Brian Wardle introductory press conference

[Da Coach]

After reading Kirk's column-
Wessler: Patience a virtue the Braves must embrace

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150328/SPORTS/150329103/12701/SPORTS?Start=1

A couple things stood out to me-

What the heck does this mean? (It's the 3rd paragraph)-
Can they mend broken fences with the fans; rubble that has almost as much to do with public relations missteps as losing games? Can they re-engage Bradley students, who’ve been mostly neglected as an important constituency since home games were moved off campus to the Peoria Civic Center 33 years ago?

"rubble"? What is he referring to?
"Public relations missteps"? Huh?

Is Kirk saying that what lead to 86 losses the last 4 years, attendance dropping almost in half, and one of the most poorly coached programs in Division I, was "as much to do with public relations missteps as losing games?"
First- What games was he watching these last 4 years? The losing and the fan defection was caused by poor recruiting, poor team play, and poor coaching. Why is that so hard for Kirk to see or admit?
And second- Isn't blaming "public relations missteps" a direct shot at Bobby Parker and the public relations people? How are they to blame?

Then- Kirk spends most of the rest of his column telling us how bad Bradley is, and that it's not going to get better quickly.

Why is Kirk just seeing that now? He's just spent the last 4 years shamelessly promoting Geno and his bad team, telling us how much better ("by a light year or two") Bradley is, and how things were improving under Geno, and how Geno was building things "the right way", how great the talent was, and how the team had such great leadership and depth.
It strikes me that Kirk has been wrong about nearly everything these past 4 years, so why should anyone put stock in his opinions now?

[Old Coach]

After reading Kirk's column-
Wessler: Patience a virtue the Braves must embrace

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150328/SPORTS/150329103/12701/SPORTS?Start=1

And second- Isn't blaming "public relations missteps" a direct shot at Bobby Parker and the public relations people? How are they to blame?

I suspect that it was referring to moves made by Dr. Cross, such as eliminating the spaghetti supper, altering the Red & White game, talking about more games at the RC, and so on??¦ I don't think he meant PR specifically as it relates to the job that BP does.

[wily coyote]

I suspect that it was referring to moves made by Dr. Cross, such as eliminating the spaghetti supper, altering the Red & White game, talking about more games at the RC, and so on??¦ I don't think he meant PR specifically as it relates to the job that BP does.

I think you are on the right page with your assumption. Another big problem I think he was saying without saying had to do with how hard it is to recruit JC kids because of our standards and no P.E. program. Geno liked to recruit JC kids but had a hard time getting the kids he wanted into school. That was also a problem for JL too. Transferring hours from JC's to BU has been a problem for some time and I don't see it changing. IMO maybe we should relax those standards a little bit since we don' t have PE as a major. DeAaron Williams was a prime example of that . I'm not saying let in every Tom ,Dick and Harry but use some common sense.

[BUspartan]

I'll admit i don't know the first thing about Coach Wardle, but i did like his response to the question asked regarding verbal abuse on his players. Being accountable and stating he's grown from the situation is the mature answer i was hoping for.

Now, if we can get a Keifer Sykes-type player here at BU (he played for GB the past few years), then we'll really get the excitement back at Carver. I know i was excited about the Geno hire back then and continually hoped that he would succeed, but i'm ready for this new chapter of BU basketball, and hope the results are different...and we don't start Arch Madness until Friday next season!

[Da Coach]

...Geno liked to recruit JC kids but had a hard time getting the kids he wanted into school. That was also a problem for JL too. Transferring hours from JC's to BU has been a problem for some time and I don't see it changing. IMO maybe we should relax those standards a little bit since we don' t have PE as a major. DeAaron Williams was a prime example of that . I'm not saying let in every Tom ,Dick and Harry but use some common sense.

I disagree....the main reason Geno had trouble even landing good juco players is because he did it the wrong way. He nearly always waited until the end of the recruiting cycle, after he missed on all his primary recruits, and high school recruits, then turned to recruiting Jucos only as a desperate fall-back option.

The only time he actually targeted and signed a juco player early, it turned out to be one of the best recruits he ever signed in his 4 years- Tyshon Pickett.

In the previous coach's tenure- we signed a lot of high quality jucos like Marcellus Sommerville, Lawrence Wright, Zach Andrews, Tony Bennett, Will Franklin, Matt Salley, Theron Wilson, Dodie Dunson, and Chris Roberts. It's amazing how many of them were starters, difference-makers, and key players on winning teams. The key difference is, most of them were scouted, evaluated, recruited, and offered early in the recruiting cycle, and not as desperate fall-back options.

When a coach jumps in very late to recruit a juco kid, usually one of two things happens- He is getting in too late to land him, or he's able to land them because they don't have many other offers and the kid turns out to be a marginal player at best.

[Tommy]

I don't think it would have mattered if Geno recruited and landed Michael Jordan. He showed no ability to nurture talent whatsoever. Name one player that got better under his tutelage while at BU.

[PistolP]

I don't think it would have mattered if Geno recruited and landed Michael Jordan. He showed no ability to nurture talent whatsoever. Name one player that got better under his tutelage while at BU.

Nate Wells. Look how Geno developed him into a starter after he was 13th man the last couple years. He even developed his stroke from deep! (I am being very sarcastic if you didn't know) But regarding Max B.- if he wants to come to BU, sign him. Foolish to pass on him and not going to find someone of his caliber this late in the recruiting game. Max plus Cunningham makes us already better than this year. I may be in the minority, but believe that Thomas has potential and hoping Wardle or new assistant can develop his overall game. Hopefully Wardle will not encourage both Josh and Dante to shoot 3's and play more to their strengths. If scholarships open up for next year, hopefully sign a consistent stand still shooter.

[Da Coach]

...I may be in the minority, but believe that Thomas has potential and hoping Wardle or new assistant can develop his overall game.

I don't think you are in the minority on this. I believe Donte Thomas has a ton of upside, and I hope he stays at Bradley.

[Tommy]

I don't think you are in the minority on this. I believe Donte Thomas has a ton of upside, and I hope he stays at Bradley.

Absolutely Thomas has talent, as well as Jermaine Morgan. And honestly, we could do far worse than Sutherland and Jones at guard, with Wells in the middle. And if Wardle can somehow tap into the talent that Taylor was supposed to possess, we could find ourself competitive immediately. All of that doesn't even take into account the talent we already know we have in Cunningham. Now hopefully Wardle can convince him that his game is 5 feet from the basket and not behind the arc.

Seriously, Geno did not recruit a bunch of duds. This team has talent. They just lacked coaching.

[Tommy]

Finally got a chance to watch the press conference and I must say, I am excited after hearing him speak. I appreciated his focus on relationships and team, among so many other things.

I guess I'm buying what he's selling right now. Looking forward to seeing what he can do in November!

[lefty]

I agree on Thomas on talent but not Morgan Washington state was glad when morgan didn't come hoping to get somebody better......

[tornado]

"rubble"..."Public relations missteps"? ..

LOL - I agree - Kirk Wessler absolutley cannot bring himself to say that Geno recruited poorly and did not coach well..
nor can he force himself to utter the truth about how horribly Pres. Glasser & Dr. Cross mismanaged the Athletic Dept...

I guess they simply goofed a little with some "public relations missteps"...

he just can't say it...they failed and failed miserably and he failed in not seeing it even now....
and they will have a legacy of being the worst 5-7 year run of athletics in Bradley's history

[Da Coach]

For those who missed the press conference, renown photographer Bob Hunt was there and took a bunch of photos. He's posted them on his Facebook page-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-Hunt-Photographer/287719068077147?ref=hl

Scroll through pictures-

https://www.facebook.com/287719068077147/photos/pcb.418406891675030/418406221675097/?type=1&theater

Also, scroll down to see some great pictures of the Chris Reynolds press conference, too.

https://www.facebook.com/287719068077147/photos/pcb.413408755508177/413407965508256/?type=1&theater

[panther12thman]

Wessler and Reynolds are both jokes. They covered for Geno for four years.
We hit the trifecta in getting rid of the President, A.D. and Coach, to bad we still have Wessler and Reynolds around. They have zero credibility. I hope someone at Bradley lets our new coach know that neither one of them can be trusted.

[Vent]

Wessler and Reynolds are both jokes. They covered for Geno for four years.
We hit the trifecta in getting rid of the President, A.D. and Coach, to bad we still have Wessler and Reynolds around. They have zero credibility. I hope someone at Bradley lets our new coach know that neither one of them can be trusted.

Chris Reynolds and Brian Wardle are not too worried about what Dave Reynolds and Kirk Wessler write in the paper or their trust. The coach and A.D. have a full plate of things they have to address and they aren't going to be asking the PJS for advise.

I'm sure both of the new hires realize their futures and any success they have are directly related to the results they achieve at Bradley. Not the articles written by Dave Reynolds and Kirk Wessler.