Final: Bradley 63 SIU 44

[Da Coach]

Bradley's next game is at home against Southern Illinois in Saturday, January 3, at 7:00 PM. This will be a macth between 2 of the MVC's most offensively challenged teams.
Bradley is 5-9, 0-1 after their 64-49 loss at Loyola Wednesday. Their RPI is 288.
SIU is 7-7 overall, and 0-1 in the MVC after their 53-50 home loss on Wednesday to Missouri State. Their RPI is 322.

SIU website-

http://www.siusalukis.com/sports/m-baskbl/silu-m-baskbl-body.html

SIU roster-

http://www.siusalukis.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/silu-m-baskbl-mtt.html

SIU schedule/results-

http://www.siusalukis.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/silu-m-baskbl-sched.html

SIU stats-

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/silu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2014-15/stats/season_stats_final.pdf

Bradley stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/BRAD.HTM

MVC stats-
Season overll stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFLDRS.HTM

MVC conference-only stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM

Bradley game center-

http://www.bradleybraves.com//ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=209830822

[tornado]

maybe but Anthony Beane torched us for 42 points last year in the two games we played them... can we stop him?

[lightsout]

maybe but Anthony Beane torched us for 42 points last year in the two games we played them... can we stop him?

Simple answer..... no. Beane is a stud and will score at least 20 points Saturday. Our only hope is we can contain everyone else (O'Brien, Caroline, and Pendleton) which I think we can do. Let's get a win and even up our conference record at 1-1.

[Da Coach]

I am looking at the SIU game as one of 4 or 5 that we absolutely must win at home to move out of the Thursday games in STL.

[bigjimmy]

I am looking at the SIU game as one of 4 or 5 that we absolutely must win at home to move out of the Thursday games in STL.

I'm just curious Da Coach. Let's say we win those 5 winnable games. Where's the place that we're going to get a road W? Right now I just don't see it.

[Da Coach]

I'm just curious Da Coach. Let's say we win those 5 winnable games. Where's the place that we're going to get a road W? Right now I just don't see it.

I agree with you, unless we turn into a different team with Warren Jones back.
What we really need is for a couple of our big men to turn into a Matt Salley, Will Egolf, or a Bayo Akinkunle, and actually be productive, but I don't see that happening.

[tornado]

... or a Bayo Akinkunle....

I do see a little bit of Bayo in Josh Cunningham...
...as a freshman Bayo only averaged 2 ppg & 1.3 rpg..but he improved his skills and became a monster around the hoop - not wasting time trying 3-pointers...

Here are Bayo's year-by-year stats

Frosh 2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Soph 5.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Jr 12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Sr 15.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg
..Bayo is the last big man who stayed here four years and truly DEVELOPED!!

Josh is already averaging 6.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg - and getting better - let's get a few shooters, ballhandlers, and role players
to go with him, stay away from disgruntled transfers who cannot score, leftover spring juco kids who cannot make layups
and get quality kids and we're headed in the right direction.

[amckillip]

I do see a little bit of Bayo in Josh Cunningham...
...as a freshman Bayo only averaged 2 ppg & 1.3 rpg..but he improved his skills and became a monster around the hoop - not wasting time trying 3-pointers...

Here are Bayo's year-by-year stats

Frosh 2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
Soph 5.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
Jr 12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Sr 15.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg
..Bayo is the last big man who stayed here four years and truly DEVELOPED!!

Josh is already averaging 6.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg - and getting better - let's get a few shooters, ballhandlers, and role players
to go with him, stay away from disgruntled transfers who cannot score, leftover spring juco kids who cannot make layups
and get quality kids and we're headed in the right direction.

I agree, the team is bad, but Josh is a bright spot. If we can keep him at BU for 4 years I believe he can do good things. If he gets proper coaching and a team around him that is...

[bu fan 9]

SIU by 5!

[Vent]

I agree, the team is bad, but Josh is a bright spot. If we can keep him at BU for 4 years I believe he can do good things. If he gets proper coaching and a team around him that is...

Josh Cunningham is a good player and will only get better. Anybody that has played or coached, knows that he does things that come natural. He has a feel for the game and a nose for the ball. Those are two things along with height and toughness you can't coach. He is a basketball player first and an athlete second. When you look at his face during a game you don't know if his team is up by 10 or down by 10. The mistakes he makes for the most part are physical and not mental. Mental mistakes will kill you. You can live with physical mistakes. Unfortunately, players of the caliber of Cunningham are very competitive and hate losing. If things don't turn around quickly at BU, I don't believe he will be here for four years. He will want to be with a program that plays in the NCAA tournament and you can't fault him for that.
That drive is part of the reason he is a good player.

[Da Coach]

I like Josh, but unlike some of the accolades that some people, including the media, were quick to lay on him, I see a couple limitations in his game.

First- Josh is not, and never will be a polished offensive player that can carry a team offensively. He was never that kind of player in high school, isn't now, and IMO won't suddenly become that player in his future at Bradley. His shooting percentage for a player that plays near the basket much of the time, is 42%. I expect that will improve, but he will need to improve his shot selection, and get that shooting percentage up to 50% or better.
He is now shooting 23% on threes. Obviously, the coaches need to stop him from thinking he is a three point shooter. His forte is rebounding (he averages more than Morgan and Taylor combined). He needs to focus on what he does best, and improve on getting the offensive rebounds and putting in 2nd-chance points.
And the coaches need to recruit way better, and surround him with better shooting guards, and better passers, or his talents will be wasted at Bradley.

And second- He is undersized for a power forward, which is the position he is suited for right now. So far he has looked good against relatively weak competition, and teams that didn't have great size. But against better teams, bigger teams, and teams that will scout us well, like he will see in the MVC, he will not put up as impressive numbers.
So IMO, Josh needs to either work to improve his shot and ball-handling to be able to score better away from the basket (a' la Taylor Brown), or he needs to bulk up and and use his strength and skills to become a better "undersized 4" player like Christian Thomas of Loyola, or Darius Carter of Wichita State, or even Tyshon Pickett. However, to be successful like those guys, Bradley still will need better outside scorers.

[tornado]

.. he needs to bulk up and and use his strength and skills to become a better "undersized 4" player like Christian Thomas of Loyola, or Darius Carter of Wichita State, or even Tyshon Pickett.....

Cunningham's just a freshman....
any other freshmen - especially any other true freshman PF's putting up as good of numbers as Josh is??

His first two games he averaged 3.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg....
the past two games he's more than doubled that - averaging 10 ppg & 10 rpg...
the kid is improving - and given he's played most of the season without an effective PG that could distribute the ball - whattya expect?


Those above names ARE undersized PF's and they do just fine - however not one of them did or could have put up double-doubles as a freshman.
Other undersized MVC PF's like Randall Falker, Carl Hall, Anthony Slack, Eric Coleman, Jordan Clarke, Kenny Lawson, and Carlton Fay did just fine at 6-7 in the MVC..
I will take Josh and I am happy with his improvement thus far...

[Vent]

I like Josh, but unlike some of the accolades that some people, including the media, were quick to lay on him, I see a couple limitations in his game.

First- Josh is not, and never will be a polished offensive player that can carry a team offensively. He was never that kind of player in high school, isn't now, and IMO won't suddenly become that player in his future at Bradley. His shooting percentage for a player that plays near the basket much of the time, is 42%. I expect that will improve, but he will need to improve his shot selection, and get that shooting percentage up to 50% or better.
He is now shooting 23% on threes. Obviously, the coaches need to stop him from thinking he is a three point shooter. His forte is rebounding (he averages more than Morgan and Taylor combined). He needs to focus on what he does best, and improve on getting the offensive rebounds and putting in 2nd-chance points.
And the coaches need to recruit way better, and surround him with better shooting guards, and better passers, or his talents will be wasted at Bradley.

And second- He is undersized for a power forward, which is the position he is suited for right now. So far he has looked good against relatively weak competition, and teams that didn't have great size. But against better teams, bigger teams, and teams that will scout us well, like he will see in the MVC, he will not put up as impressive numbers.
So IMO, Josh needs to either work to improve his shot and ball-handling to be able to score better away from the basket (a' la Taylor Brown), or he needs to bulk up and and use his strength and skills to become a better "undersized 4" player like Christian Thomas of Loyola, or Darius Carter of Wichita State, or even Tyshon Pickett. However, to be successful like those guys, Bradley still will need better outside scorers.

I still believe Josh is going to be a very good collegiate basketball player. I'm not saying he will be an All-American, but there are only ten of them a year. As far as never being a polished offensive player, well, never is a long time and it also depends upon your definition of what polished is. There are very few freshmen at the D1 level, that come in and are an immediate impact. There is a vast difference between high school and college. There are also very few players that have a 50% field goal percentage. One of the reasons he did not carry his team in high school is that he didn't have to and also very few coaches put that responsibility on a player, regardless of the level. Yes, there is plenty of room for improvement, but I have yet to see a player that there isn't. It is also my opinion that he is not a power forward. His mentality is not that. I do believe at some point he will be a very effective 3 that will pose matchup problems, as he develops his game and matures. His biggest problem is going to be playing at Bradley for this coaching staff. I have not seen significant improvement in the fundamentals of players on a yearly basis with this staff. The players here get stronger physically, but still have the bad habits and make the same mistakes year after year. In a better program and practicing and playing against better talent, his improvement would be much quicker and more noticeable. Indiana, Creighton, DePaul and multiple other Division 1 schools, all with coaches more qualified than ours, saw something special in him which made him a top 100 recruit.

[bu fan 9]

He has up side. But he has a long way to go no one has started keying on him yet. Wait until they start double teaming him or running some junk defenses at him and then we will find out what kind of player he his.

[Vent]

That is exactly why he would improve faster as a complete player, at a high major program than at BU. I've talked to numerous people that say how good certain BU players look in practice but on game day don't look as good. It is more than likely, due to the caliber of competition they are up against everyday in practice. Josh Cunningham is just a kid and it shows in his physical appearance. I would predict he puts on at least 20 pounds of muscle prior to the start of next season. He is gifted in having certain abilities that you just can't coach. You can't coach a player to have good hands or quick footwork, or anticipate passes effortlessly, or to have a nose for the ball, or to see the whole floor all the time. You can teach a player to become a better shooter, dribbler, etc. It is the intangibles that separate average players from the really good ones. I think for just a little over a month into the regular season and considering the circumstances, you can see his confidence growing every game. That again is something you don't teach.