facts are facts... Using your rationale then Curtis Stuckey was the greatest player in Bradley's history.

But it is a fact that he is the #1 career scorer in average in Bradley history.

[Braves4Life]

I like your style DC.

[Tulsa Brave]

If our current post guys are the best we've had in 25 years, then I now finally know the answer why we have not won Arch Madness since it moved to St. Louis...

[Future Walk-On]

By the way I think Pickett stacks up fine. I just think we need a bigger version of him in the Post.

could you imagine a 6'11" Pickett?