Discouraged to say the least

[BU freak]

Maybe it's just losing another recruit but there are just too many things to be discouraged about with the Bradley basketball program.
1. Recruiting- I really thought we could turn the corner but once again we lose out on all of our top targets for whatever reasons. The bottom line is you have to close the deal out. Period. Tired of hoping to get a big time recruit but the way it's set up its just not in the cards. We will always be recruiting bottom feeders. 2. Landscape- with all the conference re-alignment going on the best the MVC can do is get Loyola. All you need to know is what CBS did during the MVC finals. If Wichita ever moves on the MVC will barely be a mid major conference. 3. Scheduling- not much to be excited about there either. Home schedule looks awful for next year. 4. Fan support- it looks like a nursing home during home games and now with the massive increase in season tickets the administration has made it worse. Just wonder who will fill those seats in 10 years when a large portion of our season ticket base is gone. I have been a supporter of Bradley basketball for 40 years and basically stopped going at the end of the Jim Les era. I think Geno is a good coach but there is not much to get excited about these days. Losing Delaney, Tucker and Hamilton puts a huge damper on my enthusiasm for next year. Someone talk me off this ledge. Discouraged.

[Bradleyfan1]

Ya I could use a pep talk myself.

[Future Walk-On]

Maybe it's just losing another recruit but there are just too many things to be discouraged about with the Bradley basketball program.
1. Recruiting- I really thought we could turn the corner but once again we lose out on all of our top targets for whatever reasons. The bottom line is you have to close the deal out. Period. Tired of hoping to get a big time recruit but the way it's set up its just not in the cards. We will always be recruiting bottom feeders. 2. Landscape- with all the conference re-alignment going on the best the MVC can do is get Loyola. All you need to know is what CBS did during the MVC finals. If Wichita ever moves on the MVC will barely be a mid major conference. 3. Scheduling- not much to be excited about there either. Home schedule looks awful for next year. 4. Fan support- it looks like a nursing home during home games and now with the massive increase in season tickets the administration has made it worse. Just wonder who will fill those seats in 10 years when a large portion of our season ticket base is gone. I have been a supporter of Bradley basketball for 40 years and basically stopped going at the end of the Jim Les era. I think Geno is a good coach but there is not much to get excited about these days. Losing Delaney, Tucker and Hamilton puts a huge damper on my enthusiasm for next year. Someone talk me off this ledge. Discouraged.

Well would predicting Swop as FOY and All-American help? except then he would transfer to a big school shitnvmthat

[bradleyfan124]

Recruiting is very difficult. To get 3 or 4 players a school has to go after 100. Just like in sales. They dont always work out for various reasons. A coach can work his ass off and have it go for naught at the end. You win some you lose some but a coach has to keep trying. What is the biggest fear I have is they quit trying to get the great players. Afraid they cant get them. They have to keep trying. Believe me. There is no more disappointed than the coaches putting forth all the effort

[AZ BU Fan]

BU improved a bunch last season. Another improvement this season should open up more doors with more recruits for 2014-5. Since you sound like a big JL fan, check out the recruits JL brought in during his first couple years.. BU record actually got worse in JL's 3rd season... Without stealing MS from IA, a sleeper named POB, and a couple 'who the heck are they?' from a place called YUBA CITY' .....

The ticket price increase may have been a bit premature, given the state of the program, and BU needs to figure out where they can land in the future if the MVC tanks... but hey, practice starts in 4 months!

Ultimately, it will be difficult for BU in the future when college sports are all about big money from TV/advertising in major metropolitan markets..Exceptions exist of course, but not many... The one thing Loyola brings to the MVC is exposure in a giant. Metro area, far bigger than Omaha, Des Moines, or Wichita... Hopefully Loyola wants to make a go of it and puts resources in place.

How about MVC Tourney in Chicago with new title sponsor? That would help elevate the whole Conference... St Louis wouldn't excite recruits as much as a shot at playing in the Chicago market... Just say in...

[TNel]

Maybe it's just losing another recruit but there are just too many things to be discouraged about with the Bradley basketball program.
1. Recruiting- I really thought we could turn the corner but once again we lose out on all of our top targets for whatever reasons. The bottom line is you have to close the deal out. Period. Tired of hoping to get a big time recruit but the way it's set up its just not in the cards. We will always be recruiting bottom feeders. 2. Landscape- with all the conference re-alignment going on the best the MVC can do is get Loyola. All you need to know is what CBS did during the MVC finals. If Wichita ever moves on the MVC will barely be a mid major conference. 3. Scheduling- not much to be excited about there either. Home schedule looks awful for next year. 4. Fan support- it looks like a nursing home during home games and now with the massive increase in season tickets the administration has made it worse. Just wonder who will fill those seats in 10 years when a large portion of our season ticket base is gone. I have been a supporter of Bradley basketball for 40 years and basically stopped going at the end of the Jim Les era. I think Geno is a good coach but there is not much to get excited about these days. Losing Delaney, Tucker and Hamilton puts a huge damper on my enthusiasm for next year. Someone talk me off this ledge. Discouraged.

Advice from one of the "nursing home" fans: JUMP!!!

[tornado]

there are people who fans should contact with their concerns - they sure listened and acted when fans were discouraged in 2010-2011 -
now they seem oblivious to the huge mass of disappearing fans...might be they are no longer interested in fans' concerns...but someone should be

[PeoriaLou]

Wasn't it revealed recently that Delaney didn't have enough classes and would've needed a significant summer load to be admitted? What if he would have verballed and not been admitted?

[tornado]

Delaney has committed but has not signed his LOI yet - it'll be interesting to see if UNM gets him eligible

[PeoriaLou]

T - I guess that's my point. I know we have to go after great players who have mutual interest, but it seems to me the staff spent a whole lot of time waiting for DD, with the notion that it may have been a longshot that he'd be admitted.

I know there's a lot going on that we don't know about and I'm 100% supportive of the staff, but many supporters would have been really ticked if DD would have verballed and then not get admitted. Time to move on...

[tornado]

Lou - it's complex - maybe even a Catch 22 involved here --


A) we're not likely to start landing the really quality recruits that we have to BEAT OUT other top schools for,
UNTIL we develop success, name recognition, and a higher presence instate..

B) but we are not going to get NAME RECOGNITION unless something changes, we get higher profile in Chicago,
and land some top kids coming out of high schools instead of really obscure and under the radar screen recruits.
I am not saying some of the obscure kids don't sometimes pay off (the Yuba kids, Walt, etc..) but we have to land someone
whose name on the BU roster will make other kids listen up when BU calls....

Finishing in the top of the MVC, making the post-season, getting on TV, getting mention nationally when we play or beat someone like Kansas,
landing kids that we beat out someone other than Texas-San Antonio, keeping the Peoria kids home, and beating ISU regularly are all on the list of MUST-DO's
..and have I mentioned our home attendance average has dropped by 1/3rd in the past 3 years!
Gotta start seriously looking at how we got here....fans losing interest in case you haven't noticed

[wizard1]

Discouraged to say the least

The whole thing....basketball program and the athletic program is going downhill Fast. The President, trustees, M. Cross, and Geno have not been able to turn this around. They won,t listen to fans or alums and keep making bad decisions that further hurt BU programs.
Our only hope seems to be if the few remaining fans can somehow rise up and public ally demand changes.
The alternative is to go Divn II, cut back coaches & coaches big salaries, and play a Divn. II schedule in the RC. The Bradley of old may very well be history thanks to Joann and the disinterested trustees.

[tornado]

.. The alternative is to go Divn II,...

wow - even the thought of this is 100% suicidal...
no D-II program makes any revenue on basketball - most lose - and I can guarantee at least 80% of our season ticket base will drop their renewal notice in the waste basket and the whole Braves Club/BSS will disappear overnite...
Anyone who thinks otherwise is driving us 100 mph down a dead end with a cliff beyond the curb..
ps- will anyone in the media ever grow a pair and help by reporting what's going on?

[molar50]

It is hard to be optimistic with this program. It will be interesting to see what the media and coaches predict for Bradley to finish in the MVC standings next year. I do not see us moving out of the Thursday playoff games. I think there will be a change in the AD, President and or coach before the program turns around. On another topic, there was an interesting article in the WSJ recently about how private schools are having a difficult time in admisssions. There is a declining number of students grduatiing from hs and the economy is affecting many middle class families. Does anyone know how admissions are going for Bradley next year?

[tornado]

don't know - this is a relatively quiet period - even the message boards are a little slow...we'll just have to wait & see what happens - I kinda share wizard's sentiment that it's totally out of control of the average fan..